Magazine

My introduction to CERVO began with LOVE BEYOND, a weekend gathering of like-minded people exploring lectures, wellness practices and both creative and nature focused activities. Hosting an art workshop in an alpine meadow surrounded by snowcapped peaks and a quiet stream was a surreal beginning to my residency.

Once I settled into the space that would be my home and studio for the next three weeks, I unpacked my suitcase filled with raw canvas, pigments, brushes and charcoal, the tools for whatever might emerge. I had intentionally arrived without a fixed plan, chooxsing instead to let the environment guide me. It was a liberating but nerve-racking decision.

In those early days, I resisted the urge to produce artwork. Instead, I hiked long routes through the mountains that helped me reset and acclimate both physically and mentally.

I also developed a morning ritual: wrapped in a duvet with a cup of coffee on the balcony, I watched the sun rise over the Matterhorn. Observing the light shift from darkness to dawn was extraordinary with the view never repeating itself. My room, perched above the valley and framed by glass, felt more like a treehouse than a hotel suite. It became both a studio and a sanctuary, a place to look outward and inward in equal measure.

Through these rhythms and my morning ritual of watching the sunrise, my first project Color Swatch Diary, began. On a long piece of raw canvas, I taped a grid of five squares horizontally and twenty-one vertically — one row for each day of my residency. Every morning, I would photograph the same ridge line of the Matterhorn and distill the five most prominent colors from that moment. These became the palette for that day’s row. What began as a playful exercise evolved into one of my favorite works — a quiet, visual record of time and place.

Alongside this, I began painting studies of native alpine flowers using gouache on raw canvas. Some of these species I encountered on my hikes; others I discovered through botanical archives. Painting the flora of this region allowed me to connect more deeply with Zermatt through the lens of nature. Still, it wasn’t until the second half of my stay that I found my true rhythm and creative flow.

During the LOVE BEYOND workshop, I demonstrated how to work loosely with charcoal, sketching a spontaneous mountain landscape. The gestural quality of the medium felt fresh and liberating and I knew I wanted to return to that sense of immediacy in my own work.

Back in my room, I tore the remaining canvas into large rectangles and taped them to the walls and sliding doors. With music playing and the mountains just beyond the glass, I began what became my favorite series: expressive floral pieces that merged the endemic Swiss alpine flora with California Tree Poppies. Including California natives in the menagerie of flora was my way of representing myself in this landscape. By the end of the residency, my space had transformed into a vibrant gallery wall.

The shift from mid to late autumn was its own kind of performance. From the first snowfall arriving even as the trees still held their color. To witness that transformation from my balcony each morning felt like a rare privilege.

Throughout the residency, I kept a daily journal. Some entries about process, others about the smaller moments: the quality of morning light to what the atmosphere was like at breakfast. Reading back through those pages now, I can relive each detail that made this time so meaningful.

As I left Zermatt, watching the mountains recede through the train window, I carried with me not only a collection of sketches and ideas but also a renewed sense of excitement for the studio work ahead. The pieces I created at CERVO feel like the beginning of an ongoing dialogue: between movement and stillness, intuition and structure.

For that and for every sunrise, snowfall and kind word by the staff — I am endlessly grateful.

Until next time, CERVO.

Danke schön,

Velia De Iuliis