We're Off to See the [Bronze] Wizard!

Dear Art Lover,

     I am actually trying to meet a painting deadline before I must pack up all of my things, leave my flat, and prepare for the next stage of the adventure.  So, please forgive my lack of posting… I have lots more of Italia that I want to show you.  However, for now, please enjoy a few snapshots I took when I went to visit my new friend Camila on her last day (this trip) in Firenze.

     They had some sort of festival going on May 8, so the Loggia in Piazza della Signoria and also the statue of Neptune were lit up with colors.  Plus we experienced another gorgeous sky that evening.

Kickstarter campaign update for “Casting Call:  I’m Melting!  Melting!  . . . Into Bronze.”

     I am delighted to announce that most of my wax sculptures have now safely made it to the bronze casting foundry in Texas so the work can be started! [My part in the wax work had already been done.]

This is all due to the generosity of time and driving by John Borsheim and fellow sculptor Marla Ripperda, people I have known and loved for decades. John packed up the sculptures and brought them to Austin, met with Marla, and Marla took them to the foundry a couple of hours away. I feel very grateful for their help since it has turned out that my travels around the US once I leave Italy in a couple of weeks make it so that I will not arrive in central Texas until mid-late July.

     YAY! You have made the casting commence! Thank you so much!

Peace,

Kelly         

P.S. If you have not sent me your mailing address or your choice of specific Reward yet, please do so. I will be ordering the prints and books in about a week.

Sculpture Instructors and colleagues at the
Elisabet Ney Sculpture Conservatory in Austin, Texas
[L-R:]  Marla Ripperda, Bill Barnett, and Kelly Borsheim pour molten bronze to make art
copyright 2002 Borsheim Arts Studio
http://BorsheimArts.com

Teatro gReY Mime Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Florence, Italy: At the end of the Uffizi Corridor where the famous Loggia dei Lanzi is, one can often find my friend gReY entertaining the crowds in the late afternoon. While the cliché might be that most people hate mimes, gReY really brings out the humanity of us all when he performs by interacting with the crowds large and small. People love gReY, Il Mimo.

I took these images on Italian Liberation Day (25 aprile). Before heading over to meet some visitors who wanted to see my solo exhibit at Sei Divino’s, I decided to make an evening of it by hanging out in centro for the free concert in Piazza delle Signoria. I was delighted to see gReY in action.



Often the romantic . . . such the very Italian Romeo!





One big crowd pleaser is when gReY kisses the bald heads and faces of passersby. I like to watch him put on his makeup. Relax, the white that he often leaves on the skin of his “co-performers” is actually Nivea skin crème -- entirely safe and might even protect your skin!

gReY, Il Mimo, is not only a performer in Italy. He travels on occasion. I think it was last year that he was in New York City for quite a while. (I have no concept of time.) “Teatro gReY” has been seen on National Italian TV and you can check him out online at http://it.youtube.com/grey2199.

In this shot, gReY the mime is protecting his pet pigeon on a leash.


gReY’s humor is interactive and he rarely does anything that should offend. Most people enjoy a lot when he follows people while they remain unaware, imitating and exaggerating their postures and anticipating their moves. It is amazing how often he can sneak up behind a distracted tourist and hold his or her hand without the person even considering that the hand does not belong to someone s/he is traveling with! His acting voice is very warm in this way.

And in these last three images, Il mimo actually stopped a young woman who thought she was only walking past and sat her down in the audience. He interacted with another person nearby and then went to the original gal and took her hand and the hand of the boy beside her (a stranger to her). He actually got them to act as though they were enamored of one another as gReY borrowed her camera to photograph the kiss he orchestrated. Then of course, gReY encouraged us all to give the two a round of applause.



When you come to Florence, Italy, please take some time out of your museum stops and gelato tasting and relax and laugh with gReY, Il Mimo.

His Web site states hours: Il mimo gReY torna con i suoi esilaranti spettacoli nella piazza degli Uffizi a Firenze. Potrete assistere agli spettacoli dal martedi al venerdi dalle 17 alle 18 e 30 ed il sabato e la domenica dalle 15 e 30 alle 18. Non Mancate!!!!! (Tuesday – Friday, 5 – 6:30 p.m. and Saturday & Sunday, 3:30 – 6 p.m. – Do not miss!!!!!)

If you like what you read, enjoy the photos, and would like to help support this blog(ger) / artist, click here . . .

Happy Birthday, Rudy!

Fabulous Florence Italy

I have yet to see Florence, Italy’s Piazza della Signoria and the Loggia (that sounds so much better than ‘porch,’ does it not?) lit up so dramatically as they are now. I just assume that this is holiday lighting. I just finished editing some of the many images that I took tonight after the drizzle let up a bit. The sculptures from historical Florence never looked quite this dramatic. The shadows are fantastic!

La Bella Luna - Full Moon Over Florence, Italy

Oh how I love the moon! I know that I am a Leo, but always, I have felt a stronger
connexion to la luna. And tonight he is full and filled with beauty. But alas, there are many clouds and a wee bit of rain over Firenze, and I cannot see him tonight. Last night, I went to meet a friend in Piazza Signoria about le ora 20:00. The moon was rising perfectly behind the Basilico of Santa Croce. I only had a 'snap and shoot' digital camera with me, which can never capture the moon as the eye sees him.

And while I waited for my friend, I entered the Loggia near the Uffizi Museo/Galleria (where the sculptures are), and snapped more fotos of the full moon caught under an archway that connects the Uffizi to the Palazzo Vecchio. I was hoping of a repeat display tonight so that I may obtain better images on my digital SLR. Hmmmmmmm. I hope you enjoy this others from last night. Buona notte!