SAGRA DELLE FRUGIATE DI VELLANO Tuscany

Dear Art Lover,

     Today is the last of three Sundays for “LA SAGRA DELLE FRUGIATE DI VELLANO” or ‘The festival of the roasted chestnuts of Vellano.’  We are in Tuscany, Italy, in the hills north of Pescia, between Florence and Lucca.  A friend and I went early on the first Sunday after a good lunch at the nearby restaurant Da Manero with large windows overlooking the valley. 

Castagna / Chestnuts springing from their porcupine-like case

Italians have specific words for everything food-related!

The lovely Vellano, in Valleriana, Tuscany, Italy

     After looking at all of the home-made goods and foods, we walked through Publio Biagini’s museum that features the rock harvesting tools used in this region (Valleriana)’s history and many great examples of a variety of rocks and gems.   We headed over to Cava Nardini to see the stone sculptures.

      You, too, may have that experience today! Festival hours from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

    Castagna (or ‘chestnuts’ in English) grow in abundance here.  The wood is used by farmers and such perhaps almost as much as the harvest of the “fruit.”  While I was at the quarry on Friday, it rained in the morning.  During the little break, quarry owner Germano Nardini showed me the castagne and told me how to prepare them the easy way.  Basically soak the nuts in water with a wee bit of salt for about 40 minutes or an hour.  Then just open and eat.  I may try that since I can usually put stuff in water without issue.  Hahah. 

Lovely contrast grey stone yellow leaves

     I must admit, though, that while I can only eat about 3-4 roasted castagne before I no longer like the taste in my mouth.  What I DO like is the flour (farina) made from chestnuts.  I have cooked with that last winter and it is very good (a sweet flour).

     In the picks of Germano’s hands with the castagne, I should tell you that he was clear that the little pan these were sitting in at the quarry was NOT the right sort of pan to use to cook them.  The rest of the images I took around the quarry.  Germano is 83 years old and still crunching rock!  He wore red that day and was very photogenic against the yellowing acacia(?) trees.

Enjoy the recent scenes from the Cava Nardini.  I will post the after shots once I have finished the stone ballerina, probably in a future art newsletter.  Subscribe if interested.  http://borsheimarts.com/contact.htm

Peace,

Kelly

http://BorsheimArts.com

Detail of Sculpture

P.S.  Remember, I am offering a pre-casting discount on the price of the new bronze sculpture "Rock Towers and Frogs" if you place your order before 1 November 2016.  This copy in the edition has been sold, but I will send you progress pictures of your sculpture being made, just as I am here.  In the case of a “future” artwork, we work out a payment plan that works for you and the casting process, meaning that after the initial payment, you pay installations based on the progress of the work, paying in full before the sculpture is shipped to you. I have sold many bronze sculptures in this way and am grateful to those who can envision the finished bronze when all they have seen is clay or wax! 

Autumn in the quarry-Face Sculpture by Kumiko Suzuki

Autumn in the Quarry Vellano Tuscany

Dear Art Lover,

     It began to rain yesterday morning at Cava Nardini, the stone quarry of father and son, respectively, Germano and Marco Nardini.  As I moved my tools to a nearby shed, I noticed the light and shapes of the stones as they started to get wet.

My ballerina (WIP) on left; Pinocchio rides the dove, right.

 

     Autumn has arrived in the quarry.  I hope that I will get to return to see more of the colors changing.  In the meantime, I continued to carve on the ballerina.  In this self-portrait with timer, you may see that I am wearing a hat that has the shape of a shower curtain.  It is made from fabric of Australian aboriginal patterns.  The hat is a gift and hand-made by the mother of my friend Skye.  Skye came to visit me in July and we even went to a wedding in Sicily for a couple of artists we both know from our days in Firenze.  It really does help keep some dust off of the scalp and hair!

     The sculpture is slowly taking form and after lunch I asked Marco if we could drill a hole in the stone between the figure and the fabric she is tossing over her head.  Marco’s diamond drill tube is 3 cm diameter.  I was worried it was too large, but decided that if something went awry, I would redesign.  So, he used his drill and I added the cooling water as needed.  I will soon have to switch to smaller tools.  My 4-5 inch diameter diamond blade will not be able to reach into the recesses I so enjoy creating.  It is obvious to me that I need my tools I left in Texas and probably also must buy some more.

     Oh, I promised a reader that I would show the stone wet so we can see the color of this rock.  It is a deep forest green with white vein inclusions.  Here is an image of the rock half wet.  Most of the time, the stone is dry as I carve.  It is amazing how many times the pattern does something unexpected to enhance one’s design.  One hopes for such a thing to happen each time.

   Sometimes I think it is a wonder than I ever get anything done.  I am always looking up at the sky and admiring the light.  This first image shows an arcobaleno (rainbow) in the distant hills.  The second was a moment caught, as the light hit mountains in the direction of Lucca or perhaps further north.  The air seems soft enough to touch, no?

    Lastly, today, I would like to share with you some progress images of the ballerina stone carving. I am not sure when I will be back, since health-wise I had not made a good decision to work on my feet all day.  Marco was a bit upset with me as I tried to move my work table back under cover by myself.  I do hope that ego and wanting to be strong does not get in the way of actual healing as I wait for my appointment in mid-November for an MRI.

Enjoy the sunset as seen from the Cava Nardini.  I will post the after shots once I have finished the work, probably in a future art newsletter.  Subscribe if interested.  http://borsheimarts.com/contact.htm

Peace,

Kelly

http://BorsheimArts.com

Detail future bronze

P.S.  Remember, I am offering a pre-casting discount on the price of the new bronze sculpture "Rock Towers and Frogs" if you place your order before 1 November 2016.  This copy in the edition has been sold, but I will send you progress pictures of your sculpture being made, just as I am here.  In the case of a “future” artwork, we work out a payment plan that works for you and the casting process, meaning that after the initial payment, you pay installations based on the progress of the work, paying in full before the sculpture is shipped to you. I have sold many bronze sculptures in this way and am grateful to those who can envision the finished bronze when all they have seen is clay or wax!  

Cancer Fighting Kitchen

Dear Art Lover,

     JudyWitts Francini is a friend of mine here in Italy.  She has always been a great resource for all sorts of things that I have needed guidance on over the years that I have known her.  Given her high energy levels and optimism, I can only surmise that she feeds off of doing good deeds!  Judy teaches classes and gives tours about Tuscan cooking.  She loves to show people Sicily as well.  Check out her site:

http://www.divinacucina.com/

     Most all of us know someone, even a family member or two, who have, are, or will suffer through the fear of a cancer diagnosis.  I have a lot of caretakers in my family, as well.  And perhaps this is a stupid thing to say, but often caretaking is like suing someone:  You may not be on the scariest side of the fence, but your life is still not gonna be fun for a while. 

     I began hearing about nutrition ~ EXTREME nutrition ~ being a strong antidote to cancer back in the early 1980s.  Since that time, I began to pay attention to a lot of foods and what they do.  However, I am not really into cooking or food prep, so my actions have been more towards trying to avoid the not-so-good stuff to hedge my health bets.  Sadly, the “not-so-good” is often a typical American diet.  And since most countries and people watch what the US does and US Corporations have a way of sneaking into everyone’s lives, nutrition has seen the slippery slope for decades now.

     I was chatting with Judy recently about my grave concerns over someone in my family with cancer.  Judy immediately told me about her friend Rebecca Katz and her book, The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery  Written in English and available on Amazon,   Rebecca’s book gives recipes for nutrient-rich foods of all sorts of colors and textures, geared towards a variety of tastes and levels of eating. 

    What I also enjoy about the book is how she explains that the different stages of chemotherapy affect appetite.  For example, if chemo makes stuff taste funny [often metallic], one loses the desire to eat.  However, the last thing one should ever do is to starve oneself of life-giving nutrients!  It is horrible enough what chemo is doing to our bodies!  Rebecca has solutions for most everything.

     Judy also reiterated that it is not just the nourishment.  The simple acts of the cooking and smelling the flavors in the preparation help both caretaker and cancer-fighter heal and also feel as if they are not helpless.

 

     Anyway, Judy does not live in Florence, Italy, any longer, but she does come up here for private clients and tours.  So, I was thrilled to meet her at the Savoy hotel in one corner of Piazza della Repubblica the other day.  She loaned me her signed copy of Rebecca’s book.  I then shopped at the Vivimarket that sells foods that Italians consider ethnic.  The images I include in this post are from an autumn flower arrangement within the Savoy that I photographed since I had arrived early and was amusing myself, as I do.

      I have a favor to ask now:  I recently found out that I lost my Amazon affiliate status.  It was my fault since I procrastinated on responding to their e-mails about updating my status.  They have some new child protection clauses I was apparently supposed to sign off on.  I just saw e-mails to update my ad links.  Boh.   So, I started a new account and Amazon told me that they will verify it once I make my first sale. 

    If this book interests you or could interest someone you know, please click on my new affiliate link below.  You pay the same, but Amazon helps support my art career just a little.  Thank you!  Seriously, the recipes in this book look so good, I would not limit it to cancer patients.  It might even prevent cancer by keeping you strong and less polluted inside by processed foods.  Where is the downside to that?

Peace,

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com