Caffeine

HELL yes.

Cameras

I don’t think we had nearly enough of those at Murano Magic. Next time we should definitely bring more.
(See Flickr)

Caprese Salad

Mozzarella, tomato and basil… what more does a girl need? I could LIVE on those. Seriously.

Carbs

Yum yum.

Carlo Dona

1. Renowned maker of tools for glass artists.
2. Possibly the only person to make a profit from Murano Magic.

I didn’t buy any tools, by the way. I don’t really get the whole tool obsession thing. I guess I’m just not much of a tool person – give me a mandrel, some tweezers, a marver, my crunch/squeeze press thingie and of course, a SWISH STICK, and I’m happy.
http://www.carlodona.com

Carrots

Carrots are hilarious, but I don’t exactly remember why. I think the joke started somewhere around Lucio Bubacco’s work, but evolved into something different entirely. “You say tomato, I say carrot”, or something like that? I just can’t explain. You had to be there.

Spotted in Lucio's Studio

Cash Withdrawal

Mission impossible on Murano and in most of Venice.
Why? No comprendo.
But if you ever go, you should probably take a bunch of cash with you. You’ll need it. Trust me.
(See Euros.)

Chalcedony

The elusive silver glass used in Murano, apparently made by Effetre 10 years ago and no longer available in rod form. It’s some very cool stuff. I have no idea why they won’t make more. I’m thinking it would be quite profitable.

I got a 2-inch piece of rod from Q, but had to physically fight him for it. There was blood involved. I kid you not. I’m not sure if I should even use the rod – if it turns yellow in the kiln or something, I will be heartbroken.

Check out the colors in that guitar.
(Please ignore everything else.)

Change of Shoes

Something that makes the good life even better, just every now and then. :-)

Cheese

A tasty substance that seems to show up everywhere in Italy in various shapes and forms, except at wine and cheese parties.

China

Sadly enough, the source of what seems to be the majority of Muranese glass. Apparently, there is now a village in China called ‘Murano’, so even if something has a ‘Made in Murano’ sticker on it, you can never be sure. (Do a Google search for “Murano China” and you’ll see what I mean.)
Some shops in Murano (the one in Italy) actually sell the genuine Italian stuff and the crappy Chinese stuff side-by-side. It really sucks.

OMG, they killed Murano! YOU BASTARDS.

Chips

Chips are good. Chips were devoured by the ton at the studio on a daily basis. It’s kind of amazing that we were all able to go out for dinner every night after that.
Now I am craving chips. And a Caprese salad. Goddamnit.

Chocolate

What? WHERE?!

Ciao, Bella!

An Italian phrase that makes female tourists of all ages blush and giggle, especially when uttered by hot Italian chefs named Simone who own their own restaurant and will make you a special vegetarian dish (it’s their Mom’s recipe) if you smile and bat your eyelashes at them.

Cola Zero

This stuff is NOT DIET COKE. Please take it the hell away from me.

Colonna

One of the Vaporetto (water bus) stops on Murano, worth mentioning only because of the bizarre incident that happened to me and Linda Lee:

I think it was a Friday, and it was definitely rush hour – something like 5 o’ clock? We decided to get on the bus-boat to go get some gelato. The bus was PACKED, sort of like a big floating can of sardines. We try to get off at Colonna, when suddenly, EVERYONE on the bus starts yelling at us in Italian. Since neither of us speaks Italian, all we could do was glance at eachother and shrug, while pushing and elbowing people in attempt to get the hell off that bus. We still have no idea what we did to piss everyone off so much. All I can say is, beware of Colonna at rush hour. The gelato was good though. The company wasn’t bad either.

Corina

When I first heard that Corina Tettinger was going to be on Murano at the same time as us, there were two thoughts going through my mind. The first one was, oh cool, I’d REALLY like to meet her. The second one was she probably has no idea who the hell I am, and even if she does, she probably hates me.

“Why do you think she hates you?” A few people whom I shared these thoughts with had to ask.
“Well, if I were her, I’d probably hate me.”
“Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps not all beadmakers are as viciously competitive as you are?”
“Nah. They all are.”

Oddly enough, when I finally ran into Corina (that’s the way it is on Murano – you’re always running into major glass celebs by accident), she did know who I was and we sort of “clicked” instantaneously. There’s just something about her – a fun, dynamic and creative energy. We got to talk a lot, and we even did a couple of little bead collaborations at the studio (see Democrazy) – those mutual creations were definitely one of the highlights of my trip. And I got to keep them. :-)

Cosita

Pati Walton’s Chihuahua, Murano Magic Mascot and constant source of smiles.

Creativity

Definitely one of the best parts of Murano Magic; it was just oozing from within us and all around us.
(Haha, I am so poetic today.)

Creme Brulee

Something to be avoided on the island of Murano, at all costs. If it’s available, have some fresh pineapple instead – hard to go wrong with that!
(See Butter.)

Crikey!

A fantastico Australian swear word. I’m not sure what it means, but you can use it in a wide variety of situations.