Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 14

Here‘s a secret: you will never be fully ready to do the things that scare you. Don’t waste your life waiting for ideal conditions that never come. Write that novel now. Start that project today. It will never get easier, but you can choose to get braver.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 10

I just wrote a Substack post about the YouTube channel I will be starting this summer. Let me know in the comments there if there is a particular type of video you would like from me. Thank you. 💛

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 9

I have a lot to say about how to read the Roman and medieval classics that may appear inaccessible, why artists need to study the Renaissance and learn about art history, and underrated beautiful museums in Italy. Perhaps I need a YouTube channel.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 9

STEM and the arts are so often pitted against each other nowadays. It would seem nonsensical to Leonardo da Vinci, who was both an artist and an engineer. We need science to improve life, and art to give meaning to it. It’s a partnership, not a war.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 9

If you want to be a writer, never stop reading. Pay attention to the words and phrases authors use. How do they make you feel? How does the author build tension and transition from one scene to the next? Ask questions, stay curious, and always keep learning.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 8

I see too many online young artists who don’t study art history. They say using references is “cheating”, and don’t know that Titian used courtesans as models. They cannot recognise Renaissance symbolism. They don’t get that the humanities are vital.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 7

You must never abandon hope. There was a time when so much of the beauty we have today — Michelangelo’s David, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Saint Peter’s Basilica — could not even be imagined. We human beings can always, always build a better world.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 7

C. S. Lewis said that art has always had to exist in the shadow of something more important. Humans have always created art amidst wars, struggles, and emergencies because they wanted beauty now and didn’t want to wait for perfect conditions that never come.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 5

You won’t get to do everything you want to do. You have limited time and energy; acquiring skills and completing projects takes a lot of both. You must get to know yourself deeply enough to discern what is most essential to you, and focus on that.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · May 5

I just published a Substack post (Recent Ruminations). Writing this book is taking up most of my time and energy, so this post is a short update, but it mentions some interesting Italian art and literature you might want to check out. It’s free to read. Link in bio!

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 26

Society tells us happiness comes from accomplishing our career goals. Personally, I was happiest as a teen in Italy wandering down the alleys of Venice, reading in cafes, looking at Titian paintings, enjoying what we call “dolce far niente” (the sweetness of doing nothing).

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 26

An artist will always have more ideas than finished works. Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks are full of concepts that were never realised. What matters is your ability to choose which of your ideas deserve your time and energy, and the skill with which you execute them.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 26

I went to my father’s house near Venice and saw his books on Renaissance art, Catholic icons (my parents named me “Icona”, the Italian word for “icon”) and Italian literature, and realised how deeply they shaped me.

The books your children grow up surrounded by matter. 💛

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 26

Every time I visit my parents near Venice I am reminded of what a great life you can have if you live in a walkable town, have access to fresh produce, are surrounded by art and live in a culture with a strong sense of community.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 17

In order to make art, you must first see great art! I was lucky to grow up near Venice where I could regularly see Titian’s paintings, but wherever you are, borrow art books from the library, study the drawings of the masters, sketch in museums. Keep getting drunk on beauty.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 16

In more mundane news, today I completed a quest akin to Aeneas finding the golden bough: I finally, after much searching, found one nail artist in my area who does dip nails without using UV light (which I don’t want on my skin). I am very pleased with the result.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 14

In order to write you must live! You must go out into the world and experience tragedies and triumphs, beauty and betrayals. Dante watched the woman he loved marry another man and die young, then he was exiled from Florence. That, I’m afraid, is how you write The Divine Comedy.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 14

Additionally, I can also reply to more of you when you leave me comments in different languages. 😊

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 14

Education is not just a mean to a job. I speak English, Italian, French and Spanish and I have never made a career out of it, but all the literature I read in the original language expanded my mind and worldview beyond recognition. Learning shapes you as a person.

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Icona @iconawrites.bsky.social · Apr 14

I am tired of all these tourists going down the same old tourist trail in Venice. I am soon taking my English husband to visit my parents near Venice where I grew up. When I do, I’m going to show you where I as an Italian go, what I eat, etc. I hope this will help someone!

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