“That you are here
that life exists and identity,
that the powerful play goes on,
and you may contribute a verse.“
(Walt Whitman)
“BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY” ART WORKSHOP
- This intensive art course is hands-on and will be held in English.
- Class is limited to 7 participants maximum. Adults only. No Pets allowed.
- No previous experience is required but please consider that this is an intensive rhythm art class with not many pauses and breaks.
- The workshop is located on my family’s beautiful property in Montalcino, Siena.
In this four-day mixed media journaling workshop, you will create your own personal precious book filled with revelations of your dreams, joys, sorrows, and creative resilience.
In this magical corner of Tuscany, immersed in an environment of nature and creativity, together we will create our personal journals, playing with our inner child, our freedom, and the deep connection between ourselves, our classmates, and our environment.
We will make paints mainly with colors coming from the land around us, such as Terra di Siena (internationally known as Raw Siena) or from the vine pruning charcoal I made, along with natural permanent ink from medieval recipes, creating our books using mainly handmade materials and tools.
We will dye fabrics with few plants to add natural nuances to our pages that we will bind together with instinctive embroidery and unconventional art material. We will find inspiration and beauty from Nature and the art around us, to fill our pages with freedom and fun.
Words and poems will also inspire us along with our own artistic creative insights from the four days.
Together we will visit the beautiful museum of Montalcino and the tranquil abbey of Sant’Antimo. During lunch we will taste the wine that my family produces from the land around us. My hope is that all this will provide inspiration for a new way to connect with your infinite creative soul, the soul that each of us carries inside.
The cost of the 4-day workshop is 1.200 euros.
Early bird cost is 980 euros and is available if you register before August 31st 2025.
SEE ENROLLMENT INSTRUCTIONS IN THE FINAL SECTION OF THIS DOCUMENT
PROGRAM
- 4-day workshop.
- Thursday 10am-6pm during the class, I will lead a tour on the property between art workshops (included mine), Room of Wonders and wine cellar, to connect and be inspired by the place that will host our creativity.
- Friday 10am - 6pm we will meet at 10am at the Museum in MONTALCINO town.
- Saturday 10am - 6pm.
- Sunday 9am-5pm we will meet at 9am in Sant’Antimo Abbey.
- Lunch break each day from 1pm-2pm.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to begin the class on time and please avoid leaving the class before the scheduled time to allow the group to maintain focus up to the end especially on the last day, Sunday. The program will move organically, depending on the group energy, letting the flow take the unique direction of the participants’ dynamics. I believe that the beauty of workshops comes primarily from the connection in the group, with the leader as a facilitator and guide.
Transportation from the village of Montalcino and to the Abbey of Sant’Antimo will be provided in case you don’t have a car.
Four light lunches with a daily tasting of Nostravita wines included.
(Please indicate any food intolerances on the registration form)
A coffee and snack corner will be available during the workshop.
MATERIALS
All materials you need, plus a welcoming gift are included in the workshop fee. This will allow you to travel light and to create artwork mainly with new materials and tools to push yourself out of your comfort zone and be fully open to the new.
You will find all tools and materials available here from my personal stashes and workshop, but you are welcome to bring your own (read the “OPTIONAL MATERIALS” list in the next page), giving you the opportunity to make a more personal journal.
However, as already said, you are welcome to come with only your bare hands to be open to a fully surprising experience where the simple tools and materials provided and shared with others will push us to accept collaboration and imperfection.
Consider the book(s) that you create during the 4-day workshop will be just a beginning and ready to be filled, personalized and embellished once back home.
Please do not bring pressed flowers, seeds and seed pods to avoid any risk of contamination for the local nature. You will find many of the local ones available during the 4 days.
OPTIONAL MATERIALS
- PAPERS you like, or you commonly use (unused notepads pages, old books, tea bags, tissue papers from gift and packaging, unconventional collage papers), especially papers with your marks already on them.
- Copies of family photos, pieces of fabric from old clothes you love.
- Your own vintage ephemera, small objects that you would want to include in your journal, dye and stitch on.
LOCATION
This workshop takes place on my family property where I grew up with my sisters and where my family has been producing wine since 2000.
The fields that once hosted our Appaloosa horse breeding have evolved to become
our family winery. Over the last 25 years, a magical transformation has occurred - the organic marriage of beautiful art-filled rooms and handicraft workshops alongside spaces dedicated to producing wine.
Our family home sits beside the building where the workshop will be held and is now surrounded by vineyards and woods. It is here, alongside these spaces where you will have the chance to reconnect with Nature and yourself on a deeper level.
You will see my mom Elena in the vegetable garden or my dad Annibale carving wood sculptures, working on his clay projects, or reading peacefully under the ancient oak tree.
Food provided for our lunches will be made mostly from locally sourced ingredients, nourishing our body with wholesome meals and healthy nutrition that will complement our creative endeavors. I will lead a guided tour of the property at the beginning of the first day.
TRANSPORTATION
Participants arriving to Italy by plane can fly into Firenze (closest airport) or ROME.
We recommend renting a car to explore the beautiful Val d’Orcia surrounding Montalcino. Transportation is also available by train from either airport.
Arriving by train:
- CHIUSI-CHIANCIANO is the easiest station to arrive at from either airport. From CHIUSI to MONTALCINO is 1 hour by car.
- BUONCONVENTO is the nearest train station to Montalcino (15 minutes from the village). It is an option but does require that you change trains to get there.
In case you need, I will help to arrange private taxis at your own cost and if possible I can try to arrange for people to share the cost of the taxi ride.
Please check the trenitalia.com website to organise your trip.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is not included in the workshop fee. We are available to assist in helping find the best accommodation for you.
I encourage you to book a room as soon as possible as Montalcino and the entire area is often fully booked in spring. Montalcino offers many kinds of accommodations that can be found on Booking.com or I suggest AirBnB.com for simpler and more convenient fees. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you will require transportation to class, please be sure to book a room in the village or just outside it it so that you will be close to the transportation pick-up location. In the village, everything is within walking distance with easy access to cafes, shopping, and the many treasures of historic Montalcino.
Montalcino and the surrounding valley known as the Val d’Orcia is a Unesco World Heritage Site famous for its incredible beauty. We encourage you to spend a few additional days in the area.
USEFUL INFORMATION
The temperatures in Tuscany in October can vary greatly from morning to afternoon. The mornings can often start off cool but quickly warm up so my best advice is to dress in layers. If the weather allows, as I hope, we will walk on our land so please bring appropriate shoes and a raincoat. We want you to be comfortable and safe.
Please consider this is a country home with uneven paths and steps...nothing difficult but problems in walking and movements may be a BIG LIMIT for this experience and I sadly discourage you to enroll.
By enrolling, you certify that you do not have any physical condition or disability that would create a hazard for you or other classmates.
Once enrolled, you will receive a document with our address and phone numbers together with a list of some of our favorite shops, restaurants and things to do around Montalcino.
To enroll, we also ask you to read and sign the entire policy and insurance REGISTRATION FORM and to send it back to me via email with the payment. (These documents will be sent by email, and they MUST be signed to participate, no exceptions).
CANCELLATION POLICY
- No refunds permitted after booking.
- After enrolling, in case you cannot participate, you may sell your spot to another person. In case of a waiting list I will be happy to put you in contact with the first of the list.
- As a small business it’s not sustainable to offer refunds. However, if you need to cancel your place up to 30 days before the event you will be offered one or more artworks of mine of the same value.
- If the workshop does not reach the minimum number of participants of 5 individuals, it will be canceled, and your fee will be fully refunded.
- If it needs to be canceled by me due to personal reasons, or acts of nature, your enrollment fee will be fully refunded.
Exceptions to this cancellation policy cannot be made for any reason, including personal emergencies. There is no refund for leaving a program early or arriving late.
Class subject to cancellation if minimum of 5 participants is not filled by October 1st.
Travel insurance is highly recommended for last minute cancellations caused by extenuating circumstances like sickness, accidents etc.
ABOUT ME
a 3-minute video to see so much of what we will create together. The video was filmed in the place where the workshop will be held.
more about my story on my new website. Browse through the pages by selecting from the menu on the left and you will see many of the techniques we will use for the workshop.
my recent interview with Deborah White of “Fibre Arts | Take Two”. You will hear my message of resilience and better understand my energy and my deep sense of passion for art guided by the harmonious rhythms of nature.
ENROLLMENT AND REGISTRATION
3 STEPS TO ENROLL IN “TRA TERRA E CIELO” workshop:
1 - First contact me at carlottaparisi.montalcino@gmail.com to know if there are spaces available and to receive the Registration Form to read and fill. (The easiest way to fill this form is to print it, write it, make a photo - or scan - and send it back, being sure the photo is clear and legible).
2 - Make the payment by Bank transfer to my account:
Carlotta Parisi
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena
VIa Giacomo Matteotti 47, Montalcino (Siena) Italy
IBAN IT51L0103025500000000986128
BIC PASCITMMMTC
A link for payment will be provided for citizens outside the European Union to simplify the bank transfer process.
- 980 euros EARLY BIRD PRICING if you register before August 31st 2025
- 1.200 euros FULL PRICE after August 31st 2025
3 - Send me a copy of your payment receipt along with your completed and signed registration form to confirm your enrollment.
Please notice this sum is non-refundable, it will only be refunded if the entire event is cancelled. (Please read carefully cancellation policy in the workshop pdf or in the registration form before enrolling)
GATHRED WORDS ABOUT MY WORKSHOP
How you taught & what you taught was just great!
You are passionate about it all & it shows.
You transfer all that passion to us as well.
I would take another class from you anytime.
The course has been the best course I have ever been on.
I have done retreats, one day courses with established artists and of course online courses.
It was a real step into your world, your family, your home, Italy, Montalcino. You allowed us to enter into your mind and heart. You shared them both. Things which had happened to you, your poems, your influences.
You filtered what you had learnt from others and gave us, only the good bit. You were very, very generous to us I hope you enjoyed it and that it confirmed that this is something to repeat For sure I’ll be first in line.
Best workshop I have ever been to.
The energy cannot be explained…
it is subtle and the light of Tuscany hugs your soul like your mom.
Just go. Totally worth it. Thank you !!!
Ciò che non si aspettava è la bellezza del vostro posto, la qualità del ambiente, tutti i dettagli ogni giorno per aiutare le nostre ricerche, la gastronomia Toscana e sopratutto la tua personnalità cosi aperta allo scambio e a dare tanto da te stessa. Era veramente commovente di ascoltarti.
A wonderful experience. I met this magnificent reality by chance and immediately fell in love with it. Following Carlotta for 4 days means finding yourself wrapped up between Poetry, Art, Tuscan landscape, and Kindness. Carlotta guided us with competence and professionalism gently through the learning process of how to create color from nature, and how to work with it.
Unforgettable the symphony of colors of the served dishes and wonderful red wine produced by the family themselves.
In short, I recommend it from the heart!
Merci Carlotta Ce stage était plein de générosité et d’émotion partagées Un vrai bonheur pour moi de te rencontrer.
J’ai apprécié tous ces échanges - parfois sans parole - et ces merveilleuses journées de travail en commun dans votre univers artistique familial si chaleureux et si stimulant.
Un moment d’émotion très fort pour moi.
OCTOBER 16-19, 2025
MONTALCINO, ITALY
All my love and gratitude
for choosing to share
this experience with me.
♡
