Pietrasanta Dali Viareggio

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:

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

and again, welcome to 2017.

Peace,

Kelly

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

 

I miss my real BIKE! 

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!

Creation of Bronze Garden Sculpture

Dear Art Lover,

     Ok, I just finished one page about my new bronze sculpture "Rock Towers and Frogs."  It has a lot of images about the process I went through to create the piece and some of the foundry work.  I will have more in the next art newsletter that I am starting to write now.. after a wee break from the computer.  Thank you for your interest.  Please share this page if you enjoy it.  http://www.borsheimarts.com/sculpture/2016/RockTowersFrogGardenSculpture.htm

Peace,

Kelly

P.S.  Please check out the “Raccolta e Regalo” sale I am having on selected artworks.. good through Dec 31, 2016.  http://www.borsheimarts.com/SaleArt2016-LaRaccoltaeIlRegalo.htm

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

Insulation foam used for sculpture armature

Driving the sculpture to Pietrasanta, the city of sculpture

Wax Sculpting Foundry Pietrasanta Italy

Dear Art Lover,

     Yesterday I went to Pietrasanta, Italy, to work with the waxes for my new bronze sculpture in progress, "Rock Towers and Frogs" / Torri di sassi e Rane [in Italian].  I am grateful to my many neighbors who help me get to the nearest train station.  I can take the buses, but the hours are not always convenient for the train schedules.  Besides in Pescia, the bus station and the train station are about a 20-25 minute walk away from each other:  Not exactly convenient.  

 

Here I am chasing my own sculpture waxes, Italy. Foto Da Raymondo

Raymondo chases a wax sculpture part in bronze foundry in Pietrasanta, Italy

     I am also grateful that I can walk to the foundry in about 10 minutes from the train station in Pietrasanta.

Once there, I was introduced to Raymondo in the wax-working department.  He is really kind and even spoke with me later about my knee injury, the “interesting” situation with doctors (and a professor) about healing [Raymondo was an avid rock climber and hiker until a recent injury], and other fun stuff.   

     He got me set up at my own little work space and explained to me how this foundry does a few things.  Each foundry works in different ways and I am always delighted to see how.  He knows his work and he also gave me advice on how to transport my molds when I move them from Texas next year.  He also took this shot of me working on the elephant ears of my new composition.

     It was fun to have the wax in my hands again, with the torch’s constant flame nearby. The guys had the radio playing.  I am always astonished at how often American or English-language music is played in Italia.  But a smile widened on my face as I heard the cute Italian man working two stations away from me lower his voice to sing along with Johnny Cash.  What other song could it have been but “Burning Ring of Fire.”  So cute to hear the voice get lower and lower to sing in an Italian accent, “down, down, down…”  Man, you cannot make this stuff up!  Later, the other men chimed in when the radio play Frank Sinatra’s version of “New York.” Of course, you know that crooner is well-known in Italia!

     Raymondo also allowed me to stay working through lunch, while all the men left for an hour break.  So, I snapped these shots of my surroundings as I snacked on apples I had plucked from my landlord’s trees the morning before.  I was grateful for the extra time since I had to leave early to be able to catch a ride home last evening.  

bronze foundry in Pietrasanta, Italy wax sculptures,plasters and molds

  

     After lunch, I got called over to watch Simone create the wax sprues for the leaves I had finished prepping.  One neat little trick they do there:  Each leaf had a number written into the wax to help the foundrymen know exactly how to reassemble my sculpture once it is in bronze.  I had asked Raymondo if I needed to fill that in with wax now, knowing that it would be difficult to reproduce the surrounding texture in metal later.  Simone showed me that his work included filling in the number just before spruing, so there is no confusion or error.  He replaces the inscription with a small wax button with the same number scratched into it.  The button is more like a thumb tack.  Once the piece is in bronze, the tack is very easy to break off and only leaves a small hole instead of a scrawled number.  Brilliant!  In the photo you may be able to make out the light brown circle just inside the right-most leg of the “bridge” of the sprue he has wax-welded onto the spine of the elephant ear.

ID thumb tack is inside of sprue leg on right

Simone creates a wax sprue for later bronze casting

     

     The rest of the images are pictures of my waxes that still need to be chased (cleaned up/sculpted to a finish).  The Lost Wax Method of casting bronze is a many-stepped and complicated process.  But bronze allows me to create slender extended parts (that the stone medium does not lend itself to) and metal was perfect for this project.

     You may see images of the intended composition in clay, wax, and foam here.  Also, please note that the lower special pre-casting price offer continues through 1 November 2016.  Contact me if you would like to enjoy Rock Towers and Frogs in your own home. Thank you!

http://www.borsheimarts.com/sculpture/2016/RockTowersFrogGardenSculpture.htm

    

Peace,

Kelly

http://BorsheimArts.com

P.S.  Happy Birthday, Danielle! 

Wax parts frog cattails rocks of future fountain

Wax working tools on stand above torch

Wax sculpture parts await chasing for bronze casting