COLLAGE as a Visual Language . . . 

Surrounded by the history, culture and beauty of Italy, you’ll learn to use materials in a new and meaningful way as you bring your most cherished memories into the present. On this extraordinary collage journey with Berri, you’ll learn to combine personal imagery of a loved one, or that of a beloved memory, with a multitude of personal elements and vintage materials. Plus you’ll learn to incorporate Italy’s ancient methods into your own meaningful works.

ABOUT Berri Kramer

Berri Kramer grew up in Lincoln, Massachusetts and spent as many hours as she could in the studios at DeCordova Museum. She earned a BFA in Design and Crafts from Kent State University and a Masters in Fiber from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. Berri was the founder and President of Heartwood College of Art which thrived in Maine for 25 years.

In her annual Italy workshop, Berri shares her extensive experience, knowledge and unique approach to collage with a small group of students – and in an intimate and idyllic setting.

” My work reflects the blocks of color and patterns that surround all of us everyday. I am fascinated by the tools and tracks that are unintentionally left behind. …a fiber remnant, a letter or a feather. The exercise in choosing from endless imagery and palettes, and editing it to distill the message, has become my practice in every medium. Often the scale of these snippets is exaggerated or reduced to take the viewer away from the ‘assumed’. The simplest forms can often tell the greatest story.”

COLLAGE AS A VISUAL LANGUAGE … Exploring Recipes for Surfaces

• Experiment with printed, painted and altered vintage papers utilizing a variety of inks, washes and stains. A unique packet of ephemera and vintage papers is included for each student
• Combine different papers, such as rice, mulberry, tissue, teabag, etc. to create varied textures, layers and translucency
• Use a gel plate to create surfaces with textures and impressions that add dimension to your artwork
• Explore everyday found materials to distress and alter papers
• Learn to print with vintage wooden text to add scale variation and a unifying design element.
• Incorporate your personal photos into a collage to tell a visual story.
• Employ several exciting new transfer techniques for your images.
• Work on a variety of substrates including, vintage tins, antique book covers, wooden blocks and 140 lb paper suitable for framing.
• Recognize the importance of composition, scale and value within a given perimeter
• Add line and shape with a variety of methods and materials
• Incorporate amazing, ancient techniques into your collage – including faux marbling
• Learn how Italian masters used gold leaf centuries ago, and how it can be used today in your artwork

ITINERARY

Day 1 – Sunday: Arrival

• Welcome and Trip Orientation
• Aperitivo, dinner

Benvenuti in Italia! Upon arrival at Rome Fiumicino Airport our private drivers will transport you to the Italian countryside, and your boutique hotel accommodations in the unspoiled village of Città della Pieve. After check in, and time to get settled, you’ll join Berri in the roomy workshop space for an overview of the exciting workshop ahead. Afterwards, we’re off on a fascinating walking tour of the historic center of the village, followed by a delicious, regional-style dinner prepared by Chef Jordy.

Day 2 – Monday: Studio & Frescoes

• Highlights: Instruction, fresco lesson, pizza night
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner

This morning, after an elegant, buffet-style breakfast, you’ll join Berri for a full morning session as you explore papers in a special, ephemera packet, and learn to set up and make gel prints with different textures and variation of palettes, on rice paper, tissue paper, copy paper, dictionary pages, book pages and more. Then it’s off to our friends’ nearby cafe for lunch.

This afternoon you’ll enjoy a shortsession with Berri, followed by a fascinating lesson on fresco painting with our friend, Francesca. This evening we’re off to our friends’ wood-fired pizzeria for pizza dinner.

Day 3 – Tuesday: Assisi

• Highlights: Excursion to Assisi
• Breakfast, dinner

This morning we get an early start as our private drivers transport us to the medieval hill town of Assisi with its unspoiled, winding alleyways and spectacular views of the valley below. Here you’ll enjoy a private, guided tour of the incredible Basilica di Assisi with Giott0’s 13th century series of frescos, depicting scenes from the life of St. Frances of Assisi. Afterwards you’ll have the opportunity to explore, shop and enjoy lunch on your own at any one of Assisi’s inviting cafes or trattorie.

This afternoon you’ll head to the studio with Berri, where you’ll explore recipes for surfaces, including layering. This evening we’re off to a nearby cafe for a apericena (aperitivo and light dinner).

Day 4 – Wednesday: Studio & Faux Marble 

• Highlights: Tour of cathedral, studio, food tour
• Breakfast, dinner

This morning, after breakfast, we’ll join our friend, Luisa, for an incredible tour of the town’s spectacular cathedral with its faux marble decorations and Renaissance masterpieces. You’ll also have the opportunity to glimpse hidden rooms that are not open to the public. Then it’s off to the studio with Berri as you continue working on our various collage projects. Lunch today is on your own, and can be taken at any one of the village’s cafes or bars.

This afternoon you’ll continue working on your projects in the studio. In the evening you’ll enjoy a delightful food tour (i.e. walking dinner) that includes an aperitivo in a private home, cheese and wine tasting in a local enoteca, panini schiacciati at Luca’s panini stand …. and more.

Day 5 – Thursday: Studio & Picnic

• Highlights: Studio, excursion to Santa Maria dei Angeli
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner

This morning, after breakfast, it’s off to the studio with Berri, as you continue your projects and explore recipes for surfaces, including the use of gold leaf and incorporating text. Lunch today will be served up at our friends’ inviting cafe.

In the afternoon you’ll continue working on your projects with Berri. This evening we head to a humble, countryside church with a grand history linked to local women and children, as well as hundreds of years of pilgrimages. Here you’ll enjoy a private tour and rustic-style barbecue and picnic.

Day 6 – Friday: Studio & Final Critique

• Highlights: Studio, final critique
• Breakfast, dinner

This morning you’ll once again head to the studio with Berri for a final morning session that includes bringing your projects to completion. Lunch today is served up at a nearby cafe, followed by continued time in the studio into the afternoon.

In late afternoon you’ll wrap up your projects in the studio before joining Berri for a final, celebratory critique, followed by a delicious, chef-prepared dinner at a local trattoria.

Day 7, Friday: Departure

Early morning transport to Rome Fiumicino Airport.

ACCOMMODATIONS ~ Boutique Hotel Vannucci

Hotel Vannucci began as a project of Vittoria Spinola, daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele II, who fled Pisa (and an arranged marriage with her elderly husband) to start a new life with her lover in Città della Pieve. Here, she and her soon-to-be new husband, Paolo, built two villas that became luxurious holiday accommodations for wealthy Romans vacationing in the countryside. In 1903 one of the villas became Hotel Vannucci, and today it maintains the elegance and refinement of its inception, with luxurious sleeping rooms, marble bathrooms and inviting gardens. A stay here is truly special, nestled just outside the medieval walls of the historic, and unspoiled, village of Città della Pieve.

VIEW Photo Gallery

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• 6 night stay at Boutique Hotel Vannucci in Città della Pieve
• Private ground transportation to/from Rome Fiumicino Airport on arrival and departure days
• All Breakfasts
• 3 Lunches
• All Dinners
• Daily demonstrations, instruction and guidance with Berri Kramer
• Incorporating text lesson with Susan Wilder
• Multitude of ephemera materials including vintage tins, antique buttons, stamps, etc.
• Pizza night
• Excursions to Assisi and Chiesa Santa Maria dei Angeli
• Food tour (i.e. walking dinner)
• Private guided visit to Duomo di Santi Gervasio e Protasio
• Free time for exploring and shopping on your own

Not included: Airfare, meals, alcoholic drinks, buses, trains or boat transportation outside of that which is specifically listed in the trip package, gratuities for hotel staff and drivers

The Unexpected is Part of the Journey: Sometimes unexpected things come up. If there is unscheduled closing or schedule change, we carefully pivot to include something that is equally as wonderful and interesting, so that the quality of your experience is never at risk. ☺️

What Berri’s Students are Saying…

🌻 Shatters any expectation anyone could have for an art workshop… An experience of a lifetime doesn’t begin to capture the magic that happened in Berri Kramer’s art workshop embedded in the insightful hands of Strada Toscana. This union is further enhanced in attending to needs and interest of the inexperienced to the seasoned artist, from the inexperienced to the seasoned traveler. We all left feeling not just attended to with patience and encouragement but truly pampered in the fairy tale setting of Citta della Pieve. ~ Patti W.

🌻 Immersive, joyful, lively, reflective, renewing, and adventure-filled. These are just some of the words I’d use to describe Berri Kramer’s Legacy College Workshop offered through Strada Toscana in the lovely village of Citta della Pieva, Italy. We were treated to unique and impeccably-curated experiences throughout our stay….I can’t say enough about Berri Kramer, who is an inspiring and compassionate teacher, and who sees an artist in each person she meets, and Pamela Haack of Strada Toscana who dots every “i” and crosses every “t” to ensure that workshop participants are treated to a true boutique travel experience. I’m going back next year! ~ Becky J.

🌻 Berri Kramer’s legacy workshop in Italy came at the perfect time in my life. My mother had just recently passed away and when I saw the workshop offering it seemed a wonderful opportunity to honor my mother, her support of my artistic journey and a chance to heal from the challenges that come from such an important transition in life. Berri created a unique workshop experience [that] is the perfect combination of art, culture, history and exploration. We were treated to incredible local food, lodging in a charming upscale hotel in the picturesque village of Citta delle Pieve, and a fun group to spent time exchanging stories and making art in a great studio location. It was an experience I will treasure for years to come. ~ Suzan S.

🌻 The most carefully planned art workshop I could have hoped for… It’s impossible to summarize the effect of bringing our own photos, stories, and memories, then learning the myriad techniques to turn them into cherished art to share with our families. Berri’s guiding hand was there whenever needed… To say the effect was transformative somehow seems insufficient. ~ Margaret D.

🌻 Amazing trip and workshop! Fun, informative, organized, inspiring, interesting, filling (food – yes!), creative, artistically active and instructive – all in a magnificently beautiful setting! Best time ever! Thank you! ~Kathy

🌻 This art experience was all inclusive – and it was the glue that put this “life collage” together. A once in a lifetime journey of outstanding organization and balance of activities. Every moment was a treasure. Thank you SO MUCH for this life experience!  ~ Marcia

🌻 Berri Kramer’s collage workshop in Italy turned into a life-affirming foray into color, shape, texture, design, play and confidence. Could not have ever dreamed of the many life-enriching, immersive experiences within the already exciting experience that I signed up for. Joyous moments bubbled throughout our art workshop – no moment that didn’t dance with learning…. and filling all the senses. Recommending to all! ~ Patti

🌻 The collage workshop was helpful, educational and fun! This experience gave me new insight. Berri is so generous and talented, she has an enormous capacity for sharing on many levels. I certainly would recommend traveling and doing art with Berri.  ~ Lee

🌻 Just the best week of laughter and learning and meeting a new tribe of artistic souls. Every experience was lovely and so well planned. I have learned so much more than I could have expected – not only about the visual language of collage, but also about the history of our beautiful Italian village – I am coming back soon! ~ Bebra

🌻 This experience has been beyond inspirational. Berri and Susan pushed me out of my comfort zones and helped me re-establish healthier boundaries for me to consider, and to bring home to my studio. This has been a life changing experience. The only bad part is that not other tour will match what I’ve just witnessed! ~ Tim

🌻 This workshop was so wonderful, and I learned a lot! It was by far the most fun and interesting trip I’ve  taken in a long time (and I’ve been on a number of trips!). Everything was exceptional. What an experience – I plan to tell everyone! ~ Karen

Collage As A Visual Language with Berri Kramer

TRIP DETAILS:

• Dates: April 12-18, 2026
• Trip Price: $3,995 – $4,495 USD per person (select room type upon booking)
• Room Descriptions:
  • Single: Single occupancy, single bed, private ensuite bathroom
  • Classic: Single occupancy, double bed, private ensuite bathroom with walk-in shower
  • Superior: Single occupancy, double bed, private ensuite bathroom with tub/shower combination
  • Deluxe: Double occupancy, double bed or two singles, private ensuite bathroom with tub and shower (specifically for couples or friends traveling together)
• A $700 deposit is required to book your space on this trip
• Remaining trip balance payment automatically charged to the credit card on file, 120 days prior to the trip start date
• Terms and Conditions

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