Volterra Italy at Night

Dear Art-loving friend,

In my previous post  I showed you a few small dragons in the charming town of Volterra, Italy.  On this eve of my favorite holiday, Halloween, I give you a few images of the night.  Unlike the vampire I often pretend to be, I am not trying to charm you into the darker side of life, but to enchant and share something of my world with you.  

Volterra is an ancient Etruscan town dating back to at least the 8^th century BC.  One can see Roman and Florentine architecture here.  Volterra is now listed in the region of Pisa.  My friends Art and Virginia Wells and I had driven to Volterra by way of Pisa so that they could take in a few of those famous white marble Pisan sights [one is, after all, INCLINED to do so… can vampires make puns?].

I am including shots of the Roman amphitheater.  While I did not have time to go down into it during the day (not because I was asleep in my coffin, thank you very much), it looks as if there was a mighty view of the valleys surrounding the hilltop town.  What an amazing backdrop for any performance!  The giant human forms that are lit in strong white MAY be sculptures by the Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj.  Sadly, he joined the other realm recently in Paris.

Like many towns and cities in Tuscany, Volterra has a Medici fortress (this family really got around!).  Also, when most writers speak of the towns in Italy (Firenze too), most of the time we are actually referring to the OLD TOWN center… the part within the medieval wall, or her remains.  Outside of this border, homes are often NOT made out of stone and they look more like modern spaces. 

Allora, Happy Halloween… I am off to a bar to start off the evening, to meet a couple who invited me out.  The other day I was in Zecchi’s famous art supply store near the Duomo in Firenze and was talking to the owners Sandro and his son Leo, long-time friends of mine.  I was mistaken for an employee and for that, I am happy that my Italian speaking and knowledge of the shop can fool some people!  Still, it is a fun way to meet people. But now, I need to grab my cape and fly… I advice you to be careful of strangers… they may be more strange than you dare imagine.

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http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.com

Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm,

Kelly 

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Crucified Christ on a Pulley Chiesa di Sant’Agata nel Carmine Bergamo

Dear Art-loving friend,

      My first ten years of life aside, I do believe that I have never spent so much time inside a church as I do while living in Italy.  But hey, there is a LOT of art in churches here!   Each church or even basilica has its own personality, and yet, there are so many similarities.  My friend Susan and I meandered into the Chiesa di Sant’Agata nel Carmine in the Città Alta of Bergamo earlier this month.  It originated in 1391, was renovated in 1730, and contains works from the years in-between.  I must say that it feels odd to no longer be surprised when one enters a church containing such splendor.  In fact, sometimes I think it lessens the impact of the architecture of spaces in other countries.  

     However, I enjoyed the floor, reminding me of the harlequin’s pattern.  The skull and other relics were prominently displayed in one of the side chapels on the left.  Usually relics are not so easily accessible, or as impressive a collection in one space.  Things like this always leave me with more questions than answers.  If these are things of the spirit, are the spirits still connected with those of the physical or is it just that WE need to have this connection?  That sort of thing I ponder.

And, this may be the only church in which I found a crucified Christ on a pulley system.  Um, is that for some fun on Halloween (or better, All Saints’ Day)? 

     Well, I am still writing, so I suppose that lightning has missed me again.  It has always perplexed me that the Christian religion speaks freely and demonstrates in her temples most aspects of humanity, such as violence and death, and yes, reverence and faith too.  But rarely do we ever see images or artworks of sex, our most physical way of expressing love.  How often do we even see hand-holding or hugs?  Or is it just that the love of parent [or authority figure] without much physical expression, outside of the suckling from a feeding breast, is so much more important than physical love between consenting adults or even open affection?  I am not suggesting really that churches become filled with images of sexual playfulness or adventures [although I am certainly not opposed to it if beautifully done], but I do grow weary of the prevalent violent images.

      Now, on some lighter notes.  We saw fried and sugared polenta cakes in a bakery [with marzipan below them].  I have not tried this, but I imagine it is decadently delicious.  Grease and sugar, mainstays the world over. Traffic and dogs… Dogs in bakeries… Love it all.  And yes, by all means, encourage them to use the urinals… Men, too, please.


Happy birthday, dear Lei! This is a big one, no? I feel it too.  We still have much to accomplish!

     This is another one of those “lost in translation” situations.  “non pretendiamo tanto . . . ma almeno nei giardini”  Google translates this sign as “do not claim as much. . . but at least in the gardens”  I can think of lots of ways to interpret, but you decide.  I must study more Italian language!

Sight Size Cast Copy Painting

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I am not sure why I must rebel against almost everything I try to do. This next image is of a current project, a painting of a plaster cast from an original sculpture. Ideally, it should have been painted using the Sight Size Method, which means that my painting would result in an image that is the same size as the original when the painting is viewed from the proper placement in comparison to the subject (a sculpture in this case) from a viewing point of about two meters away.

Sadly, I find sight-size painting or drawing a bit dull. It takes all the fun out of it for me to discover, or interpret, the relationships I see between shapes and tones if I simply lines things up and then make a mark on my canvas that corresponds to a point I can measure on my original. I want to make a mark that I intend to make (and cast paintings are a great way to train the eye and hand), but some part of me rebels against what my mind sees as “copying.” I want to spend more time with my beloved triangles.

Anyway, here is an image of my afternoon project of the Roman soldier copy. You can see that the image on my painting is larger than the original sculpture. This is mostly because my easel is placed incorrectly. It is too far forward. Sadly, these things are so difficult to photograph and you can see how washed out are the details in the lights of the sculpture. This snapshot was taken about a week ago and the painting looks better a little each day.

In closing, have a fun and safe Halloween celebration this evening and/or All Saints’ Day on 1 November, as you will. The latter is an Italian holiday and I am looking forward to spending the day working on my art inspired by Morocco. I may also go visit the famous cemetery here in Florence, San Miniato. It is properly called Basilica di San Miniato a Monte, Firenze. Here is a shot of a few of my artist friends and me during our costumed Halloween Party last Saturday. More images are posted on my Facebook page. Good fun!

More Graffiti Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Did you enjoy the last posting on the origins of Italian graffiti? I hope so because here I go again. These images are sadly of graffiti that is disappearing faster than others.

Zecchi’s Art Supply on Via dell Studio, not far from the famous Duomo (cathedral) in central Florence, Italy, still carries the pigments for the graffiti … it is a soft black and the white. Lovely. So, never forget to look up and look around. The world is a gorgeous place and people can do amazing things!

I may not be posting for a while: My favorite holiday is fast approaching. My free time is limited, but I love creating a new version of … whatever… for Halloween. I am quite excited to be surrounded by so many artists and creative people with tons of generous affection flowing. We have a fun party planned and trust me, there will be costumes! Life may not be perfect, but it is joyous.

Also, I have posted three albums of images taken from my summer trip to Spain for the mural workshop. They are here on Facebook. Just click on “Albums” and choose the Spainish albums of your choice. There are three from that trip. I believe you may see these even without a Facebook account. But, if you like, why not be friends with me there as well?

Thank you for reading and Happy Halloween! Boo!

Halloween in Italy

Halloween in Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

OK, so here are a couple images from my Halloween. There are more on Facebook. Basically, it rained so my teased hair fell more quickly than it should have: Kinda takes any terror out of Spider Woman.

And the high heels that I was wearing to keep the dress from dragging in the street came apart in the rain – and on Florence’s famous Ponte Vecchio. No doubt the walk that I was doing to try to keep my balance as I tried to flip the soles back underneath the shoe on each step was what brought my little group to the attention of some of our other friends.

My friends Linda (from Latvia) and Hafiza (a fiorentina) helped me by using masking tape (called ‘scotch’ here in Italy) around my feet. But that did not even hold up to the Palazzo Pitti! Anyway, this gal can make an entrance!

This was Hafiza’s first Halloween (an American holiday, you know) and she loved seeing our friends in costume. I think her favorite was Kieran, the pigeon. Like many tourist-ridden cities, Florence hosts a lot of pigeons. Another friend of mine even told me about a ristorante in which one may eat a pigeon.

Hafiza stayed with me that night and accompanied me as I walked home without coat or shoes. It took about 45 minutes since I no longer live in the central part of Florence. I was amused that at around 3 am along the Arno River, one guy who passed us by actually warned me about catching a raffreddore (relax, that is only a cold).

So, enjoy the fotos. It is interesting to realize just HOW MANY people in other countries pay CLOSE attention to US politics. I only hope that votes are cast wisely.

Halloween in Italy

Halloween in not an Italian holiday, although the day after (1 November) most certainly is -- All Saints' Day. However, the costumes and decoration of things in the spiritual and/or fantasy realm of this American holiday have been making their way into Italian cities, such as Florence. Here you see some of my friends (with me on the far right) in costume from last Saturday night's party. The moon was mostly full and we enjoyed walking down the streets of the city center to arrive at a fun party.



I am sometimes surprised at the responses of artists -- so many at this party asked each other, "What are you?" Did it matter the label? Allora, perhaps this explains why the title of an artwork is important. It adds to the story. The best description of my costume of argento (silver) was "The Tin Man's Favorite Fantasy"!

I hope you enjoy taking your favorite holidays and sharing them with new friends.
ciao, ciao, e buona festa.

(BTW, festa means 'party' in italiano. Partito means 'party' but refers to politics.)