Milan, Italy Duomo

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Not too long after Vasily saw me off at the Chicago airport, I found myself being met in Milano, Italia by the mother of my coinquillina (roommate) Elena. After a delicious lunch and a pisolino (nap), I was given Tram tickets and sent on my way. I was charmed by how sweet Elena’s mother was to me: She asked the Tram driver to change the light at the top front of the bus for a moment so that I could see the name of the stop for my return trip to her home.

Upon arriving at the Duomo, a woman who has the age of my own grandmother placed her hand on my back as she guided me off the bus and over to the piazza surrounding Milano’s famous Duomo. This, as the driver turned to make sure I knew to uscire (to exit) the bus here. I found Milano’s people very pleasant.

After seeing the Duomo of Milano, I had to remind myself that Duomo in Italian does not mean ‘dome.’ It means ‘cathedral’ and usually refers to the main church in a city. Milano’s Duomo is the world’s largest Gothic cathedral and the second largest Catholic cathedral. She supports about 3500 statues. The tallest spire is 108 meters high. I wish that I had taken the time to walk on the roof.

I include the image below to show you the relative scale of this elaborate building.



For my taste, the design of the bronze doors is “information overload,” but the quality and story telling in the art are apparent. And examining portions alone allow one to fully appreciate this work of art and architecture centuries in the making.

I am loving more and more the combination of human figures with the geometry of architecture. I am no expert, but some of the architectural shapes seem to come from the Middle East and/or Africa. I find them appealing and uplifting.

In the double image below, the one on the left shows a less busy design. I love how the figure’s wings extend beyond the architectural border. The image on the right was one I found myself drawn to because of the powerful emotion expressed in the face and gesture of the hands.




I also photographed the bronze doors from below and looking almost straight up in an attempt to show you how dimensional the sculpture is: very high relief, with some parts sculpted fully in the round.

If you would like to learn more about the history of Milan’s Cathedral, please click here:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/milan-duomo.htm

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Sculptor Vasily Fedorouk

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

My good friend -- and the best sculptor I know -- Vasily Fedorouk picked me up at the Chicago aeroporto recently and I was able to spend some time with him and his family. I always learn things from him and was excited to see some of his new projects.

While we damn-near polished off a bottle of Armenian Arazat brandy (for whose name my keyboard does not have characters) and looked at images on his computer, the sun came streaming into the dining room window at a blinding angle. When Vasily pulled the curtain across the glass, we were pleased to see the following image cast by the shadows of two of his latest sculptures. The one on the left is a composition in metal. The sculpture silhouette on the right is a beautiful figure that Vasily carved from Turkish marble.





I took these next two images the next morning as Vasily and I went down into his basement, which doubles as a gallery. I love this space and it is so wonderful to have a place to see his works anytime. Vasily is shown here with his companion Era. The other picture is in the back room where he decided to show me some more images of works he did long ago in Ucrania (The Ukraine).

I never tire of seeing these photographs of marble, wood, and granite sculptures, as well as his drawings. He says he does the drawings (especially) for himself, but I cannot help but envision them framed in an exhibition for everyone who loves art to see.


Vasily Fedorouk is truly an amazing, sensitive, and generous artist. If you would like to see more of his artworks, please visit his site: http://vasilyfedorouk.com

Savings Account

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I am so excited! Today “my kid” Rudy and I opened up a bank account to keep track of the funds we are collecting to help Rudy get some teeth. You may remember the fund-raiser that I started for him on July 31st, in which I am selling giclée prints on canvas of some of my images of Italy.

Recently, one of my colleagues and friends who preferred to stay anonymous gave me $150 to help Rudy and then I received another cash donation of $20. This past weekend I received my first order for the giclées. The collector took advantage of free shipping and a quantity discount when ordering four images together. So, we are on our way for helping this young man born with Treacher Collins Syndrome improve his ability to eat healthy food and enjoy his life a bit more.

Rudy felt a bit ridiculous when I asked him if I could take our pictures in the bank to mark this occasion. You would think that he would be used to me documenting our lives by now. In his embarrassment, he started to laugh and could not truly stop until we left the bank. But I like these shots and I hope we can continue to make this savings account grow.

For more information about Rudy and our fund-raiser and to place your order, please visit:
http://www.borsheimarts.com/treachercollins.htm

I will be adding some more images as I get more time. I have more Angels and more Carnivale masks from Venice, as well as scenics of beloved Italian living. Stay tuned . . .

Against the Dying of the Light Sculpture

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I am so excited! And I owe many thanks to a generous collector of original art, who took advantage of my monthly payment plan offer. I not only received financial assistance in continuing my work in Italy this past year, but together we were also able to realize my newest bronze sculpture.

This autobiographical artwork is titled “Against the Dying of the Light” and he stands a total of 56 inches tall (x 14” x 13”). I created this work while thinking of the beauty and triumph in the struggle against something that feels greater than oneself. Two large hands grab a man’s extended legs as he angrily resists the pull, arching his back and clenching his fingers.

I did not create this bronze figurative sculpture to decorate someone’s living room. This work is intense and people recognize this and that is the word most often used in the description. I am OK with that. This sculpture composition is honest and pure . . . and I hope you agree, beautiful.

Many collectors have taken advantage of my monthly payment plan for adding my works to their collections. Basically, the offer is this: pay a non-refundable (but transferable) one-third deposit and then choose the amount and the date in each month in which you would like to purchase your Borsheim artwork. And the best part: NO finance charges!

Combine this with my pre-casting / introductory price on this new bronze sculpture, and it becomes easy to obtain the original art that you want. The Introductory Price on “Against the Dying of the Light” will be offered through the 15th of November. After that date, the price goes up 12%.

Contact me for more details.

Thank you for reading!

Stone Carving

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

After teaching a three-day workshop in stone carving, I decided that I really do not have enough time to finish the marble carving that has the nickname "George Washington" before I return to bella Italia. She will have more detail than even my marble sculpture "Stargazer" and thus, I am willing to take the time I need to create the best artwork I can. "George" will have to wait a wee bit longer.

But I tend to have many different projects going on “at once” and so, I am curious to know if I can finish another carving that I started a year or two ago (I think). In my neck of the woods, there has been no evidence of Hurricane Gustav, not even some much-needed rain. But the weather is surprisingly cool – anything less than 100 degrees F seems relatively cool to me.

After carving, I went to help John. Earlier today, I had prepared the stone base for “Against the Dying of the Light” and this evening John drilled the holes in it for securing the bronze figure. The center hole supports the bronze, while the two smaller holes on the sides are what I call “twister resisters” in that their function is to keep the sculpture from spinning around the center axis rod. I have no images of the joining since I was actually holding the bronze man while the threads were being tightened.

I cannot tell you just how happy it makes me to see this bronze figure sculpture realized. I hope to be sharing photos of him with you soon.

Stone Carving Workshop

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Students at my home studio here in central Texas just finished their second day of carving stone. Their projects are progressing beautifully. We have one more day left in this Labor Day Stone Carving Workshop.

Usually I do not work on my own projects while I am teaching, but in stone carving, the students need to have a certain amount of time to work with the tools and their stones and just CARVE. Because of all of the safety gear on our heads and all of the noise generated, talking is limited. So while I can discuss art concepts in my anatomy courses as students work, that is not possible while carving stone.

One student George took this image of me today working with a hammer and chisel on a piece of Colorado alabaster. Student Kate is in the background.

We lost one student, Kevin, this morning. He said that he needed to get back to his home in North Texas because he is a volunteer for the American Red Cross and needs to help prepare: His community is a place in which those evacuating their homes to escape from Hurricane Gustav will soon arrive.

Kevin was a little worried that George, who traveled from east Texas to take this stone carving workshop may not be able to return to his home Monday evening after we wrap things up here in central Texas. He reminded me that during the Hurricane Katrina evacuation, Interstate Highway 10 was converted into a highway that only headed west. Anyone trying to go east, towards the storm, was out of luck.

It is strange how lives interconnect and so many people experience different realities and we all await Gustav's arrival.

Creating a Bronze and Stone Sculpture

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I spent part of my day today with Philip Hoggatt of Carved Stone in Dripping Springs, Texas. Phil not only supplies stone to carvers, but his primary business is creating stone products, from plaques and furniture (lamps, park benches, planters, and clocks) to sculptures large and small.

Phil took my specs for the base of my newest bronze figure sculpture “Against the Dying of the Light” and found a piece of limestone that fit the size requirements. He used a chainsaw to cut the basic shape and when I arrived at his studio this morning, he refined the shape of the stone and added a really cool texture.

He used a bush hammer for texturing the surface of the rock. I had never seen this type of bush hammer and nicknamed it a horseshoe crab because of its shape. It is quite cool, leaving a much larger textured pattern than the texture tools I use with my pneumatic hammer. I love the look and I loved the time savings.


I share this close-up image with you of the blades of this bush hammer. When the power is turned off, as in this image, you may see the triangular arrangement of the three blades.

Afterwards, Philip used his forklift to load my new stone sculpture base into the trunk of my car. After I took the image below, I needed to stop playing tourist so that I could guide the stone into the trunk as Phil lowered the forklift. We set the stone inside the trunk over two 6 x 6 cedar posts that I had placed there to aid in removal back at my studio. I have a dolly with a hydraulic lift. She is fantastic! And she is much cheaper and healthier than back surgery!

Once unloaded, I will lighten the weight of the stone a little bit, wash it, dry it, add holes so that the bronze figure can be attached to its base, and then seal the stone for protection.