La Notte Bianca White Night Florence Italy

a woman hand-carves a tiny stone

Dear Art Lover,

     And today is a day that reminds me that I once tried to do something that my childhood fears made me promise myself that I would never do.  Sadly, my fears were realized.  And yet, I appear to still be kicking.  So, I choose to use today as my anniversary to re-evaluate what is most important to my life, remind myself that I can say “no” to distractions, and try to create something worthwhile in the process.
     Allora, while I turn off the computer work and perhaps even the house hunting, I am going to spoil myself silly today by creating art.
     But, hey, you do not need to be down or bored by my post!  So recently, a friend came down to Florence and we put some legs to use, walking all over the city.  I have already shared with you some of the garden images.  Here are some from the arts and crafts fair happening at the Fortezza da Basso (what one friend calls the “Ethnic Fair” since there is one floor of non-Italian hand-made creations of all types).  

Furniture Exhibition [Design] at Fortezza da Basso

     Later, we walked around to visit a friend’s gallery and wandered around various piazzas because it was La Notte Bianca, the White Night [always 30 April for Florence].  In recent years past, this has been a night of spettacoli, light shows, concerts, and more. This year it was way stripped back and very little was happening that we could see.  This may have been related to the big Mafia-involved scandal that was Milano Expo 2015.  I suspect that a lot of regular citizens lost a lot of money, but perhaps so did the city governments.  But that is another story . . . and not so pretty.

Peace,

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

A new underground shoppe on Via San Niccolo'  Florence

Peek-a-BOO! 

Very Italian Composition :-)

Flowers from Florence For Rudy

Dear Art Lover,

     Today is the birthday of a lady I admire very much: Audrey Hepburn.  Not just a beauty, but a generosity of spirit with a grace and gentleness I could never hope to match.

     However, it is also the birthday of several friends [Lisa, Hilary, ].  But today I want to give a shout out to “my kid” Rudy Sanchez in Austin, Texas.  He is now 35 years old (or as the Italians would say, he HAS 35 years).  You taught me so much, Rudy, and I always wished that I could have done more for you. 

Happy 35^th Birthday, Rudy!  

Torta for TWO !  Cheesecake from Osteria Santo Spirito. mmm

     Because you are doing so well creating city gardens for the people in central Texas, I want to send you some image of flowers, sculpture, and more from my beloved city in Italia.  I wish you could have actually tasted this cheesecake from Osteria Santo Spirito with me.  It was nothing short of yummy!  [a little bird told me so. Hahaha]

      Incidentally, the crew of Ron Howard with actor Tom Hanks, among many others, are filming in Florence now on another of the Dan Brown novels.

Peace,
Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Not quite "Hook 'em, Horns!" but I was going for that.

Apparently dogs are supposed to dress "properly" too! :-D

I love my blue suede boots!  Giardino dell'Iris - Florence, Italia

Kelly and Rudy many (too many) years ago.  Austin, Texas

Trofeo Marzocco Sbandieratori Florence Italy

Dear Art Lover,

     The first of May is the Festa del Lavoro [Labor Day] in Italia.  It comes the morning after La Notte Bianca (The White Night) in Florence.  Each town sets its own date for the city-wide party that is the White Night, in which the streets are packed with people, food, music, and sometimes much more amazing things, such as light shows and theatres.  

Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy on 1 May 2015 - Labor Day

 

     So, I was a bit drowsy starting off my Italian Labor Day.  Thankfully, I did not have to be anywhere until 3 pm and I got to meet a wonderful lady, Camila Martinez.  She is a friend of my Texas-based friend Kate and we shared a lovely evening and meal together.  She had been down in Roma presenting her creations at a conference.  Camilia is making a series of films working with the Mayan peoples (whom I did not realize still existed) to educate them on how Monsanto is spreading its GMO life-destroying seeds in Mexico.  Camilia has many interests and this was not her first time in Florence.  

View from behind the base for Cellini's bronze Perseus sculpture

The left side of the base shows the dead Medusa's hand (bronze).

I could not resist this shot "Lion bites the head off of a man."

     I was elated to find out that Friday morning on Facebook that the historic competition Trofeo Marzocco was starting at 3.30 p.m. in Piazza della Signoria.  This is the flag-waving competition (Trofeo = trophy, Marzocco = a lion that is the symbol/protector of Firenze).  The flag-waving group Bandierai degli Uffizi di Firenze performed as well as a couple of others.  I was charmed by the group nicknamed the “Zanzare” [mosquitos]:  children learning the art of flag-waving.  All wore costumes designed in medieval times or inspired by that era.

     Incidentally, it is my understanding that bandiera is the flag itself, whereas the “S” in front as in  sbandieratori refers to the people who throw the flags.  [The ending of that latter word is also a clue that the word prefers to people who do a specific thing.]  I also like it that girls, boys, kids, and old men perform together.

     The timing of the event was perfect and Camilia was delighted and enchanted with the performance.  While I am not big on crowds, I was surprised how relatively few people were up inside the Loggia dei Lanzi to get a gander of the acts. But it was nice to me to take a break for a wee bit and just sit in this environment full of sculpture as the medieval drum beats filled my heart.  Thank you, Kate!

     Some fun links if you would like to see more related to today’s topics:
The flag-waving group of Florence:
https://www.facebook.com/BandieraidegliUffizi
Symbol of Florence: The Marzocco (lion) created by Donatello:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzocco
Images from the flag-waving competition:
http://www.lanazione.it/firenze/sbandieratori-marzocco-1.908669

     Incidentally, the crew of Ron Howard with actor Tom Hanks, among many others, are filming in Florence now on another of the Dan Brown novels.

Peace,

Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Kids should be able to see too, but at the expense of everyone else in the crowd?

Nice dreads!  Thankfully she was not up high for long (not a kid!).

Could David be less interested in the judges or even the performers?

Make a standing pyramid and then rotate all in a 360 ! 

Comparing profiles:  Perseum and Lion