Auria Bohn is an American mixed media artist who has been residing in Italy for nearly twenty years. She presently lives on Monte Morello, a small mountain just outside of Florence where she shares a 500 year-old stone farm house with her husband, two young, energetic boys, two black cats, wild cinghiale, an owl family and numerous geckos.
Since moving to the countryside, she’s been rediscovering her artistic path – one that has led her through many twists and turns since her youth. Having been raised by parents that were both artists themselves, she grew up in an environment that nurtured and sparked her curiosity for the arts. Fresh sumi-e ink, wet oil paintings and wood smoke from raku ceramic firings were a part of her daily, family life.
Presently in the thick of raising her own children in Italy, her creative journey has reemerged stronger than ever. Led by her curiosity and love of watercolors and inks, Auria has passed the last five years exploring the boundaries of these mediums and even making her own out of local plant species, vines, and rock samples she finds out her back door.
Her mixed media pieces combine a variety of materials, many of them hand made in Italy – including vintage papers from the local antique market and metallic leaf manufactured by Giusto Manetti -a historic Italian family of guilders.
Art making, simply put – has been her home away from home - a space that continues to connect her to her creative upbringing and the abundance of the natural world.
wisteria blooming; golden spring light from my kitchen window
a love of books, family, fall leaves, feathers and the landscape of my youth in Palouse , WA - you know, typical artist stuff...:-))
Italian poppies, Italian walls
growing boys who remind me to stay flexible and be stronger
almond blossoms turning pink in the fading sun. My view from Monte Morello.
discovering new places and landscapes in Italy with my boys, Amedeo and Aurelio
watching bugs and insects in the natural world
iris and lilacs picked from the abandoned farmhouse next door
the first place I look in the morning to see what the day will bring.
discovering new inks and materials in nearby Florence.
colors, and more colors and more black and more black
a butterfly found by the edge of the road
simple ink drops in clear water