Dear Art-loving friend,
One of my artists friends (and a
collector, God love him!) and his wife moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico years ago…
a famous town for gobs of art galleries.
When they came to visit me in Florence, Italy, they told me that they
thought it would be a great place for an artist to live (Santa Fe), but they
discovered that they soon became the most visited household ever, a hotel for
all of their friends to see a cherished town.
So, we enjoyed a one-evening visit, but they decided that I probably did
not want visitors for long in another famous art town that receives lots of
artists.
However, there is a balance and I
have a tendency to stay in my studio a LOT!
It is actually nice to have an excuse to get out and see/show something
of Florence and sometimes other places in Italia. For this, I am very grateful that stone
carver Art Wells and his wife Virginia wrote to me and I not only got
to show them something of my beloved Firenze, but I also tagged along with them
to see Volterra, Italy.
I had no idea that this town is famous for alabaster and carving! It is full of artists, including a wonderful glassartist Corinna Butler who made a necklace that Virginia now wears.
I am breaking up the Volterra
images into three posts. This one
contains a few of my daytime images.
This first shot was taken as I walked around the area of the hostel in
which I slept, Chiostro delle Monache. The second image is the dining area for the
hostel’s breakfast (included in your bed price). While this place is located outside of the
city walls and my friends and I got lost as they drove me out there around 11
p.m., as Art said the next morning when he came to pick me up, “Once you know
where it is, it is very easy to find.”
Truly, there are not so many
roads in this area. However, if you take
the wrong fork in one, it may be a while before you can find a way back. The people here were SO NICE! Even the woman who played phone tag with me
during my various postponements on arrival told me that she had upgraded me to
a better room. She even complimented me
on my art. She said that she saw my Web
site in my e-mail signature and checked it out!
I like how many dragons there are
and easily spotted here in Volterra. [Of
course, Firenze has them too and I was delighted showing Art and Virginia
around in the Renaissance City because I saw another one I had not noticed
before.]
Not far from the Hotel San Lino
where Virginia and Art stayed (with the lovely Denise at the reception desk!)
is a church. It has an open door, and
that means an invitation to come in, right?
It is very simple inside, but I thought it was charming how the artwork
behind the altar was a combination of sculpture with only a little bit of
fresco (usually it seems the other way around).
This next image may not belong to
the interior I just showed you. I
actually took this one first, as we arrived into town, so, I think this is a
location more central. Still there are
so many BUSY art-filled spaces in Italia that I find myself drawn to the beauty
of the more simple arrangements so that the running hamster in my brain can
take a break a bit.
Now, for today, I leave you with
images of two more dragon sculptures.
The last image I found a bit funny.
I have been looking for a place to live in Italy. I need to find a place in the semi-country
for my mental state and love of trees AND my very strong desire to carve stone
on a regular basis. But I also enjoy my
car-less life. So, I need good Internet
in my home, and access to public transportation, as well as a grocery store.
Volterra not only has good
tourist traffic (for selling my art) and has an active and professional art
community, but it also has bus transport that takes you into the center of town
(the old part). The drawbacks for me are
that it is located on the top of a low mountain with wide vistas. This makes me think it gets VERY cold because
it is so exposed to the air and winters could be tough. But also, as we walked
around the town, pigeon poo could be seen all along the pathways. It seemed more concentrated in this little
town than in many others I visit. I was
a bit amused to see pigeon on a menu in Volterra. Someone, at least, is trying to solve the
problem! Ha.
I would feel honored if you took a
look at some of my stone carvings. Each
is one-of-a-kind:
Thank you for your interest and
enthusiasm,
Kelly
~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter,
writer, teacher
No comments:
Post a Comment