Group of families from Santa Barbara

Just recently I had the wonderful pleasure of conducting a lesson with a group of families visiting from Santa Barbara, California. Our lesson was in the great open-air classroom of the Loggia dei Lanzi next to Piazza Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio, the Florence 'city hall' since medieval times. The group was varied in age, from four years old to bigger 'kids'. We all had a great time sketching, and also trying out some watercolors, too! Here are some comments:

"This experience with Mike was truly fabulous. My four year old son, ten year old daughter and her friends and the moms all learned and enjoyed the sketching. We will look at things with a fresh pair of eyes and notice shapes and dimensions. I will continue to keep the sketch pad and pencil at hand as we travel. Thank you!"

"It was fun because I got to use the Japanese pen. Thank you."

"I loved it! I learned a lot. It was the perfect way to start our tour of "looking" around and "seeing" Florence. Thank you."

"I liked how you worked on a piece of art with us. I love my tower."

"What a great way to slow down in Florence. Thank you"