Art Newsletter October

Dear Art-loving friend,

Oh, will wonders never cease!  I spent the night sending out my art newsletter and have now verified that the problem was not with my new Internet service provider (although slower and spottier than I had before), it is because my new Web site hosting company puts a limit of 250 e-mails sent per day!  Boy, I never thought to ask about that in this age when I asked about all the other things I wanted to know.  I assumed so completely that a business site would have no limitations on e-mail that it just never occurred to me to ask about that!

Allora, if you are not one of the first 250 names on my subscription list (different from Blogger subscriptions), then you will not yet have received your copy of my newsletter.  Sadly, you may not receive it for days, depending on whether or not I can find a way around this limitation. [Also, I cannot send any other e-mails from that address until the ban gets lifted.]

So, if you are like me and impatient, read the online version here.  It is prettier anyway, since I include images.  As always, I appreciate your feedback and support of my art career.  I will be posting more informal images from the symposium in Bulgaria on my Facebook page, so that my colleagues and you may enjoy.  Although, I was told that I missed a lot of the fun that others had because I seemed only interested in my work.  Perhaps, but I love to sculpt and prefer my fun time as a small break to my art-making time.

Without further ado, here she is, Bulgaria:

http://www.borsheimarts.com/news/2014_10_RussalkaBulgariaArtSculptureSymposium.htm

Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm,

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Art Publicity in Italy

Whew hoo! How cool is this? (scusami, self-indulgent moment coming up . . .)
My mug shot and name made today’s newspapers in Italy!!! There is a small teaser photo on the bottom of the front page of the 11 March edition of “Il Giornale della Toscana” and then a rather large image of me starting my drawing of Caravaggio’s ‘St. John the Baptist as a Youth (with ram)’. Yup, just what every girl needs – a photo in the paper of her working on her knees.

The article on page 11 is rather long and takes up more than half of the page. The images and text came from giornalista Fabrizio Boschi of “Il Giornale della Toscana” and is about the new plight of the madonnari (street painters) after the law regarding Street Art was changed in January.


Caption quote:
A sinistra una “Madonnara fiorentina”, Kelly Borsheim, 43 anni, originaria del Texas. È a Firenze da un anno e mezzo, ma adesso per lei, come per gli altri suoi colleghi, si prospettano tempi duri. Lei è anche scultrice di marmo e bronzo: una vera artista a tutto tondo. I Madonnari sono artisti di strada, così chiamata dalle immagini, soprattutto sacre e principalmente Madonne, che sono soliti disegnare per strada.

A VERY Rough Translation:
On the left one "Florentine Madonnara", Kelly Borsheim, 43 years, originally of Texas. She has been in Florence for a year and half, but now for her, like for her colleagues, they see hard times. She is also a sculptor of marble and bronze: one true artist to all round. The Madonnari are artists of the street, therefore called from the images, above all sacred and mainly Madonne, that they are usual to draw for the street.

Signor Boschi’s article told about the work of the madonnari and also about the increase in the tax or permit fees for the street painting organization. Claudio Sgobino is the leader of the Madonnari and he chained himself to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria on Monday 10 March in protest to the large fee hike. Claudio has been in Florence for 20 years, but has worked as a madonnaro for 23 years.

Then late in the day, my friend Lisa O’Neil sent me a text message that she also found me in a group shot with the madonnari in the Metro paper. The image below was located in the Metro on pagina 7 and was taken by the journalist in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. I am standing on the left – wearing pants, no less!



So, let us see what kind of changes might be had after Claudio’s publicity campaign.