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!

Unpacking the Shadow Art Exhibition

Dear Art Lover,

     Last year my friend and fellow sculptor Lorri Acott invited me to create a submission for a project she dreamed up.  I am not really into the whole “women’s art show” thing, but the older I get, the crankier I get about rudeness.  And thus, Lorri caught me at time when my life was starting to get some stability and it was also shortly after I had worked with Artesimia, a battered women’s shelter in Florence, Italy. 

     I think some realities there hit me pretty hard, especially since in my own childhood, it was often women who kept other women “in line.”  I struggled with that a lot as a young adult when I found myself living my first year at university in a female-only dorm.  Having been raised with three brothers and lots of fighter pilots, I once called my mother long-distance and cried to her that I could not understand females and felt out of my element.  Years before, my own well-intentioned mom had actually told me, “Don’t smile so big; your lips get thinner and are less appealing.”  She was probably told that herself by someone when she was a runway model.  Insecurities:  the gifts that keep on giving.

     Opening TODAY:  In any event, my contribution to the “Unpackingthe Shadow” exhibition focused on the above topic.  But not all of the art submissions were so heavy or even traditionally serious topics.    This was an interesting collection of female artists with very human desires in a variety of subjects.  I hope that you may see the exhibition, even if only online.   [In the photo, my piece is the image in the upper right corner.]

Denver, Colorado area:  Lakewood Cultural Center
470 S Allison Pkwy, Lakewood, Colorado 80226

Exhibit runs January 3-31, 2017 in the Corner Gallery
Opening reception is January 12, 2017, 5-7 p.m.

Selected Artwork Unpacking the Shadow Women Art Exhibition

Details

     Please join us for a bold, thought-provoking exhibit that features 50+ original works created by women, presented together at a time that feels especially poignant for female voices to be heard and recognized.

      Lakewood Cultural Center is pleased to present “Unpacking the Shadow,” a collaborative group exhibition conceived and compiled by sculptor Lorri Acott that explores the idea of how women rediscover, explore, and reintegrate important aspects of themselves that, throughout their lives, have been carefully removed and “hidden away.”

      This exhibit features more than 50 miniature pieces—no larger than 3" cubed and accompanied by mini-essays— that were selected from submissions by women from all walks of life and from around the world. These small expressions of intimate aspects represent what each participant hopes to rediscover in her life. The works are as diverse as sculpture, found objects, photography, painting, and mixed media.

      "And if we have put away so many of our angers, spontaneities, hungers, enthusiasms, our rowdy and unattractive parts, then how can we live? What holds us together?” 

- Robert Bly (excerpt from "The Long Bag We Drag Behind Us")

Lakewood Cultural Center
470 S Allison Pkwy, Lakewood, Colorado 80226

Exhibit runs January 3-31, 2017 in the Corner Gallery
Opening reception is January 12, 2017, 5-7PM

Divine Beauty Devotional Art

Dear Art Lover,

Bouguereau

I had hoped to write about this art exhibition at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy, while it was still happening, but I got sidetracked.  I am currently in Austria seeing people that I love, so I have little time at the moment.

The exhibition was titled, “Bellezza Divina / Divine Beauty” and included works from Van Gogh to Chagall and Fontana to my favorites, Antonio Ciseri (1821-1891).  While many of Adolphe Bouguereau’s works seem sappy to some art critics, the enormous painting in this exhibition is absolutely stunning.  I cannot imagine anyone walking away from it without admiring the artist who conceived and painted it. 

Anyway, here are the images.  If you want to know the artist, please leave a comment on my blog page and I will get back to you once I am home again in February.

Thank you … and enjoy the devotional art and divine beauty.  This was a wonderful exhibition!  [More images below.]

+++++++++++++++

It is January and this month I celebrate 15 years as a full-time artist! Wow.. thank you for being a part of this adventure. Your support has been invaluable. I would like to celebrate by making it easier to buy some art that moves you. Here goes:

·         15% off on all available sculptures. The pricelist is here:
http://www.borsheimarts.com/pricelist.htm#sculpture

·         15% off on all available 2-D work, from paintings and drawings in any medium to giclée fine art reproductions.

·         If you buy two or more Borsheim Art Works
before 15 February 2016,
you will also receive
a $50 framing gift certificate
to use as you like. This is a
Special Offer
from Don Elliott at
The Frame Shop/Franklin Barry Gallery in Indianapolis.

Buy Art

These offers end February 15, 2016. Prices you see on the Web site are BEFORE the 15% savings offer. Thank you for your interest!

If you would like to read the full art newsletter for January, including see a new work on the easel still, please visit:

http://www.borsheimarts.com/news/20160111_ArtNews-NitramCharcoalDrawing.htm

Thank you.  Peace,

Kelly Borsheim, artist

http://BorsheimArts.com

Ciseri

The Conversion of St. Paul

Detail of painting shown left

Chagall, apparently the Pope's favorite

London ART NOW Bargehouse OXO Tower

Dear Art Lover,

     One has to learn to roll with the punches, especially when doing art events in another country.  I always seem to manage, but have not quite gotten a handle on it yet.
    I am speaking now about the surprises of my latest art venture:  The Bargehouse [or actually ART NOW, the event organizers] in London, a 4-day weekend event that starts tomorrow (Thursday) dished up a few today.  I reserved my space, a small one since I am unsure of this kind of situation, not having many contacts or clients in London.  We artists were told to bring our own hammers, nails, screws, whatever we needed to attach our art to the walls.  

      So, what were my main surprises?  I received WAY more space than I imagined!  I thought that I would only have about three feet, so sadly, did not have enough hanging supplies with me.  However, I had brought more art with me, in case I sold something or just wanted to change out featured artworks during the event.

     The other surprise was that the walls we had to hang our art upon were not the usual show walls or even ones seen in any images on the site.  We were supposed to put nails into BRICK WALLS!  Some of the local artists knew this and had brought electric screwdrivers and such.  However, I got lucky again because my walls had enough holes in it from previous art events that I was able to use my Italian nails pretty well.  Also, one of my colleagues offered some of her screws and her screwdriver.  The arrangements are not perfect, but it fits the atmosphere.   

     However, I would like to learn how to pack for these sorts of surprises, good and possibly frantic.  Another lesson:  Do not do an exhibition when your belongings are all in storage, especially distant from where you are currently living.  I forgot the labels for my artworks, sticky stuff for helping things look straight, and other little things that I have in my “show collection box” that help make my work look professional in display.  As you know, life moves on and I am here in London and thus far, it has been a good time.

     And, I would like to introduce you to two of my colleagues.  We went out for a coffee on this rainy afternoon that we all hung our exhibits.  They are both British, and oddly both are of Greek origin.  Here are Despina Kyriacov, who creates abstract photographs, and George Antoni, a contemporary abstract painter.

And I hope that you can be in London for this event.  I am surprised always by international shows.  The visions of so many different souls are astounding.  And the location in London is great… so much eye candy around! 
++++++++++++++

Let us meet in London!

Art NOW - London!

The Artists Fair - London [Yes, in the UK!]
WHEN: OPENING Preview > Thursday October 22, from 4 - 8 p.m.

Exhibition Hours > Friday & Saturday, October 23 & 24, from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Sunday October 25, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE: BARGEHOUSE, OXO Tower Wharf, South Bank, London SE1 9PH
WHY? Featuring Kelly's pastels and charcoal drawings from Morocco

The Artists Fair London 2015 presents 50 emerging and recently established artists from 30 countries (random order): Japan, France, Denmark, Australia, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, Israel, United Kingdom, Martinique, South Africa, USA, Kosovo, Netherlands, Catalonia, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Turkey, Norway, India, Lithuania, Russia, Canada, Taiwan, Finland, Switzerland, Romania, Estonia.

Free entry for visitors.

The great location, steps from both the Hayward Gallery and Tate Modern, and the perfect time, following the Frieze Week, can find yourself, ideally, in the heart of an international, fresh and vibrant art scene.

Receive Priority FREE ticket(s) ... no waiting: http://www.art-now.net/pdf/ART%20NOW%20priority%20ticket.pdf

Feel free to contact us for any information by info@art-now.net
ART NOW The Artists Fair London: www.art-now.net

Thank you for reading and making it all possible.
Peace,
Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com