Sculpting Wind

Dear Art Lover,

Kitchen as Art Studio

     The last time I showed you a progress image on my new bas-relief sculpture project, “Wind and Wisteria,” was in my post on 18 June, when I was still in a cast for a broken right wrist.  I started the piece with my left hand.  The cast was removed on 30 June, and I have done a bit of work since then. 

http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.it/2017/06/progress-on-sculpture-and-la-pausa.html

     I asked my landlord and my neighbor to lift the big board into my kitchen just before we got a few days of decent [certainly better than nothing!] showers.  This is how far I had gotten with my non-dominant hand.  I wanted the piece more vertical so that I could start developing it.

     Bas-relief is not “puffy painting” as I once thought before meeting Eugene Daub and Vasily Fedorouk.  It is compressed form.  That is a HUGE difference.  What I mean by “puffy painting” is possibly similar to quilt making…where one defines the boundary of a shape and then puts stuffing inside of it.  It is a look, but it is not bas-relief sculpture.

Side lighting from kitchen door

Harsh top lighting, but you see the difference from above?

 

     So, I prefer to create a bas-relief sculpture with an overhead light that helps me to see where the material is in relation to other parts.  However, this green plastilina [an oil-based clay] does not seem to have enough oil in it to stick well to the wood board, and I woke one morning to see that the boy’s face and broken away from the composition and slid down.  Luckily it was not damaged much.  I have since developed the form more anyway.  [You may see in the close-up shape here that I still have work to do.  For example, the lips have to be refined.  There is too much harsh light outlining the lips.  I need to fill-in some placed with clay, soften shapes, and think of the form of the mouth barrel.  I hope to make the mouth more kind and youthful.]

     Clay absorbs much more light than metal does.  If something looks contrasty in the clay, it will be so much worse in reflective metal!

     Lately, I have been creating the individual petals of the wisteria.  It is past time for the real blooms on my gate, although I have a few random flowers that are confused by the watering and drought.  Trying to understand them as models, but I am also using images as references.  Mamma mia, what a lot of work!  I find myself intimidated wondering if I can create the airiness of wind blowing in dangling petals in a thin sculpture.  When I feel this way, I often force myself to work and accept that it will go slowly as I figure out how to do what I think I want.  And another part of the day, I start a new project, because starting is always fun, as one sees change and development move along quickly.  I have learned that this is the only way I can get through the hump of the tough times.

      For the head of the wind, I am also struggling.  I am not sure that I am capturing the idea that she is blowing, ie that SHE is creating the wind, or she is the wind personified.  And I chose to make a composition that will be empty inside the shape, allowing the wall to show through once hung.  This means that I have fewer things around her to show the effects of wind.  Maybe not the smartest idea, compositionally speaking?  Piano, piano as they say too often in Italy, “slowly, slowly.”

Peace,

Kelly Borsheim, artist

http://BorsheimArts.com

P.S. Look at my cool phone case that I ordered for myself as a gift for moving into the modern age of smart phones.  You may find your own desired cover design, or other products here:

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-kelly-borsheim.html

Il Dono - Borsheim Art on iPhone 5c case -choose yours

Pescia Italy Gipsoteca Libero Andreotti Sculpture

Dear Art Lover,

     Last spring while still in Italy, I house-hunted a lot.  I asked all of my Italian friends for information and visited several in order to see potential homes for my fall return.  In the process, I got to visit some nearby cities in which I had spent little or no time.  Pescia was one such town.  Pescia lies in Tuscany, halfway between Pistoia and Lucca.  It is about an hour and ten minutes by train from Florence.

     My friends and I found a parking space, crossed the River Pescia and walked pretty much straight into the Piazza del Palagio, which houses the Palazzo del Podestà.  Inside, one will discover the Gipsoteca, a collection of plaster sculptures from the studio of the late Libero Andreotti.  The building dates back to the 12^th century, but the renovation is well done and the plaster sculptures feel right at home there.
     The lower level is used for changing exhibitions and we were fortunate enough to see “Passio XTI – la Fede rappresentata”  There were thirty three works of art (2-d and a few 3-d), representing the passion of the Christ.  I must say that I was very surprised to see this small town and museum have TWO xylography works (woodcuts) by Albrecht Dürer!  There were many other lovely Christian works there, but I have so many images to share today of the sculpture …

Albrecht Dürer from 1519

Albrecht Dürer from 1503

     Allora, there was so much sculpture to see that, really, I was thrilled by this surprise.  As we entered the top floor via the staircase, I saw this portrait bust of a young boy… hung from a shelf attached to the ceiling!  What a greeting!


     I really enjoy the movement in the greyhound dogs.  The work of Libero Andreotti feels very human to me and captures simple, but often profound, moments in our lives.

     Bas relief sculpture is so difficult to do well.  I have found and show my students that the lighting during one’s work is necessary for success.  Relief sculpture is not just “puffy painting” (as I once told my workshop instructor Eugene Daub).  It is compressed form.  But even that will not work, if the lighting is not well done and specific in the creation and exhibition.  Eugene knows this better than most:  he carved coins and such, as well as many other sculptures.

   
     However, I was charmed by bas relief when I saw the story-telling applications possible.  I especially enjoy mixed relief levels, such as on the Gates of Paradise in Florence:  Flatter, more coin-like levels (true bas [low] relief) and as the foreground advances, it becomes more high relief.  Sometimes the figures in front are totally realized in the round!  But, I digress . . . as I do.  I hope you enjoy these images and can go see this collection in Pescia.  There is so much more than I was able to show here.

For more information, including open hours, visit:
http://www.comune.pescia.pt.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/63
[There is an English section if you scroll down the page.]


     I am not above taking a donation.  Even five bucks is a help, if you enjoy what you read about and see in my images here on this blog.  Thank you.  [You may make a donation via the PayPal links on the side bar on the blog site:  http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.com ]

Peace,
Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Donatello Bas Relief Sculpture

Dear Art-loving friend,
My friend and fellow sculptor here in Florence, Italy, enjoys giving lectures on art and art history.  Jason Arkles has recently created a new series of podcasts, called “The Sculptor’s Funeral.”  That title alone ought to get some attention!

The podcast that I listened to this Sunday morning was all about the sculptor Donatello.  He has not been one of my favorite artists, but Jason makes a great argument on why I should never discount Donatello’s importance or creativity.  Give it a listen, will ya?

"Oh Boy!" bronze mirror of men

Over fifteen years ago, I took a sculpture class from Eugene Daub.  We did a portrait in plastilina in three days and studied bas-relief sculpture the last two days of the week-long workshop in Colorado.  Eugene made bas relief interesting to me because for some reason, I had not understood the possibilities of having a sculpted figure INSIDE of an environment.  Looking back, I probably just had very little experience looking at bas-relief sculpture in general.  The idea of adding architectural “frames” around a figure intrigued me.  I remember thanking Eugene for opening my eyes to this art form, admitting that I had only thought before of bas-relief sculpture as “Puffy Painting” and had not been interested in it.  He seemed amused.

Eugene Daub taught bas relief with the same idea that my friend Vasily Fedorouk did:  as compressed form.  From then on, I looked at bas-relief in that way.  I had often assumed that some artists just did that badly.  Perhaps you can imagine my surprise this morning to hear Jason’s voice coming through my laptop to say that Donatello was the first sculptor to understand and successfully demonstrate this idea.  Sculptors before used mainly outlines to describe their forms!

"Rehearsal" bronze bas relief / wall hanging

Since Eugene’s class I have tackled many bas relief compositions.  Here are just a few:
"Oh Boy!"  [Mirror of Men, what a fun way to brush one’s teeth in the morning!], "Rehearsal" (the woman waving the large fabric over her head), and "Infinity" (created for the eighth wedding anniversary gift of bronze material, note the figure eight as the outside shape).


I have been thinking of new compositions to create in bas-relief because I think the story-telling ability is very similar to painting in that respect.  But I hope you enjoy the compositions that I have created thus far.

[Ask, please, about availability, or commission some art for yourself or another.]


Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm,
Kelly
~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher
http://BorsheimArts.com

"Infinity" bronze bas-relief sculpture by Kelly Borsheim

Bas Relief Stone Carving

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

“Bas-relief” is a phrase that describes a very particular type of sculpture. “Bas” is a French word that means, “low” and an example of a bas relief is the relatively flat design on a coin. Before I knew any better, I used to refer (a bit derogatorily) to bas-relief as “Puffy Painting.” I had no interest in this particular form of art.

However, many years ago, I took a workshop with famed sculptor Eugene Daub in Colorado. We sculpted “in the round” for three days and then studied relief sculpting techniques during the last two days. He laughed at my “Puffy Painting” comment and then proceeded to show me the error in my thinking. Relief, whether “bas” or a high relief (more 3-dimensional), is not simply ‘puffy.’ Relief sculpture is a compression of form. So the “puffiness” has a rather specific shape.

Part of the beauty of relief sculpture is that a sculptor has more opportunity to create an environment, as painters do. Many drawing elements are used, such as perspective and foreshortening. However, since reliefs are still sculpture, and not a truly 2-dimensional art, drawing skills are not enough. I find relief sculpting very challenging because of this compression of form. I have since created several reliefs in plastilina (oil- or water-based clay) for casting into bronze. See the bronze sculpture “Rehearsal” with a colored patina, included here.

But recently, I accepted a commission to create my first relief in stone. That “upped the ante” in that once removed, I will not get to add the material back. The commission is to create a Gable Stone, such as is made in Amsterdam for a private home in Houston, Texas, USA. Gable Stones are placed in an exterior wall of a home, typically near the entryway. They identify the occupants of the homes in some way, but are more personal than a Coat of Arms.

I have been quite active on Facebook lately and started a Fan Page to help me meet others who are interested in art. I will be showing the progress of this Gable Stone project on the Fan Page, so if you are interested in seeing this as live as I know how to make it, please consider becoming a FAN by clicking on the link below. (You must have a FREE Facebook account first, I think.)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelly-Borsheim-sculptor/93575697280?ref=mf

I will not be posting any more images of this work-in-progress (like the one below) on this blog or on my Web site, until after the sculpture is complete.
Thank you for your interest!

And, of yes, this is a Texas limestone . . .

October is National Arts and Humanities Month