Gemini in Boerne Texas

Dear Art Lover,

     I have been working in Texas for several days now, back in my former studio/home.  Saturday, John and I drove to the re-opening of the new Sculptor’s Dominion large garden sculpture exhibition in the new location in Boerne, Texas. 

     We brought my bronze figure sculpture “Gemini” with us and put her up on a pedestal.  The site is the home of Gilbert E. Barrera, a friend of mine for many years after he traveled from his former home in San Antonio to Austin in order to connect with other sculptors.  He came to the Elisabet Ney Sculpture Conservatory, where I was teaching at the time and where the home of the Texas Society of Sculptors was back in the mid-1990s and early 2000.  And a bunch of us helped him start his dream show.

     His new location is his family ranch of about 300 acres.  I understand from some of the guests this past weekend that the Barrera family is well-known and respected in San Antonio.  Gilbert’s father is famous and recently turned 90 years old.  He still practices law.  Gilbert has done a lot of work on this property, including restoring an old log cabin from the time of the famous battle at The Alamo.  It is a beautiful location.  The old oak trees are amazing, a personal love of mine. 

      Gilbert exhibits all styles of sculpture and materials that are strong for outdoor display.  You are sure to find something that you enjoy there and hopefully want to add to YOUR garden!  If you find yourself in central Texas, please contact Gilbert for a visit to the Sculptor’s Dominion.  You may reach him on Facebook or by e-mail at gilbertebarrera@gmail.com

     I hope you enjoy the images here, which also show just a few of the many large or really large outdoor sculptures!  

     If you like, please have a look at some more of my sculpture online here:

http://www.borsheimarts.com/sculpture.htm

Peace,

Kelly

P.S.  Subscribe to the art newsletter here (it is FREE):  http://www.borsheimarts.com/contact.htm

Carrara Marble Pietrasanta Sculpture

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Well, what a surprise to learn that this is my 600th blog post! Who knew that I had it in me? So, I am happy that what I wanted to write about was my recent trip to Carrara and Pietrasanta, Italy. Marble is my drug of choice and I miss carving it very much. However, like my dream to have a dog, some things will have to wait until their time comes again.

My friend and fellow sculptor Gilbert Barrera came to Italy from San Antonio, Texas. We met each other MANY years ago when he came to Austin, specifically the Elisabet Ney Sculpture Conservatory, and met our group up there. Like me, Gilbert came to Italy to improve his art skills. This first image is of the two of us standing next to his current project in Carrara, Italy. He wants to carve this marble all with hand tools… good enough for Michelangelo, afterall. I am too impatient for that sort of thing, but respect that we all have different goals in life. At least Gilbert is doing SOMETHING with stone now!

We then headed to Pietrasanta for some lunch and sculpture viewing. “Convenient” is rarely a word one thinks of when Italia comes to mind. With the poorly timed train schedules to these industrial towns, one usually finds oneself here during the long lunch hour and things are mostly closed. However, il Museo dei Bozzetti was open. Housed inside of the library, the museum is where they keep a decent collection of plaster sculptures that were used as the models for artists to copy their works into marble. Direct carving is not as well known as in the States.

My favorite works here are those of Leone Tommasi, sculptor active around 1930s and 1940s. His realism in the human figures is like a caress in his sensitive forms. When Gilbert saw the reclining Jesus sculpture, he remarked that Tommasi understands well the form in gravity. Like Pietro Annigoni, Leoni Tommasi was creating a very different style of work from what was popular in his own time. I am glad his stuck to his guns. The next images you see here are all the works of Leone Tommasi.

After all of this, I had to show Gilbert the piece that completely surprised me during my first visit to Pietrasanta in 2004. Charles Umlauf was a sculptor who lived, worked, and taught in Austin, Texas. He even has his own museum there and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum is a real gem in the town! Naturally, I have spent time there and am familiar with his work. I was stunned to bump into his “Eve” so many years ago! Later, Nelie Plourde, director of the Umlauf Gardens, told me, as I related to Gilbert yesterday, that Charles Umlauf found it better and cheaper to create the art here in Pietrasanta, cast it into bronze here, and then SHIP it to the USA. Here we are posing (using my self-timer on the camera) with Umlauf’s “Eve.”

Finally, I leave you with a sculpture that amuses and charms me. It was sculpted by Giulio Ciniglia and is titled “L’ora” (The Time) from 1992. Ok, I have got to go. Just look at …