Dear Art Lover,
This past Thursday, my wonderful neighbor
drove me back to the foundry in Pietrasanta
where I recently completed a new bronze
garden sculpture, “Rock Towers and Frogs.”
Real
estate is costly and even most of the foundries that I worked with in the US are
not great about storing the molds of their clients. Here, they made the molds of silicon and plaster, reinforced and with handles made
from embedded metal. John Borsheim and I
made the mother (outer/supporting) molds for my sculptures from fiberglass, which
I see as a huge improvement. Anyway, I
do not like to see these materials, the only thing that exists now of my
original sculpture and therefore necessary for me to keep in good condition,
outside and open. I do not like the
exposure to the elements and I do not like the idea that anyone can walk in
during the lunch break and take a souvenir, for example, of part of a sculptor’s
mold. Call me paranoid, but people also
collect street signs!
So, it
took all of fifteen minutes to load up the car with fourteen separate molds. This bronze may be ordered if you are
interested. See some of the images of
the final piece here: http://www.borsheimarts.com/sculpture/2016/RockTowersFrogGardenSculpture.htm
Loading up Sculpture Molds from foundry in Pietrasanta Italy |
Since my
friend had never been to Pietrasanta
[Italy] before, we took a little “giro”
[walk] around the center of town. Luckily, there is an exhibition going on now
for the sculptures of the surrealist artist Salvador Dali.
Because I am in the middle of my knee rehab, we did not go into many
buildings and did not stay very long.
Mostly, during the winter time or off-season for tourists, the beaches
are closed. So are almost all of the
restaurants. We had really wanted to eat
some seafood along the water, but we did not find an obviously safe place to park
for a walk on the beach.
I include
some snapshots of our “giro” and also
of our wonderful seafood lunch at Tito
del Molo (‘molo’ means ‘pier’ in Italian) in nearby Viareggio. Viareggio is a
city, larger than the working town of Pietrasanta, but even there, many of the
eateries were closed. Viareggio is also famous
for its big Carnevale parade, which includes very political floats and is quite
spectacular from what I have seen online and heard from friends [I really make
a lousy tourist in crowded places]. Still,
we were happy with our meal and I even bought my friend a bottle of the house
wine there as a thank you for helping me with this errand. We got home before dark and our landlord met
us there. The two guys (and Gregory, my
landlord’s dog) helped me unload the sculpture molds and put them in a safe
place in hopes that I may sell another bronze!
Knee
Update: On 2 December, I received a
diagnosis of a torn ACL and was told that I needed to wait until mid-January
before the surgeon would know WHEN he could operate. The surgery requires a six-month minimum
rehabilitation. However, recently, I saw
another specialist and also got feedback from a doctor friend of my
landlord. Their verdicts are that the
MRI does NOT show a torn ACL. Instead, I
was prescribed an electro-magnetic therapy to help the blood-saturated, spongy
bones in my tibia (mostly) and an electric stimulation therapy to jumpstart my
atrophied quadriceps muscles. I was
finally given instructions on how to ride my in-home bicycle (how often and
other details), as well as a series of exercises (balance and relearning to
walk). I am almost half-way through that
therapy, and the glucosamine supplements will continue for many more weeks. Naturally, I hope this works. Thank you for all of your questions and kind
remarks.
Now,
please enjoy these images.
If you
like, please have a look at some more of my sculpture online here:
and again, welcome to 2017.
Peace,
Kelly
The main piazza in centro Pietrasanta, Italy |
Because I am too lazy to write (actually, got some cooking to do) |
Note the signature melted clock on the neck |
I love this crooked window! Entering the Museo dei Bozzetti |
Modern Day traffic |
Funky outside wall decoration for shop, Pietrasanta, Italy |
nice juxtaposition of shapes |
Cool entrance in Pietrasanta |
marble carvings in small church near the main piazza |
Onto Viareggio for lunch at Tito del Molo, near the main pier.
Pasta with fresh anchovies (not salted) |
Rhombo (fish) with potatoes and olives (basil for a tail) |
odd, but interesting decor, no? |
apples and pineapples with gelato and caramel creme |
Ah, home sweet home and my sculpture mold safely recovered!
Now, I just need to sell some more sculpture!
Gregory, curious about everything! |