By Emily Schultz
Recently, a group of students
and I studying abroad here in Florence, Italy had the opportunity to visit a
small town in the countryside of Tuscany and learn about the process of picking
olives and turning those olives into oil. For Italians, olive oil is very
precious. They use copious amounts of it in all of their cooking and view the
process of making it as an art form. Italians rely heavily on the success of
the olive harvest each year. Last year, there was a shortage due to weather
conditions. This year, however, things seem to be looking up.
First, the olives are
raked from the trees.
This process used to
be done solely by hand, however, recently an electronic rake-like devise was
created that greatly decreased the time it took to pick the olives.
Then, the olives go through another machine that
mushes them all up. From there, the mush goes into a contraption that uses
pressure to separate the liquids from the solids.
After witnessing the
process and listening to the Italians talk about creating olive oil, I cannot
help but also now see it as another form of art.
Emily Schultz is a current student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). This semester she will be studying abroad in Florence, Italy at the Studio Art Centers International Florence (SACI). When Emily is not making art, she loves hiking, knitting, and hanging out with friends. You can follow Emily on Instagram and Tumblr, or check out her work on her website at www.emilylynnschultz.com
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