Dear Art Lover,
I cannot go to the stone quarry in
Vellano, Italy, every day. Two days in a
row of carving stone is too much for my knee, which never seems to heal! But also, I have other projects and
obligations in this period and am trying to find a balance among them.
However, I have started a new carving on a
piece of green marble I bought in Pietrasanta when I dropped off my new bronze
sculpture at a foundry there. Each day or
half day at Cava Nardini makes me happy.
I mean, such lovely views! Many times there are also wonderful clouds
and sunsets. The light changes plenty for interest.
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| Stone carving in progress - new start |
I often try to choose a stone that I have
never worked with before. This green
marble with white inclusions in the cracks is beautiful, but as Marco Nardini
describes: It is like glass… chipping
and shattering. It is better to grind
such a stone than to carve it. I had
hoped the cracks were superficial. You will see in at least one of these photos
that the quality of this stone may be difficult to manage. Dead stone or stone separated with such weaknesses must be removed and I will have to redesign based on what is left in the stone. However, if I pull it off, she will be
lovely.
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| Cracks are even more evident once the carving started. |
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| I am always fascinated by the light changes over the hills. |
I am carving an abstract ballerina with
fabric flowing up over her head. It is a
challenge to design and carve flowing curves in a rectangular cut stone. I want to make it so that when I have
completed her, your brain will not see the original shape of the rock, and
instead just enjoy her current form. And, you may recall that colorful stones
look rather pasty until they are polished.
This rock is a lovely not-quite-as-dark-as-forest green with white marble hightlights. She is busy enough in pattern that I want to
create only simple shapes to show off her personality.
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| Direct carving: drawing design on the stone and then cut. |
Oh, the image of the tree jutting into the
sky is a castagna tree, or
chestnut. During and after the symposium
in July, we sculptors were enjoying plucking plums. This past Sunday in Vellano was a festival
for chestnuts. It is so amazing to eat
food in its own season. I find it is a
way to celebrate change, and unfortunately be a way to become even more aware
of the passing years. And our weather
has turned cold this week.
Peace,
Kelly
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| Lovely subtle light changes as the day ends |
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| Castagna [Italian] = Chestnut |
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| Cava Nardini, Vellano, Tuscany, Italy |
P.S. Happy Anniversary to Amber and Alex!
2 comments:
The marble looks so interesting. What a challenge! Looking forward to the finish.
You are living in a beautiful area. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Jo. I do feel grateful every morning when I wake up and so many times throughout the day and night.
I should have included a picture of the marble when WET so you could see the colors and patterns better. Next time, perhaps!
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