News

Lynne Hobaica, our de Poi exchange artist, is finishing up her last few days in Perugia. She had a full house for her June 11 presentation at the Academy of Fine Arts. Last year's recipient of the de Poit award, Qing Qu, who spent three weeks in residency in Seattle with Pottery Northwest, was one of the attendees, along with our sister city president Leslie Keller.

Hobiaca (below, right) created this beautiful pitcher with the image of the griffin, the symbol of Perugia. (It's also the name of our sister city e-newsletter.) She presented this lovely ceramic piece to City of Perugia officials to thank them for welcoming her so warmly.

Well done, Lynne!

Sad news for the Italian community and for those who appreciate historic preservation. The Garden House on Beacon Hill, where the Dante Alighieri Society has held its meetings for many years, may be looking for a new home.

The Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs voted this week to put the house up for sale. Built 145 years ago, it is the oldest building on Beacon Hill. The future of the historic property, valued at more than $2 million, is up in the air. Read more here.

Seattle ceramist Lynne Hobaica is winding up her three-week residency in Perugia as the 2018 De Poi Award recipient. She is the third artist to participate in the exchange program.

Hobaica, below, a native of Phoenix, received a BFA from Syracuse University, N.Y., and an MFA in sculptural conceptions/ceramics from the College of Fine Arts in Linz, Austria.

About 20 Seattle Perugia Sister City and Il Punto members joined Marialucia Luongo at our May 22 event at Caruccio's Culinary Event Center on Mercer Island.

Luongo, a journalist and teacher, is originally from Naples but has lived in Perugia for 23 years. At the event, she shared her passion for food with our group, bringing a little piece of Italy to the Pacific Northwest. We learned more about each dish served, its ingredients and how to prepare it.

Thank you, Marialucia!