ONE WEEK UNTIL JKP

What JKP stands for is "John Keats Pilgrimage". Thats what I'm going to call my upcoming trip to London/Florence. Because lets face it. I'm going to go hang out with matt. And I'm going to go cry in front of the Turners, and the Duomo, and all the Italian food....but the most important stuff that I'm going to be crying in front of (and thus making art related to and inspired by) is the Keats stuff. Like his house in Hamstead. And the Heath. And how I'm going to Rome to see the house he died in, and his grave (this is the part where all of you should start feeling very badly for matt).

I think its going to be pretty great. I'm excited to the point where I'm just agitated all the time. I've been to these cities before, but never at this time of year, and never with serious intentions. I want to explore the places, certainly, enjoy them and have fun. But what is going to be so exciting, so fun for me is to explore the person, the people, and the ideas that have influenced me over the past half year. All summer I could see what I was creating unraveling and coming together and unravelling again. There are all these pieces missing, like little clues I still have to find, to put everything together. I have all of these images, drawings mostly, but also photos, that are all connected, are all together but not quite. And they have something to do with Keats but I don't quite know what. I need to take them farther. And I think two months in Europe can help me do that. I have to do a lot of exploring. I have no idea what sort of images are going to come out of me, but I feel ready. I feel as though a bunch of stuff is just going to come screaming out of me, and I don't know what, but with some prodding and exploration, it will.

So anyway, keep reading this blog for travel stories, pictures of amusing stuff, general tid bits about Florence, etc. To see the work I'm making, check out my other blog: Emily Jay Painting

Ciao ciao ciao!