Permesso di Soggiorno Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
I am in Italy now and this post is not about art. It is about politics or at least government. And if you want to stay in Italy (or in most parts of Europe) for longer than 90 days, you must obtain a visa (probably from the Italian Consulate in your home country, as I had to do in America) and within eight days of arriving in Italia, you must apply for the “Permesso di Soggiorno” (permission to stay). Over the many years that I have been doing this, the process has become easier – a bit.
For many years it has been possible to go to the postale (post office) instead of directly to the Questura (immigration police). That is wonderful because the Questura is only open in the early morning for this part of the process and if you wait in line for hours, but arrive too late to the door, you get to repeat the experience. The post office has much better hours!

The color for the Postale is yellow. You will see a yellow banner in the signs announcing a post office and the bicycles of the mail carriers are yellow. When you enter the post office, you must take a ticket from a yellow machine and wait for your ticket number to be posted on the board with the number window for you to approach. Which ticket you choose depends on the service you want. For my task this week, I took an “F” ticket. This ticket is for the “Sportello Amico” (Friendly Window) and it is there that I picked up my application packet for the Permesso di Soggiorno.

As with English, legal language is not always clear and I had a friend help me through the forms. I do not understand government much at all. For example, one must buy a Marca da Bollo. That is a special stamp that currently costs 14.62 euros, but you cannot buy it at the Postale. You must go to a tobacco shop to buy one. The only purpose I can see for this is to share the wealth with the little guy. [Tobacco shops are everywhere. Besides tobacco, you may also buy cell phone minutes with most carriers, as well as lottery tickets. They have a decent-sized “T” sticking out from the wall so you may fine them.]

Anyway, the next day, I returned to Firenze, got my F ticket from the machine, verified a question that I had about my application (I had understood the word, but not the question on the form. It simply said: “Frontiera” or “border,” which I took to mean that they wanted to know which city I had flown into in Italia. In truth, I did not get the impression the postwoman knew the answer either but she nodded as if my guess was as good as hers), bought my health insurance for one year, and paid the application fee. [I had already attached the purchased Marca da Bollo stamp to the correct position on the application.]
I now am legally here, as long as I bring my original documents with my application receipts to the Questura on my appointment date in February. Whew…

This last image was taken during my reward: a stroll around the Duomo (Cathedral) in central Florence, Italy. So happy to be home! [That is probably a bit premature – ha!]

Happy Birthday, Momma!

Book Street Painting Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
I head to Italy soon and wanted to make a shameless plug for my new book “My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy” and it looks great! There are over 330 images in the book and while I did try to focus on the art, there are images of the artists who create the paintings. I also wrote about various issues that street artists face, including our struggles with taxes and government and the joys of sharing the street with other performers and artists and vendors.

I have had a couple of repeat buyers – several art lovers who bought the book for themselves and after reading it decided to order more for holiday gifts. One of my favorite comments was that I really portrayed what it feels like to work in the street all day making art… the ambiance of it all. [Street painters in Florence, Italy, tend to start around 10 a.m. and work until midnight creating one artwork in chalk and pastel.]

I have some books here in the USA with me that I have no room to take to Italia. They will stay with my mom for a bit, but I would love to be able to ship a copy or two out to you before I go. If you enjoy art and people and travel, or any of those, please consider this book for you or a loved one. Do not forget to include the name(s) you would like me to write into the book signing.
To order, please visit my contact page: http://www.borsheimarts.com/contact.htm and you may pay safely with PayPal.

Thank you so much and Buon Natale.
My next post will most likely come from Italy!

Robert Rauschenberg Darryl Pottorf artist

Cari Amici (dear friends),

I have been sleeping in Robert Rauschenberg’s former bedroom on Captiva Island, Florida, since Sunday night. Even better: I wake to the art of Darryl Pottorf. I wrote about Darryl when I visited him at his solo exhibition titled Links at Brenau University in October 2010. I had met Darryl and his partner Mark in Florence, Italy, in June 2010 with my friends Johnny and Simon on Via Calimala where Johnny and I created large pastel and chalk street paintings. We all clicked right away and have been friends ever since.

I wanted to share with you Darryl’s art because in truth, I had never seen anything like it before and did not know what to make of it. Sometimes I just did not get it. But when I asked Mark if I had permission to write about how I have been “converted” and share images of the beach house that Simon and I are staying in now, Mark responded that it was little surprise that I would be drawn to Darryl’s work since Darryl had been classically trained. Ah, so yes, a possible connection! Darryl Pottorf is wonderful with composition and it is the mathematics of good design that draws me in, for starters. Many times in the past, I have made the point to many emerging artists that classical training teaches you not only nature’s proportions, which sit well with our brains, but also improves the communication between your eye, your brain, and your hands. You will gain the skills to create a mark you intended, not just happen into (all “happy accidents” aside). Then you can make any style of art you wish and communicate skillfully with a visual and tactile language.

Also, there is no substitute for seeing art in a livable space. There is an amazingly enticing large red, black, and brown composition featured on the main floor of Robert Rauschenberg’s former beach house (Bob died on May 12, 2008). One evening Darryl explained to me that this work is all about Darryl and Bob. These two artists were close friends and collaborators for over 25 years. Each part of the composition refers to some memory that Darryl shared with Bob. While I was drawn to the work as I entered the room, learning about the symbolism in the shapes and objects makes it all the more enchanting. For example, the clock on the upper left is set to the exact time that Robert Rauschenberg died. The huge black circle of lace behind the bicycle is from Venice – a personal memory of the two artists who appreciated the handiwork from Italy during their many visits there.
I do not know if I will ever attach large physical objects into my own created wall art as Darryl sometimes does, but I must say that living with this art is so much easier and joyful than I ever imagined. And as I discover more and more of Darryl’s art (we will be working in his studio today), I find myself enjoying the tactile qualities of his various textures and colors and movement.
I hope you enjoy this little peek into another world. I must get back to the beach now . . . what a vacation Darryl and Mark have made possible for me!

The Unwritten Future

Dear Artlover,

Thank you for such a warm response to my recently announced new oil painting “New Year’s Eve.” This is your last art newsletter from me this year, although I intend to have a few more blog posts before this year’s New Year’s Eve.

I have been talking with a few friends recently about the topic of courage. People often tell me that I am so brave to do … fill in any activity you like. For example, many times they will say that I was brave to just pick up and go to Italy. My friends have had similar experiences. But is it brave to do something that you feel needs to be done, especially when you recognize that what you are currently doing is not working? I had stopped growing. I went to Italy to become a better artist. It took me longer to get there than I had hoped, but somehow I knew it was necessary to be surrounded by the art there and to see for myself how it was possible to live with many different forms of art everywhere. [It is amazing, by the way!]

This new bronze is titled “The Unwritten Future” and is a play on my bronze “Cattails and Frog Legs.” Instead of the original amphibians, one man hangs by one hand from the end of the cattail, while another man sits on the lily pad below, watching in anticipation. Sure life can throw in her little surprises, but in essence, we all have an “unwritten” future until we have made a choice and taken the corresponding action.

I like the particular view of the bronze that I have chosen to share with you now. The shadow cast by the sun implies that the hanging man will not drop, but will choose to grab hold. It is optimism in a precarious situation.

This is one of the more than 20 sculptures and about 30 two-dimensional artworks on exhibit NOW in my solo show at the Quattro Gallery in Austin, Texas. Please go by and say hello to gallery director David Sackmary and get a gander at the art while you are there.

THIS SATURDAY, November 12th is the LAST DAY of this exhibition. I hope you can check it out. I will be there for a book signing from 2 - 5 p.m. (see below).

“Places and Poses: the Art of Kelly Borsheim”

Quattro Gallery
12971 Pond Springs Road (Inside Audi North Austin)
Austin, Texas 78729
Gallery Hours: Tues-Friday, noon to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.;
Closed Sundays and Mondays.
[Take the McNeil exit from Hwy 183 in NW Austin. Pond Springs Road is NE of the intersection of McNeil and 183. You will see the Saab dealership right before Audi.]

For more information, Tel.: 512.219.3150 (Audi); David Sackmary (gallery director) = 512.924.7498

Dates:
Exhibit: NOW through 12 November 2011

##################################################
Book Signing: "My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy"
Full-color book with 330+ images
By Kelly Borsheim

Saturday, 12 Nov, 2 to 5 p.m.
Quattro Gallery, Austin, Texas



##################################################
Book Signing: "My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy"

Thanks to artists Penny Arrowood and Jeanne Rhea, as well as Event Coordinator
Sharon DiGiulio, I will have my first book signing in NORTH CAROLINA!

Here are the details:
Book Signing: Sunday, 20 November 2011
noon to 2 p.m.
Jerry's Artarama: Art of the Carolinas
3060 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC 27609
Tel. 919-876-6610

[The above image of my exhibit at Quattro Gallery was taken by David Sackmary.]


As always, you may find details about events here:
www.borsheimarts.com/exhibits.htm


*******
I hope to see or hear from you soon. Thank you for reading and sharing in my adventures. By all means, forward these invitations to anyone you think would enjoy them.

Thank you,
Kelly Borsheim

New Year’s Eve Art Texas

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Almost two years ago, on New Year’s Eve, I was outside here in my Texas studio carving on the marble “Gymnast.” It was starting to get dark, and then I realized it was getting darker than it should be for that approaching dusky hour. I felt the sudden change around me. A frisky wind whipped up. The air smelled cold and crisp. I remember laying down my tools and running over to the field, the only place in which the trees give way enough for me to see the sunset better. Even then the orange glow of the setting sun was broken up with the ragged silhouettes of treetops. It felt magnificent!

I cannot really explain my excitement. It was energy that I simply absorbed from the surrounding fragrance, wind, temperature, color, and light. I remember shouting, “Come look at this sky – it is fantastic!” No one came. I learned as a child that it is amazing to see something naturally wonderful, but so much better to share the experience with someone else. And thus, I decided that I would try to capture in a painting the excitement in the dark clouds that seemed to funnel the light of the falling sun.

I started the painting that night, sketching it out onto the largest canvas I had on hand. But life and other projects took me away after that magical evening. The canvas of clouds remained untouched for over a year. Each time I looked at it, I felt that I had failed to capture the smell of the fresh air that night and I began to doubt that the painting would mean anything if it were just another sunset. Over time I realized that I wanted to add something to it, but could not think of anything that was not overly contrived.

And then it happened . . . divorce has some perks. I have been living a life in transition, or at least limbo, for a long time now, but 2011 has been the year of action and stepping away. This spring the idea for my painting emerged as quite natural. So many of my artworks have been personal and oddly, perhaps, those seem to be the ones most admired among those who share their thoughts with me.

I am losing my home and my studio. However, my former husband John, who has been a dear friend to me for about half of my life, has let me stay in his home this year so that I may have the time to finish my stone carvings, pack up, and figure out my new direction. I started this spring by sorting through our photographs, including our wedding album. And it made sense for me to incorporate my favorite wedding photo into my art.

Finding the universal through the personal has been my approach for much of my art career. And it became my hope that my painting would not necessarily be seen in a negative light or even give-off a negative feeling, in the same way that my bronze “Together and Alone” has not.

As I created this newer version of my painting, I wondered about her title. Ultimately, I decided that the original title “New Year’s Eve” was perfect. The phrase references an ending in the terms of a beginning. So, with no further delay, I introduce to you my newest oil painting (30” x 40”) called “New Year’s Eve.”

You may see this work and many others at my solo exhibit going on now:

“Places and Poses: the Art of Kelly Borsheim”

Quattro Gallery
12971 Pond Springs Road (Inside Audi North Austin)
Austin, Texas 78729
Gallery Hours: Tues-Friday, noon to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.;
Closed Sundays and Mondays.
[Take the McNeil exit from Hwy 183 in NW Austin. Pond Springs Road is NE of the intersection of McNeil and 183. You will see the Saab dealership right before Audi.]

For more information, Tel.: 512.219.3150 (Audi); David Sackmary (gallery director) = 512.924.7498

Dates:
Exhibit: NOW through 14 November 2011
Artist’s Reception: Saturday, 5 Nov, 7 to 10 p.m.

Book Signing: "My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy"
Full-color book with 330+ images
By Kelly Borsheim
Saturday, 12 Nov, 2 to 5 p.m.

I hope that you can make this exhibit because after it closes, I will be leaving Texas. No doubt I will be back at some point, but I cannot promise when. I will be heading off first to North Carolina to visit family, then Florida for the Art Basel Miami and more family. Then, it is back to Italy. It is a new day.


*******

Invitation Quattro Gallery Austin Texas

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Oh, you can tell it is October. People are buzzing about again and it is beautiful out! And I hope that you are not missing my posts too much – there is so much going on and I recently injured one hand, so am moving a bit slower. However, I wanted to invite you to my “Arrivederci Texas” art exhibit. I am so excited about working with David Sackmary, who has modeled for me in the past, but also has returned from Hawai’i to Austin. Texas, taking up his role again as the director of the Quattro Gallery. Here goes:

“Places and Poses: the Art of Kelly Borsheim”

Quattro Gallery
12971 Pond Springs Road (Inside Audi North Austin)
Austin, Texas 78729
Gallery Hours: Tues-Friday, noon to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.;
Closed Sundays and Mondays.
[Take the McNeil exit from Hwy 183 in NW Austin. Pond Springs Road is NE of the intersection of McNeil and 183. You will see the Saab dealership right before Audi.]

For more information, Tel.: 512.219.3150 (Audi); David Sackmary (gallery director) = 512.924.7498

Quattro Gallery in north Austin, Texas, is hosting accomplished artist Kelly Borsheim in a very special exhibition this fall before she returns to Italy. Kelly tends to focus on introspection, specifically how our bodies express our thoughts. In this art event, you will see paintings and sculptures with titles such as “Together and Alone,” “Relinquish,” “Hindsight,” and “Pensive in Bologna.” Quattro Gallery is located inside the Audi North Austin at 12971 Pond Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78729. The exhibit runs from October 25 to November 14, 2011, with a reception on Saturday evening, November 5, 2011, and a book signing on Saturday, November 12 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.

You will also see some works from her “lips series.” These sculptures have been hand-carved in stone by Kelly and combine human lips with animal forms in an exploration of how Nature’s shapes commingle.

When this versatile artist began living part-time in Italy, she added pastel to her media as she learned the old art of street painting. She combined her skills from the street with her classical art training to create lovely images inspired by Italy. These are not your usual Tuscan landscapes, but a more personal look into Italian homes, streets, and courtyards. For more information, visit www.quattrogallery.com or www.BorsheimArts.com.

For more details and RSVP opportunity, check out this listing: http://www.preownedcertified.com/IHGNewsletter/Oct2011/Group/events.html

Stone Turtles 500 blog posts

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

This is my 500th blog post! And I want to talk turtles. I am still working on the details of my marble “Gymnast” and hope that you have been following along. I must admit that I am running out of energy right about now, so I hope that you will pardon me for just adding these images of one of the heads on the four-headed turtle who supports the “Gymnast.” I am having a fun time with the subtle and different textures I am carving into the stone. And it brings a smile to think of turtle lips!

Sculpture Show Invitation – Wesley Gallery, Texas

22-23 October 2011
Sat: 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sun: noon - 5:00 p.m.

Metal and Stone Sculpture Show hosted by Wesley Gallery
Wesley Gallery
27008 RR12, Ste. A
Dripping Springs, Texas 78620
For information, please contact Julie Speir at the gallery via telephone at 888.806.0678
E-mail: art@wesleygallery.com

I hope you can make it (and yeah, I will have some copies of my new book “My Life as a Street Painter in Florence, Italy” available this weekend – signed too, if you like.