Mucha House Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
One of my favorite buildings outside of central Florence, Italy, is what I simply call “The Mucha House.” I am not sure if this building done up in the art deco style is a private residence or an architect’s office or what, not being THAT nosy.
One of the “perks” of my current illness is that all scents seem to be amplified. My first day in the new studio at Angel Academy of Art had me reeling with a mixture of new paint, glue, body odor, aerosol paint (as students created black boxes for their still life compositions), smoke (which assails my senses so much worse than usual), perfumes, and a few other smells associated with construction and people and rain. The good news is that I can also smell the flowers even stronger than before, not that I wish to stay sick for this. So, you may see in this image here that the wisteria is in full-bloom, all over Firenze, in fact. I am loving that and hope you enjoy this image of “The Mucha House.”

P.S. After posting some new images of this lovely building, one of my artist friends sent me this link about the history of the house. Check it out!

Morocco + Illness

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
Two days into my trip to Morocco and I was already telling a friend that I had made a mistake and wanted to be home sooner than planned. But since I had not yet been to Marrakesh, I decided that I was being a baby and to just get on with it. I could not believe the amount of trash everywhere, the lack of bins (and those were mostly empty), and the mentality that accepted that as a way to live. And I am no neat-freak, although I do hate litter. And the flies around the food . . .

However, two days into Marrakesh and I tried to buy a flight back home to Italy. Ryan Air would neither let me change my existing flight, nor would they accept either of my credit cards for buying a brand new ticket. [Other airlines were far more expensive for a last-minute flight.] Of course, despite my frustration, it was not all bad, and I show you some images here. I explored some of the more out-of-the-way places in Fez and Marrakesh, constantly looking for the light and interesting shapes.

While I had been warned about the come-ons, I did not really understand that practically every conversation with a local was expected to be paid for with either money or sex. It was not flattering; it was annoying. And I was really unhappy waking up on the bus from Essaouira because the guy next to me had stretched his leg out into my space alongside my leg. He pretended to be asleep, but in fact, was fondling the underside of my knee with one hand while his other worked on my lower hip! I wanted to punch him, but I had been told that this is a country in which it was legal to rape a woman (but illegal to try to remove her veil, for that would be disrespectful) and was afraid that I would instead be blamed for having an enticing leg. I am only slightly joking here.

Ex-pat locals, as well as some hostel staff told me that I should just ignore everyone. But that is not often why I travel! Most of the time I just smiled to people (even as I was shaking my head “no”) and I was happy that many responded in a lovely way. Even the rejected hustlers would sometimes shout after me, “Thanks for that smile, Italia!” [That nickname was because I preferred to speak Italian when I did choose to speak. Oddly, the word seemed to spread as people I had not seen before addressed me as “Italia” on first greeting.] Most of the women seemed shy but happy to receive a greeting from me. A smile really is great international currency.

More images are posted on Facebook:

• Fez. Morocco (plus another Gymnast marble carving, sort of similar to My Gymnast marble sculpture . . . what are the odds!)
  
• Marrakesh, Morocco
  
• Essaouira, Morocco and the end of my trip
  

Apparently I ate or drank something that was bad and I have been sick since April 1st (no foolin’). My last two days in Marrakesh were spent in the hostel bed and bathroom. Then a fun 7-hour train ride back to Fez to spend 3 more charming, bed-ridden nights before I could get on my original flight back to Italia. It being Easter weekend, I had little recourse but to stay in bed at home and try to eat something if I could. I have wonderful flatmates, Tomaso and Amit. And they both bought me some requested yogurt so that I would have something to eat once home again. And another friend brought me some food last night, so I feel fortunate. I did go to the new studios at Angel Academy on Tuesday. They moved over the spring break and while the location is further from my home, it is much nicer. However, I did not have much energy for standing long. I did get to take a picnic near these lovely tulips near Piazza Beccaria. I wanted to just lay out on the grass and snooze a bit, but I was good and returned to the studio for a few hours.

Afterwards, I went to the Postale because my order of 40 books of “My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy” arrived early, on the day I flew out to Morocco as luck would have it. I was hoping the package was still here after two weeks and it was. But it was heavy and the effort to carry the books home set me backwards, into the chills and fever stage again. I have a tendency to pretend I am not sick and get on with my work, but I am learning that, as with art, if you do not get the right energy in early, you will never get it. So against my desires, I have been going nowhere.

However, Tuesday, since I was out anyway, I walked into a pharmacy here in Firenze and told the guy where I had been and how I felt. He sold me some antibiotics and another medicine. How cool was that -- no doc needed! Sadly, this is Thursday and I am still weak and bedridden mostly. So much for making art, but this cannot last much longer, right?

Anghiari Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
I just spent another lovely weekend with friends in Caprese Michelangelo, the little village where the great sculptor was born. Many people think that Michelangelo was born in Firenze, Italia, but he only moved there as a baby with his family. Caprese added his name to theirs later on in the little town’s history.

On our way back to Arezzo, where I was to catch the train back to Firenze, we stopped in Anghiari, of the famous Leonardo da Vinci fresco fame. [They have been trying for a looonnnnggg time now to discover whether or not Leonardo’s lost depiction of this famous battle in Anghiari does in fact lie underneath an artwork by Vasari in the Palazzo Vecchio in Firenze.] There happened to be an antique car show going on in the main piazza of Anghiari. It was quite a lovely chance viewing, especially considering that the annual market in neighboring Sansepolcro had lured away many locals and tourists from all over the region.

These images are from Anghiari. What has all this to do with art, the topic of this blog? Well, I learned that the bronze statue that you see with his arm in the air has a problem. The bronze sculpture depicts Giuseppe Garibaldi, the man who is given credit for the unification of Italy. I was told that he is supposed to be pointing towards Roma (Rome, for those who think proper names should be translated). However, once the sculpture was completed, everyone realized that in order for Garibaldi to point where he should, his bum would be facing those entering the piazza. Unacceptable! So, the Italians decided to have him point directly opposite the direction of Roma. Go figure … and a lesson for artists to do their homework!

I am off to Morocco in a few hours, so will probably be out of touch for about two weeks. I hope to have some lovely images to share with you after I get back to the bella Italia.

TASTE Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
A couple of Sundays ago, I had the kind of day in Italia that makes me feel that life here is simply surreal. At least it is often spontaneous! Originally, I had thought to visit a dear friend outside of the city, but I had also received an invitation to see the current exhibit inside the Palazzo Strozzi here in Florence, Italy. What is a girl to do, but try to squeeze in both social occasions on my one day outside of the studio?

So, my friend Roberto (another artist) and I met at the carousel in Piazza della Repubblica early on the Sunday morning and together we went to see the art exhibit “Americans in Florence: Sargent and the American Impressionists” (on exhibit 3 March-15 July 2012). We also had a gander at the Strozzina.

Between Roberto's amused observation that Sunday morning by the name "Strozzina" (the Contemporary Art Section inside the Palazzo Strozzi) as a curious play on words (he believes was intended) and another friend Luca's subsequent explaining to me of the Italian language (esp. Tuscan), I am getting a fun education. The suffix "ina" means "little" -- so "Little Strozzi" is a cute way of saying "not the main gallery." But the verb "strozzare" means 'to choke' (or 'to strangle') and strozzina is also Italian slang for a (female) LOAN SHARK (someone who will cause you a lot of pain)! So, if indeed intended, is that Palazzo Strozzi's official comment on contemporary art? [Or just the stuff they exhibit? ha!] But I digress… we were not as impressed with the American Impressionist mostra as we had hoped to be, but there were several remarkable works of art in the exhibit.

Well, in any event, my other friend cancelled our visit, so Roberto and I sauntered on over to one of his favorite places for lunch – Antonio’s, near Piazza Salvemini. I have known Roberto since 2006 and he introduced me to Antonio that New Year’s Eve as we ducked under a half-closed door to buy some last minute goodies for our all-night party that night. Antonio even let Roberto take a picture of me with him behind the counter (that image is on another laptop at the moment or I would share). However, I include here a snapshot that I took of Antonio and his wife after Antonio took one of Roberto and me (see that one in my Facebook albums…). We ate quite well and Roberto even topped it all off by ordering for us this lovely cheese that is a specialty of the region outside of Firenze (but still in Tuscany). Served on a bed of rucola. Mmmm.

And then we experienced Lagniappe: Antonio told us that he and his wife had to stay there to work, but had two tickets to TASTE, a food festival that was happening that afternoon and into the early evening. He offered them to us. Roberto and I looked at each other and thought, “Perché no?” I had only intended to be out for the morning before getting ready to take the train, so we headed over to Roberto’s closer home to get some coats and caught a bus over to the event.

It was a lot of fun – free tastings of wine, cheeses, tea, (they had beers there too), meats, and foods that are all fresh and from Italy. Yum, yum, yummy! Of course, once we finally closed that place down, we decided to head to a new bar and discovered that we knew the twin bartenders from another place. Lovely to see that their dreams to own their own bar had come to fruition! Anyway, here are some snapshots from TASTE in Florence, Italy. There are more on my Facebook pages. Enjoy and happy Spring!

Jean Baptiste Carpeaux Sight Size Art Painting

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I spent at least three hours per weekday now doing my first color copy of a plaster cast of a sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875). I am including two images that I was able to find of his work online. The cast that I am creating a copy of was cropped (the elaborate hair is too complicated for the intended purposes of this cast) and I wanted you to have a better idea of the kind of sculpture that Carpeaux created.

I am doing an exercise in subtlety, learning to paint with colors (yes, a simple palette), playing with tone, hue, and chroma. This first image shows you my basic Sight-Size setup. The Sight-Size Method refers to the process of setting up one’s canvas in such a way that the model (in this case a plaster cast) will appear to be the same size on the final artwork. In some ways it is a much easier way to train one’s eye/brain/hand coordination since mistakes will be more apparent.

I position myself, standing, about two meters away from my work. You may see the “scotch” (what we say here in Firenze for masking tape) on the floor where my right foot goes. I have also placed some scotch on the wall behind and below the easel to mark my “click-in point,” which helps me remember exactly where I have lined up my body (eye) with the canvas so that I can repeat my vantage point when studying the subtleties of shape.

I start by deciding where the top of the cast is, and then the bottom. I take my steps forward and place a sketchy thin wash of paint onto my canvas. (I am still heavy handed with this, hmmm.) After that, I step back to my vantage point and decide how much correction I need either up or down. It is very unusual to place the mark perfectly the first time. Try it!

I have continued in this way, pacing back and forth, until I have sketched in a construct for the outer (large) shape. Next, I go in and determine what is shadow and what is light within that larger form. Note that the jaw appears too thin, but I have not actually drawn the shape of the head or the jaw. I have designed the shape of that large shadow that includes the jaw, ear, neck, and part of the chest. You can see that my drawing is not exact here – although I did not see it as so far off while I was doing it. [The two marks of paint that you see in the top right of the canvas were demonstrations of the extreme types of stroke one can make with a brush, depending on technique and how much paint is in the brush. For this stage I use VERY little paint and more of a dry brush.]

In this next image, you may see how I have developed the shapes. Because I have been working over several days, my paint had dried and thus, my work got sloppy as I painted darker when refining the shapes in the area of the ear. Note that background is added as needed to help me see the shape. We see in form or mass more than in lines.

Now, I add the background. I am not a very good painter and I have discovered that this project intimidates me because I want to do it right and yet I know the areas in which I am weak. This Carpeaux copy will test me and train me. However, the approaching spring and my missing marble carving is adding to my lack of focus and fear of failure on this project. My background colors are too cold, even as I began to apply them with my palette knife. (That was fun and I would enjoy learning to paint with a knife!)

In this last image, you may see a plaster cast of an eye from Michelangelo’s “David” and a sight-size painting of it to the right (in “grisaille” – white and black). The artist working next to me must sit as he works, and rolls his chair over a carpet! [I am not sure why the carpet is needed because I would have thought that rolling over it would have been more difficult than the tiled, hard floor.] His lower vantage point gives us the ability to work in a closer space within the studio while working on different art projects.

Back to my Carpeaux: Once the background tone is in, I not only can start to determine the relative tones within the subject, but I can also clearly see that my sketch is too large! I had to laugh because when I walked into the studio that next morning, it was if I had experienced ”stone expansion”! “Stone Expansion” is a term that carver Scott Owens coined to describe that feeling (rationalization – ha!) when the marble is cut away to satisfaction, but the next morning appears to have grown overnight! I was hoping (or more accurately, my ego was hoping) that the drawing expanded because I had not wanted to lose my lines as I applied the paint and only painted beyond them. However, once examining the work, I saw that many shapes were off. I am still refining these as I continue the process.

Yesterday, I was told that, "Painting is merely a matter of correcting mistakes." Hmmm, maybe living is too.

Sculpture Challenge PAWS

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

This Saturday is the annual Sculpture Challenge, hosted by Philip and Michelle Hoggatt at their beautiful location for Carved Stone. Located in Dripping Springs, Texas, it is a quick drive southwest into the beautiful Texas Hill Country. The event features stone carvings in a variety of styles and stone.

I have three stone carvings in this event, two of which you have probably not seen completed before, except perhaps in images online. I have written to you about the marble “Gymnast” and you may preview her online at:

www.borsheimarts.com/sculpture/2011/gymnast-marble.htm

My newest carving is in a new stone for me: a pink limestone from Texas. This work was mostly carved during The Vineyard at Florence’s sculpture competition in the spring and fall on 2011. I finished her in November and delivered her with the others to Philip and Michelle’s sculpture garden before I left Texas.

“Ascension Invitation” is a combination of a variety of ideas that I have been working on in my studio, but is the only one that has been fully realized. I had been designing a series of figures set inside of a vertically oriented rectangle topped with a circle. The other shapes, such as the angel’s wings, fell into place as I thought of turning a wall design into a three-dimensional garden sculpture.

I like the word ‘ascension’ for its upward connotation, the meaning in astronomy as “the rising of a star above the horizon,” and well as one dictionary definition of “to go toward the source or beginning; go back in time.” And invitation seemed like a fitting word because of the stairs in the composition, with the angel pointing the way.

I hope you enjoy. I left the stone unsealed because limestone is perfect out of doors. And when it rains on this stone, she turns a deep color of pink. I hate to lose this variety of color by sealing a stone that so wants to breathe!

Sculpture Challenge at Carved Stone, Inc.
WHEN: Saturday, March 3, 2012, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: 5300 Bell Springs Road, Dripping Springs, TX 78620.
http://sculpturechallenge.com/ (for map and more information)

Sculpture Challenge is a benefit for PAWS Animal and Humane Shelter. Admission requires a $10 per person donation to PAWS. All ticket proceeds benefit PAWS. Also, if you purchase one of the sculptures entered into the Sculpture Challenge, 20% will go to PAWS.

Why Beauty Matters

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Sometimes it is what we take for granted – or even deem as not necessary – that turns out to be the thing that is the essential difference between existence and a life well-lived. I hope you enjoy the video link below. On the following youtube.com page, you will see links to more discussions along these lines.
Why Beauty Matters by Roger Scruton