Daddy Longlegs

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

One of the benefits of working outside is noticing all of the “critters.” The other day I got to see a single ladybug on my marble “Gymnast” sculpture project. I do not really see ladybugs that often here, and that red round body contrasting with the white marble was fun.

More recently, I approached my marble work to find a Daddy Longlegs hanging out under the figure’s right arm. They are harmless and friendly enough. But I do worry that I will damage one of those delicate legs. I shooed him away, but then realized that my electric rotary tool apparently had no juice. After trying several sockets and wiggling lots of wire parts, I took it into the shop to take things apart.


Inside, one wire just pulled out WAY too easily. Most wire is coated with only the tips showing exposed metal. In this case, this tip had broken off inside the tool. Fixing it was just a matter of cutting away more of the plastic tubing around it and reattaching the wire.


When I returned to my carving site, my Daddy Longlegs friend was back, hiding under the left arm this time.

Nature's holidays are best - happy solstice! The skies were solid clouds (still are) over my home in central Texas, so I missed any chance of seeing the lunar eclipse last night.

Klimt Copy Kiss

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Long-time readers of my blog might remember that last year I won a blogging award from Casey Klahn for the entry I made about my trip to Vienna to see live Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”

In Italy this August, I wanted to recreate this artwork in the streets of Portofino, a charming coast town on a northern Italy peninsula. But the police and city hall were having none of it (streetpainting), despite our having found a few small surfaces on which we could have created some art in chalk and pastel without being in the way of pedestrians or cars. Boh!

Anyway, as it happens, there seem to be a lot of requests for copies of famous artworks, Klimt’s “Kiss” being one of the favorites. So, I broke down and painted one in mixed media. My copy of the famous painting is only 22” x 18” -- MUCH smaller than the original.
I hope you like her. She is available for sale . . . only $1600. Oh, and I did not recreate the coloring that I noticed in the original artwork. I decided to keep the whole image pretty much warm and keep the romance going . . .



PS. I have been re-posting lots of images that some of my friends in Florence, Italy, have been taking of the unusual snow layers blanketing the Renaissance City now. They are quite charming! If you would like to see some, please “befriend me” on Facebook. In the meantime, I hope that you have someone to snuggle with in the chilly temperatures of winter. Also, check out the total lunar eclipse on Monday night. Click here for specific details about when and what.

Flossing Marble

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

On occasion I wonder if there is something wrong with me. Today there was one such occasion. I always seem to push myself to the point of “why are you making this more complicated than it has to be?” or, at least, more complicated (read “costly”) than other professional artists would bother with. And yet, I have decided that it is this extra detail that makes the art perhaps worthy of awe and keeps me challenged and intellectually engaged. [Most often, the reason is about how the light falls on the form, such as in the space around the legs in “Eric” and the deep hole between the figures in “Together and Alone.”] I also am learning something new, although sometimes I think the lesson is “Boy, I never wanna do THAT again!” [No, seriously, I am happy when I pull off the complicated part and think the idea works how I intended.]

In this case, I am speaking about my current work-in-progress, the “Gymnast” in Colorado Yule Marble. The female figure is sitting in a pike position, feet reaching to the sky, as she tucks her chin close to her chest, her forehead pushed up against her shins. Her head will be in profile and yet there is enough air space between the folded up body parts that my hope is to carve a beautiful face that I can barely access.


I received some wonderful measuring tools last Christmas. The one shown is a depth gauge. I have drawn (and redrawn as needed each time the marble gets removed) the centerline for the face and legs. And I work out from this line to shape the face. I recently bought a die grinder with a 3-inch extension and this helps me reach inside amazingly well. It is slow going, but I prefer more thinking to wrong cutting. In stone carving, I only get one chance, after all.


While I do focus in one area of an artwork for a good amount of time, I also step back and take a look often at the entire composition. It is not long before I start creating other lines from other viewpoints than strictly working the profile (image # 2).

Many years ago at the MARBLE/marble Sculpture Symposium in Marble, Colorado, I saw a diamond-coated rod that was designed to be added to a hacksaw. It looked cool to me, so I bought it. A couple of years ago, I saw it lying there unused in my toolbox and chided myself for my enthusiastic, but misguided decision.

That said, today I realized that ”flossing marble” is the very thing I need to do! And of the tools that I have, this diamond wire might be the safest one to use for this task. How else can I remove a long and narrow portion of marble between the nose and legs of the “Gymnast”?

I just wish that it did not take so long . . .

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

Reluctant Temptress Pastel Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Well, I guess I am a bit more of a feminist than I ever imagined. Every time I get accused of being a feminist, my initial response is, “You take that back!” I think the feminists gave women a bad name. After years of feeling frustrated and defensive, they pushed too far. When I was in high school, I understood them to be men haters.

My friend Laurie defended her name-calling to me in college by explaining that she meant that I do whatever I want to do and it never occurs to me that I cannot do it because of my female-ness. Perhaps that is a perk of growing up with three very active brothers. And I have always been aware of my short temper with people who cross that line between lifting themselves up and (by) pushing other people down.

So, you might imagine the problem I have with the Book of Genesis. Even the children’s bible that I still own portrays the misogynist view. For one example, that whole “Adam and Eve” story really gets me. I do not have the space to go into it here, but suffice it to say, Eve was doomed from the very beginning.

And yet, is there not some beauty in almost every person? (I would like to remove “almost” but fear I might sound to idealistic – ha!) So, this next pastel painting comes from another one of my explorations of the duality in our humanity. Imagine a modern day Eve (any woman actually) who follows her passion, but hesitates as she is reminded of a cultural weight. The future might be full of love and family and even fame (in Eve’s case), and yet, that apple . . .

I do not know. I could go ‘round and ‘round with all interpreted meanings of my latest pastel painting (and the bible). Sometimes an apple is just an apple . . . It will be more interesting to learn how YOU feel about this image.

“Reluctant Temptress” (aka Eve)
12” x 9” pastel on board
copyright 2010 Kelly Borsheim
$550 + $20 shipping (Texas destinations pay 6.25% sales tax)

If you or someone you know would like to more about classical art techniques and the medium of pastels, check out this workshop I am teaching in one version of Paradise:
Hawaiian Art Journey presents Pastel Workshop with Kelly Borsheim. Six full days of art while someone else takes care of cooking or cleaning for you – get away from your normal life to focus on making yourself a better artist.

Cascading Clouds Austria Pastel

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Austria is a lovely country. I had a chance to visit it the summer of 2009 as a guest of a woman I met while living in Florence, Italy. Sylvia took me hiking during several of the days I stayed with her in her charming village south of Salzburg.

I tend to move slower than most people. This is because I stop a lot and look at all kinds of things. Paths in the mountains do not always involve retracing one’s steps in order to return. And even if they did, the light will most definitely be different. So, I tend to pause to glance back often. One day in Austria the afternoon light began to change fast. You could smell the impending rain in the air. I turned to look behind me and was completely blown away by the loveliness of the sky.

Clouds seemed to be gushing towards us over the mountains like a river bursting from a dam. I saw pinks and purples in the light and dark parts of the changing sky. It was a moment to stop and drink in. Sylvia and I did just that. I felt mesmerized and at peace. I wanted to stay longer, but my friend was concerned about the approaching darkness and rain.

I wish that I could paint smells. But maybe the pastel painting I created of this Austrian landscape will remind you sometime of the peace, drama, and beauty of the Natural world. Maybe you can recall the scent of approaching rain. I hope that you enjoy “Cascading Clouds – Austria”. She is a pastel on board and measures 16” x 20”

Libri Riviste e Fumetti

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Back to memories of Florence, Italy, … I knew that at some point I would paint Piazza Ciompi in Florence. There is a seemingly random-appearing raised platform of stone with square columns and repeating arches over it, right next to a flea market - antique shops that are more like sheds. This platform appears to have had no purpose other than marking one part of an edge of this mid-sized piazza.

During one of my many walks past this structure, I noticed the light filtering into the city and between these square columns. To my delight, a young woman was enjoying a moment in the winter sun reading her book while leaning against one of these columns. I stopped in my tracks and began to work out the painting in my mind. Later, as I got closer, I realized that she was a friend of mine! Even better.

I will introduce this new pastel painting (only a 9” x 12” on panel) this weekend. Her title is named after the sign on the “shed” behind the reading girl. It says simply, ”Libri, Riviste E Fumetti”, Italian for “Books, Magazines, and Comic Books.”

Naturally, you are invited to my last event of the year:

Sunday, December 12, from 2 to 6 pm.
The Curiouseum Arts Weekend inside the Community Renaissance Market
6800 Westgate Blvd. (NW corner of Westgate and Wm. Cannon)
Austin, Texas 78745
Tel.: Ruth: 512.744.3411 and Susan: 512.925.4085

Music lineup:
David Perkoff plays flute and saxophone from 2 – 4 p.m.

The Flying Balalaika Brothers play Russian folk music & a wide variety of other styles from 4 – 6 p.m.

There will also be a fashion show happening at the other end of the building from the gallery. Please pass this one to anyone you think might enjoy this kind of variety on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks!

Crack in Stone

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I have been trying to get back to my “drug of choice” – stone. So in-between preparing for exhibits, making art for my galleries, and just plain old “takin’ care of business,” I have been going outside to work on my marble carving of the “Gymnast.” I last wrote about her on my January 19, 2010 blog entry. I had just cut a hole into the space under the chin and in front of the vertical legs.

When I have left a work for a long period of time, I tend to move back into it slowly, reacquainting myself with the form and at the same time, trying to see the work with a fresh eye. I want to be fully focused before I continue. My first thought is to notice my emotional response to the artwork-in-progress. While it is difficult to carve emotion, per se, any negative emotions are often my first clue that something is wrong with the shape. I just have to figure out what sometimes. [Other times, it is quite apparent.]

I first noticed that there was a crack in the stone near the outer toes on the figure’s right foot (pointed out with red arrows in the first image). So, the first step back into carving was obvious and I removed entirely the stone outside of the crack. Some carvers like to use SuperGlue or some such adhesive to keep the crack secure as they carve around it. But thus far, my feeling is to get rid of a defect, or dead stone, and redesign. In this case, I still have plenty of marble for the feet.


This next pair of images shows you the markings I made on my stone of what to remove or lines to follow as I shape the feet. I tend to stand back about six feet from various vantage points to make sure that the line I will be creating flows beautifully.


In this final image, you can see what the end of my workday looks like. I do tend to watch the setting sun through the trees as I wrap up the day’s work. You can also see some of the mulch I have been spreading around my work site. The electric company came in a week or two ago and cut down and trimmed all of the trees within about 20 or 30 feet of the electric lines. I asked them if I could keep the mulch they made from the smaller branches and brush. I have been shoveling a little bit each day that I am out. Lovely stuff! And the cedar (juniper really) smells fantastic, although most of my privacy is gone.

Thank you for your interest in art and process.

Happy Birthday to my sweet brother Paul!