Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I have returned to Firenze, Italia, from my lovely trip to Serbia, only to discover that I have too many friends. Ha.. My life seems to be go-go-go and while it is a lot of fun and I feel a bit spoiled, I am also feeling antsy because my art making has slowed too much. Soon, I go to Spain to study mural making. It was an excellent opportunity too good to pass up and the timing could not have been better: I have a commission to paint my first mural. I am excited and nervous about it since there are many new things for me to attempt.

I am currently trying to seclude myself for this week to finish the bozzetto (Italian for “sketch,” in this case similar to maquette or a small model of an intended larger work). Like most artists, I find inspiration from my colleagues of the past, as well as my contemporaries and my own imagination. Most of my work happens in my head long before anyone else will even see one mark of it. I was delighted last weekend when I visited my clients and showed them my charcoal sketch. It was very loose and I commend them and their friends for catching on to what I was trying to express.

To find inspiration for this project, I turned to one of my favorite romantic artists, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema [Born: Dronryp, Netherlands on 8 January 1836; Died: Wiesbaden, Germany on 25 June 1912]. He is often thought to be British (and lived in England for many years), but his interests and life were much broader than one country could hold.

I am including four images here of some of Alma-Tadema’s paintings that helped me with my composition. I also include here an image that I took in Serbia, which is also playing a role in my future mural.

Basically, I was told by the client what elements he wanted in what started out as a painting for a wall. But I had envisioned something larger and next thing you know he was preparing the wall with the latest technology in Italia: cork insulation with aluminum foil to keep out moisture and then covered in fresco-type material and sealed. You might imagine the laugh we had when I told him what I had envisioned as he sent me progress reports on the wall each day that I was in Serbia! [The foil threw me, but is laminated on a sheet of cork… whereas I had envisioned a home-made job of sheets of foil being pushed into the wall and lots of wine drinking going on to get corks available. Ha. My vision no doubt is also a memory of my friend Andrew Corke who is creating art with real wine corks. But, I digress . . . as I do.]

I made a list of all of the elements my client wanted (three curvaceous, long-haired scantily clothed female figures, Roman ruins, arched window(s), a pool for the ladies, etc.). I then mapped out the proportions of the wall and included various architectural elements (such as an awkwardly placed “window” in the wall) and furniture that would block some of the view of the mural.

My first disegno did not make me happy. It felt cluttered and lacked the impact that a mural should have (as a good street painting does). However, it was a necessary part of my process because my reaction to it led to a much better second attempt. So, I now have approval and need to solidify the drawing and hire the models. Stay tuned for progress images, although there will be a trip to Spain here before the mural begins.

Marble Carving Gymnast

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Many years ago, I had an idea . . . yup, just one ;-) It began back in 2003 or 2004. I created a maquette (French word for a small sculpture that will be used to create a larger one) in plastilina of a gymnast in a pike position. I needed to make it so that I could calculate what cut of marble I needed. I had been itching to work larger for a while now.

I then contacted the quarry in Colorado and ordered my marble. I had them cut out a block of stone above the gymnast’s head to save me the effort, but more importantly to save the stone for another project. Until I can get enough of the proper tools (for example, a diamond-bladed chainsaw), it is best to outlab these kinds of things. The idea for this sculpture is a symmetrical vertical composition, with a bit of asymmetry in the feet for a fun element (the way no proper gymnast would pose).

I have been collecting stone whenever I have my van with me and a few bucks (or more) in my pocket. The Colorado Yule Marble for "The Gymnast" (center) sat around for many years, but it is the second of the three large stones that I brought home over time. Going to Italy for extended stays postponed this project. In the summer of 2008, I decided to work on the stone a little bit, knowing that I may have to finish this over a long period of time.
Unfortunately, the railroad ties I bought for support and height began to rot and, as you can see in the 1100-pound block of marble to the right, some leveling needed to be done.


Despite the years of dust covering this raw marble and the impending storm (leaving only a diffused and subtle light for my photography), one can still see some translucency in this marble near the top edge of the block.


After cutting away some of the marble block, I had to redraw my design. I am a direct carver. That means that I do not make a large sculpture out of plaster, clay, or wax and then measure and copy it into a block of stone.

Instead, I draw directly on the stone and cut what I do not wish to have there. Yes, I have my maquette, but that is only a tool to help me determine my basic proportions. Soon, I will abandon it and work only with the stone.

And now, for a little self promo of another kind:
Wow -- something I wrote made the # 1 Business Tip on MorenaMedia's blog. So cool!
http://blogmorenamedia.blogspot.com/2009/11/amanda-strong-top-10-links-of-week.html


(Click on the image to enlarge.)

Happy Birthday, Lexi!

Fresco Art in Massa

When in Pietrasanta the other day, my friends and I went to visit Hafiza's maestro, Samuele Manni. He is currently working in the sculpture studio of a very well-known sculptor Marcello Tommasi. We were allowed into his studio, but no photos and no speaking. Hafiza explained that the day before some visitors made rude comments about classical art and the sculptor was not amused. We were only permitted to enter because Hafiza reminded Samuele that we are artists who work in the classical tradition.

Anyway, later that day, Samuele took off work to drive us north to Massa (still south of Carrara, the famous town for marble quarrying). We went to see six panels of frescos that Samuele did, one of which is shown in part here. The church is "Parrocchia San Sebastiano" and is very new, in Italian terms. Samuele likes to use real people from current times in his compositions. His father Franco is the old beggar man on the right. I met him a couple of times during my last stay in Italia -- quite charming. Many of the others in the frescoe are members of this congregation.

Fresco is a medium that I find interesting, but I do not want to do. It is fast work on one hand because the artist is working with color in plaster, but of course, the scope of most frescoes usually means that the project takes quite a bit of time. Samuele told me that the actual fresco work took about one and a half months per panel, but the cartoons and design work ahead of time (including the 'bozzétti', or small drawing that gets the idea fleshed out and approved; a 'maquette' is the equivalent when referring to sculpture).

If you would like to learn more about frescos, here is a good place to start:

www.artlex.com/ArtLex/f/fresco.html

Thank you for reading!
ciao, ciao,
Kelly