Sea Shell Hunting

Dear Art lover,

     I find it interesting what one learns about another in simple shared experiences, such as collecting sea shells by the sea shore.  I have at least two friends that I have had the pleasure of doing that with over recent years.  Funny, they both prefer the perfect shells.  While I find the perfect ones beautiful and amazing in design and execution, I tend to adore the ones in which the broken exteriors reveal some of the beautiful forms inside.  The good news, of course, is that we will never “fight” over the choices the other one desires.  That is always a relief… as when in high school:  you were glad when your best mate had different tastes for dating.  If not, things could get ugly. Ha.

     So, along this rocky beach I found north of Umag, I was enchanted to find these tiny shells.  Because one of the friends referenced to above, Kumiko, cherishes the tiny beauts.  She likes them perfectly formed still.  I picked some up for her, as well as lots of tiny broken ones for me. 

     My friend Ruth pointed out to me many years ago that perhaps the reason I can so easily recognize fear in others is because I am consciously grappling with my own fears.  On my day sifting through shells recently, I wondered if the reason I want to hang onto my friends who like perfect is so that I reach just a little bit higher.

     You know, perhaps, the famous quote by Michelangelo:  The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

     Oh, enough philosophy.  I am getting closer to having a place in which to carve stone.  You cannot believe my excitement!  I have much to do before my sun sets!  Enjoy my little self portrait in the setting sun on the Adriatic Sea.

Like nature images?  Check out Tantalizing Tasmania:

http://www.borsheimarts.com/news/2015_02_ArtNews-TasmaniaLandscapePainting.htm

Please share this with anyone you think might appreciate it!  Thank you.

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Sea Monster Feeding Umag

Dear YOU!

      So, do you remember my recent post that contained the question about a sea monster feeding here in Umag, Croatia?  Well, about a week ago, I walked north.  I was delighted to find a little park that started off with un-butchered olive trees.  [Italians seem to prefer to dramatically cut theirs to keep the height down.]  Then as I walked along, I felt the carpet beneath me as I inhaled the gorgeous scent of pine trees.  Oh, what a joy!  The sea was visible and I walked along her edge.

      Here in Umag there is a mixture of sea wall and beach, but mostly walls as one nears the harbor.  It is a fairly clean city, from what little I have actually seen.  [Despite my silly postings, I do spend the majority of my days alone in my small flat researching, writing, and painting.] So, you may imagine why it is that there are occasionally pieces of Styrofoam cartons near the water’s edge.  You will note in these images that there is no other trash along these waterways, so I am sticking to my theory of a sea monster feeding by the Istrians.

      I am sure there is a rational explanation for this behavior, although, what is not rational about feeding sea monsters?  It probably does not hurt that in the evenings while working on the computer, I have been taking advantage of a TV in my room.  A TV is something that I have rarely missed in Italy.  Most of the stations I watch here are in Italian, some with subtitles. So, I hope to improve my comprehension skills.  Lately, I have been watching a series of films about mythology and Titons and Zeus and those sorts of stories.            [Surprisingly, there does not seem to be two stations here using the Croatian or Istrian languages.  However, there are TONS of Arabic stations!  And one station that is part of the radio series that says it is in Farsi, but it is French.  I listen to that one too, during the day while I paint.]

     Anyway, I leave you with a little snapshot of the sea monster’s competition for his nightly meal.  I am tempted one night to go out and sit in wait.  I just need to figure out which day they do this, since I do not see the offerings every day.

     Please do not forget that if you are interested in any of my available artworks, now is the time to buy!  [Or at least make the first payment on a payment plan of your choosing… finance charge free.]  Until Jan 31, 2015, is over [Texas time], I am offering FREE WORLDWIDE shipping.  Most of my art is actually in America, but that should not matter since I just made it easier to acquire.

     Details are here, as well as a little survey to help me figure out my trip to the States.  The online version of my newsletter here:  http://www.borsheimarts.com/news/2015_01_ArtNews-ProcessUmagCroatia.htm    [Note:  “London Cemetery” was sold and shipped recently.]

     And, as always, thank you for your continued interest.  Share this with anyone you think might appreciate it! 

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Sarina, Australia - Guest Judge and Art Teacher

Dear Art-Lover,

Australian artist Janice Ailwood and I met about six years ago in Florence and we remained in touch. Facebook has really aided a lot in this way! Janice and her husband Ron were instrumental in helping me see Australia. Thanks to them and the committee who organizes the Sarina Arts Extravaganza in Sarina, Queensland, Australia. This past May marked their 25th anniversary for the huge event open to all Australians.

I arrived about a week before the festival started so that I could recoup a bit from the long journey, do a little sightseeing with my hosts, and also help a little with the last minute promotions. In this case I mean two street paintings on local sidewalks.

In addition to that, I was the guest judge for the national competition that featured ten categories of 2-d and 3-d art forms.

I also taught a workshop for adults to show them how to draw using the Sight-Size Method taught in several ateliers in Florence. Students had their choices of drawing in charcoal or pastels.

In addition to all of that, I also taught art workshops to children of various ages in the Sarina and Mackay schools and I consulted with high school students on making a mural at the entrance for their alma mater.

I struggled with the idea of judging in art, especially because I do not feel competitive with others in my own work. Too busy trying to improve my own, I think. But we live in a world that functions with competition and decisions are made every day. I had to give a little speech at the awards presentation and I asked a friend to use my camera to take shots of me speaking (so my mother could know that I really did get some use out of those Toastmasters lessons she enrolled me in while I was in my last year of high school). However, I got nervous as usual and starting rambling on about my view on competitions and an artist's purpose. I explained what I had decided to do when faced with the difficult task of judging art - some forms about which I knew little. I was looking for art that created an emotion in me, something beyond technical excellence. I wanted to see some creativity from the artist and mostly, communication of ideas in a visual language.

In the end, I did not receive any images of me speaking. My friend said that he got so wrapped up in what I was saying that he forgot his task until he realized that I was saying thank you and rushing away from the microphone. Hahaha.

The next morning I had to walk through the exhibit and explain to interested artists why I chose what I chose and give a critique here and there to those who wanted one. It is funny being on the "other side of the fence." I sometimes do not understand the judge's choice for winners, so it was no real surprise when people questioned my choices. I was pleased to see that some of them told me afterwards that I changed their minds and helped them see the work anew. I was touched that several of the winners approached me after the awards ceremony to tell me how each had thought to give up art because of disparaging comments made to them by others. A foreign artist coming in and seeing a light/voice in their work was a tremendous boost. Lovely, and I feel grateful to have spurred them to continue their works and passion.

Mostly, I warned them to never "chase" a judge or even the market's tastes. Each artist chooses his path and expresses his voice. We are lucky if anyone else catches on and shares our visions, but doing anything less than personal work is, well, … less. It was a real honor and pleasure to speak to so many people hungry for art and art conversations.

The children I worked with in the schools were really great, as kids tend to be. I even enjoyed the grumpy one who glared at everyone but eventually did some drawing.

To see a lot more cool pics of Australia and the other news, please click here:
http://www.borsheimarts.com/news/2014_07-AustraliaArtCompetition.htm

Thank you for hanging with me.  I still have technical issues (i.e., new techniques to learn) to get my Web site and newsletter subscriptions working.
Kelly