Florence, Italy Firenze Italia

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I have been quite busy lately . . . you may see images of the “blow-up doll incident” in my Facebook photo album titled “Friends – Album VI” if you like. Seriously, I am working a lot as well, but one must always stop to smell the roses, even if sometimes the smells are not so sweet. One of the problems that I have getting to and from the studio in Florence, Italy is that I stop to record images whenever something interests me.

I am a bit nervous because once they remove the marble art installation by Mimmo Paladino in Piazza Santa Croce today, they will probably move in the “new oil” market that celebrates this year’s olive harvest. After that, . . . drumroll please . . . my favorite event there: The German Christmas Market! Oh, the gluvine (mulled spiced wine): My second favorite way to keep warm!

So, the butterflies you see over the Ponte Vecchio (and in a clear plastic box lined with a mirror on the floor in Piazza della Signoria) is a current celebration of the many individual Tuscan wines. I must admit that while I am not fussy about much, I actually prefer the wines from Sicily and Sardinia. For me to even remember that much is pretty astonishing really, because I never remember names of even the wines I love. Anyway, the “flutterbies” as my mom calls them are lovely and a fun temporary exhibit. The geometric marble sculpture of a figure is part of the Cross of marble by Mimmo Paladino. It was part of the Florens 2012 cultural celebration I wrote about earlier. It is over today.

The last images are of The Broggi-Caraceni Villino. I had never seen a dog here and this German Shepherd just looked wonderful.

So, while I am off to the studio now, I just wanted to remind you that books make great gifts. My book “My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy” is available from my own Web site, from myself and another location in Florence, as well as on several Amazon sites around the world. If you buy one from me here in Italia, I would be thrilled to sign it to you or whomever you wish. Here is a link to the list of Amazon pages for your convenience in online ordering (see the right side column): www.borsheimarts.com/newsletter.htm