it had already been an intense six-year long distance relationship when she decided to take a leap of faith across the ocean. which is why she claims she finds herself naturally wanting to share this love with the kind of religious zeal usually reserved for missionary proselytyzers. it's a desire to "convert others" to a way of being here that will allow them to be moved by its unspeakable beauty, and open to the delight possible if they slow down, know where to look, and savor the small detail.

most often her neophytes are lost or uninspired travelers asking directions to the parking lot tourist trap called a scenic "piazza", or wearily looking for where to eat or catch the bus.  and just like that, this basic exchange may turn into a quickly suggested itinerary scribbled in map form on the back of a shopping bag complete with landmark monument symbols.

she adds stars to indicate where to enjoy the best homemade gnocci with 4 cheese sauce, the exquisite fra angelico frescoes decorating 500 year-old monestery cells and their grassy green cloister courtyard perfect for refreshing in the middle of the day, that one incense-y ancient church you'd never even notice was there & the time to open its doors to hear the delicate midday acapella singing of nuns & monks, the terrace with a not-to-miss view over lush green tuscan hillsides hidden to most visitors at the back of a renaissance garden, and the number to call to absolutely avoid the unbearable line so you have time to meet michelangelo's masterpiece the david for possibly the only time in your life, seeing as you only have two days here left before your flight...

. . .or hold on just a minute she'll call & make reservations for you since you don't have an italian cellphone.

fluent in not only italian as a language, but also as place, culture, and history, andi earned a bfa with an emphasis in painting with intensive art history training, including a summer study abroad program in greece and italy. 

she then got her masters in fine art at an ivy league univeristy and won a regional artist's grant for her drawing/installation work & created a site-specific gallery installation, followed by a full-tuition scholarship to earn her second masters (in art therapy) at a world-renowned art institute where she explored art's true nature in its philosophical, psychological, and anthropological roots while also completing film & performance art studies.

she taught fine art a university, as a teaching artist with a museum of fine art, & then spent a year as artist-in-resident at an arts high school before moving across the ocean to feed her inner artist.

andi has exhibited her painting, drawing, and installation work in galleries across the us and in italy.

she now brings both her passion and this deep arts training to her university-level students at a private florentine art academy where she is professor of renaissance and modern art history, painting, and drawing, and also leads their weekly art & culture fieldtrip course where they discover hidden stories and little-known gems of the treasures of florence.

for her, it is a joy and an honor to share this knowledge & passion with those who want to see the world as an artist for a day, with an artist for a day.

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