An artistic retreat - An Australian artist shares her paradise grove with travellers

How did you come to run an olive farm in Italy and host workawayers?

I was born and raised in Australia, but my husband and I had been living in Asia for a good part of the last 20 years before coming to Italy. In Tokyo and Hong Kong, we were working, extremely long hours, and we were ready for a life change. I had made many trips to Italy to study old master painting techniques. So, Italy was close to my heart.

Our olive farm is near Umbertide, which is about 50 minutes from Perugia. It is a joint project of my father-in-law and my husband. They found and bought the property with the idea of my father-in-law retiring there in the future.

The old farmhouse has been fully restored. The rustic structure is quintessentially Umbrian, with old wood beams and terracotta tile roof.
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Our Workaway participants help us plant olive trees, prune them and, most importantly, harvest the olives. They also learn about mosaicing and help me on the artistic side. One of the mosaic projects I have worked on is in a chapel. The chapel happens to be on the olive farm property, but it is also part of a graveyard, and many of the ancestors of the people in the valley are buried there. Doing this mosaic in the chapel has made the locals warm to us because we’re making the chapel and the graveyard just that much more special. They love the fact that all these young people from around the world are choosing this place to come and work. They’re very proud of their home, their heritage, and their area.

I usually start beginners off with a flat geometric pattern. I can quickly see who’s got artistic flair and can cope with something more sophisticated. I make sure the mosaic suits all abilities and skills. For more complex projects, like mosaicing the face of the Angel in the Chapel, I use young people who have artistic skills and understand light and shade and moulding of a face.
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Tell us more about the Workaway participants.

We have a range of participants—mostly young people in their 20s, university students. They tend to come during school holidays. Often it’s young people taking a gap year. Some might be looking for a change, or maybe sometimes they’ve broken up with their partner. Something has happened in their life, and they’re trying to think of alternatives. We do meet several young people who are trying to figure out their next step in life. But it’s not only young people. Our oldest workawayer so far was 68 years old.

Why do you think people are drawn to Umbria?

It’s very interesting why people choose to stay with us in Umbria. I’ll give you a few examples. We had one young girl from America, from a deeply religious family. She chose to come to us because we were the closest place to Assisi. Another person has been to us five times already. His parents were only children and they immigrated to Canada, and they had their son Shaun. He’s an only child. His mum and dad died, and now he has no relatives on the planet. He liked the idea of being with a family. The reason people choose us is not just for the artistic experience. Thereʼs a whole bunch of other reasons.
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People choose Umbria because they want a quintessentially Italian experience. What could be more Italian than picking olives and doing mosaics? For many, the food is a real highlight because my husband is an amazing chef.


Cover: A mosaic work in Umbria by artist Trina O’Hara
Images provided by Trina O’Hara

For more information about Workaway visit www.workaway.info