Photos and stories from Venice

Venetian artists collaborate for world-famous art.

Announcement: On June 1, I will be speaking to women entrepreneurs on collaboration and why it’s good for business. Join us at the Roy and Helen Hall Memorial Library in McKinney. The meeting is from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. See end of this post for scannable QR code for registration. The monthly Zoom webinar for paid subscribers will cover the same topic.

Today I visited Burano on the island of Mazzorbo in the lagoon of Venice where over 100 islands form the region.

Burano is known for several things. Lace, bold, bright colors on their homes, fishing, and a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Photo I took of a canal and colorful homes in Burano.

In addition to the photo opp bridges, one of my favorite stops was at a lace-making business. In Burano, there are only a handful of women that still make lace by hand.

This shop is named for the owner, Martina Vidal. She told me that she is taking steps to spread the word about the art of making lace by hand. She wants to interest younger people to learn the art of hand-made lace so she hosts workshops and is making a 3-D virtual reality experience targeted to younger generations.

For her production, they have a collaborative process which takes seven women with seven specialized skills to make many of the elegant lace products they sell. For generations, women have made table linens, bed linens, scarves and clothes with handmade lace, first for noblemen’s wives and now for tourists.

These women have collaborated over many generations so it must come easy to them.

It’s not always easy if there is not a common purpose. And as women entrepreneurs and women in business, we can benefit from collaborating with others and grow if we know how to approach a collaboration. I’ll be sharing my thoughts and experiences on collaboration at the event on June 1 and in the paid Zoom session.

There are bountiful shops on the island with lace and only a handful that make placemats, tablecloths, runners and many other products by hand. The photo below is of a woman at Martina Vidal’s shop making lace and the other is explaining the process.

It’s more than amazing to see world-famous paintings, gold glass mosaic ceilings and medieval and Renaissance buildings. Along the way, tour guides fill our heads with dizzying amounts information about the artists and architects who made those masterpieces.

One artist on my bucket list was Jacobi Tintoretto, a well-known Renaissance artist in Venice. He was one of the most talented artists in Venice at the time, but his teacher, Titian, was jealous of his abilities and did everything he could to block him from receiving commissions and discrediting him. Tintoretto had to learn to market himself in order to make a living

One his most famous works is The Paradise, housed in the Doge’s Palace in St. Mark’s Square in Venice. In addition to many other paintings, there are portraits hung next to the ceiling on the top edge of the walls. All were painted in the same style but from different artists. They must have had to collaborate to determine the style, colors and size to make them uniform in appearance, except for the faces.

Collaboration is a skill we can learn to benefit our livelihoods and our enjoyment of our businesses. It’s necessary whether you are a business owner or work in a company, non-profit, or an institution.

Join me to learn more about collaboration at the June 1 event. Or if you can’t be there or you are in a different location, it will also be the topic of the Zoom webinar for paid subscribers.

See bonus photo and story below.

Grazie Mille!

A thousand thanks!

Bonus photo:

The photo below is of the stunning main stage of Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy. Andrea Palladio designed it in 1580. lt is designed and built to represent the city of Thebes. Because there wan’t much money for the theater, Palladio designed the set from wood, stucco, and paper-mache. Statues that line the theater were made with a wire frame and paper-mache. The set was removed from the theater during WWII and kept safe in Venice.

Please excuse typos, grammar or other mistakes. This is the first time I’ve used my phone to write to you. Share your stories about Venice with me!