Identity Crisis Sculpture

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I try to use my head often, but it is my heart that typically makes the decision and asks the brain to figure out how to make the idea into reality. I have been experiencing a bit of an identity crisis lately. I am living here in Firenze, Italia, a place I feel strongly connected to although I do not exactly know why and maybe do not need to. I am studying the art of painting in a classical style. I am enjoying it and learning a lot. I am.

But my hands are missing the touch of the stone and the feel of a heavier tool. Some days it feels that painting is a system of constantly making corrections, while stone carving means knowing that I may not be able to redesign if I remove too much material. One shot. One unique stone. There is no putting ON of the stone. One would think that this would be stressful, but I find this process strangely freeing and intellectually challenging. Perhaps freeing BECAUSE of the challenge.

Does it matter? I need to get back to it. I need my drug. I need to touch a stone and work with it again. And the heart is strong in this desire and rarely patient. Since January is my anniversary month for taking the art-life plunge and I typically make a special offer to promote art for the home and office, the brain decided to “up the ante” this year and create a promotion involving my stone carving. Some part of me hopes that if I find new homes for my existing stone carvings, I will feel the void in my studio and then the priority in my life will have to change and I will be carving again sooner than originally anticipated.

Allora, this special offer is described in my latest art newsletter: http://www.borsheimarts.com/news/2013_01_GuggenheimSerraBilbao.htm. It is the best “sale” I have ever had, giving you more art with each purchase. Offer expires on February 15, 2013. Valentine’s Day gift, anyone?

The sculpture ”Encounter” (shown in this post) was carved from the most amazing stone. It is called Astra marble and features white crystalline starburst patterns in a black rock. Busy, but beautiful. The stone came to me from a quarry in Canada. I wanted to design simple elegant lines to show off the stone and eventually created a pair of stylized manta rays.. Like many of my stone carvings, you may see images of the work-in-progress on my Web site.. This is the best time to get the art you love! If not this sculpture, maybe another (stone or bronze or even terra-cotta).

I Do Not FALL in Love

It was a fantastically beautiful day today as I loaded up my car and prepared for tomorrow’s exhibit in Austin, Texas. This evening while printing out new price labels, my printer jammed. As I waited for the reboot, I re-read all of my years’ old posted newsprint and decided to share with you one of my favorite poems of all:

i do not fall in love.
i magnetize to its demands,
attach to its clinging magic,
and sing its living charms.
i stand, i rise, i fly
towards love,
but never fall at all.

-- Thom the World Poet
“Loyalty to the Star System”
(an excerpt from his Secular Prayers)

Tomorrow night will mark the debut of my newest stone carving, “Encounter” (finished in September just before I left for Italy). Inspired by manta rays, I now see the connection to this poem that is rarely far from my thoughts: “i stand, i rise, i fly . . .” Will you not join me at:

Host: Keith Hogan
Location: 4207 Shoalwood Avenue, Austin, Texas 78756 US
When: Wednesday, December 19, 6:00 p.m.
Hours: 6 p.m. to ??
Phone: 512.280.5402
Please join us as we celebrate an evening of holiday cheer and beautiful art in the setting of two beautiful condominium units that I (Keith) have totally and completely renovated at 4207 Shoalwood Avenue in the Rosedale neighborhood. [They are for sale.]