Head out of Florence into Chianti, and it won’t be long before you stumble upon the town of Greve in Chianti. Greve is the home of the “Cittaslow” movement, a global initiative inspired by Slow Food. Today I’m here to meet artist Pamela Jarrett at her local, Caffè Le Logge.
What were you doing before you became an artist?
I was assistant manager at the Ritz-Carlton in New York. Then I had this epiphany that I needed to be creative. But I also needed to make money.
What sparked your creative ambition?
I quit drinking. In the hotel business, there was this craziness all around me. I suddenly had this realization that I needed to do something from the inside. One day I was looking in New York Magazine and I saw a little ad for the School of Specialist Decoration. I thought, I could do that to make money; it’s not like a fine art. I visited the school and burst into tears, I loved the smell, the panels; I loved all the marbles. I went home and said to my husband, “I’ve got to do this but we can’t afford it.” My mother called that night and told me my uncle Johnny died. It turned out he had all this money that we didn’t know about. He’d given me just enough to go to school and live on for six months. I resigned the next day from the hotel, went to the school, and practised and practised. In a few months I started my own business.
What brought you to Italy?
I used to commission out fine art to artists in my jobs because I couldn’t paint or draw. It irked me that I couldn’t do it myself. Then a friend of mine gave me a book called The Artist’s Way, which is a 12-week creative recovery programme. After reading it, I said to my husband, “I am a fine artist.” He said, “Okay, go to school.” I was 42 and I thought, I want to do it right, I have to go to Italy. My husband was working on Wall Street and I said, “What do you think about moving to Florence?” and he said, “Let’s do it”. I said, “What will you do?” He was wonderful. He just said, “I’ll write the great American novel.”
Why did you opt for Greve rather than Florence?
We saw apartment after apartment and they were just not right. Then we saw one house in Greve. In The Artist’s Way, one of the exercises is to describe your imaginary home and I thought, this is the place.
And how did you choose your art school?
I walked around Florence visiting all the schools and I didn’t know what I was doing. Then in front of the Charles H. Cecil school there was a plaque that said, ‘This is the studio of Romanelli, a famous sculptor’. My landlord’s name was Romanelli. It turned out it was her grandfather. I thought, that’s the school.
How did your work as a copyist at the National Gallery come about?
We went back and forth for a few years between the US and Italy. At one stage my husband got a great job in Washington D.C. Working at the National Gallery was one of the best things I’ve ever done. We had one day a week and you could paint anything you wanted. I love that and my painting reached a different level.
How do you get ideas for paintings?
Usually I see something. I love fruit and vegetables. I think they are just the most beautiful thing. I go down to Barbara at the fruit and vegetable market here on the Borgo and I just look at her stuff. She says, “Are you looking for a painting?” If I am, she lets me touch everything. She’s perfect. She’s put up with me for years.
Now I know art isn’t the only thing you’ve been learning in Italy. Would you share the story of how you learnt to cook here?
I grew up in a restaurant and always ate there. Then I went into the hotel business where you eat at the hotel. My landlord in Greve said you have to cook this dish or that dish. I said, “I can’t cook.” She said, “You must cook. You’re in Italy.” She introduced me to Angela Guzzolini, an old friend of hers who taught cooking. I went for classes at Brolio Castle, near Siena. We were in the kitchen of the castle and it was just me and Angela. The Barone Ricasoli was a childhood friend of hers, and so we would all eat what we cooked. She was wonderful.
Do you cook more these days?
Now I cook every day. And I think I’m a good cook.
Your story is such a wonderful example of how if we put the time and effort in we can accomplish anything.
I think everyone can do everything. It’s just a question of interest, work and practice. Everybody I’ve ever taught has said, “I can’t even draw a stick figure”. They can’t imagine they can do it, but they can.
Everything that’s happened to you, do you think it’s more than a coincidence?
It’s absolutely unbelievable. I believe in all of that. I mean, why did I meet this person? Why did I see that? You just have to keep your mind open.
Pamela Jarrett’s art is sold in the gallery La Civetta in the piazza in Greve in Chianti.
