Welcome! See Italy (and more) through the eyes of an artist: American sculptor and painter Kelly Borsheim creates her life and art in Italy and shares her adventures in travel and art with you. Come on along, please and Visit her fine art work online at: www.BorsheimArts.com
I have been visiting
one of my Angel Academy fellow artist friends, Wendy, in Bristol,
England.The other day we
drove to Wiltshire to see the famous prehistoric monument Stonehenge.
Stonehenge is believed to
have been built anywhere from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. and while many observations
have been made about how the specific placements of the stones coincide with
natural events (sunrise, sunset, winter and summer solstices, and more), it
still feels as though we have more questions than answers.
It now costs eight pounds to
get in, with a free audio guide that I felt was actually interesting and useful
(I do not always appreciate this commentary in art museums).Sadly, due probably to the negative
behaviours of humans being selfish, one can no longer walk amongst the stones
and the ropes that are quite tempting to jump over are fairly distant from the
monument.I behaved… really.
Although the consensus of
Stonehenge is that it was a gathering place for people, I would have loved to
have been alone and walking amongst the stones at dusk.I want to touch them and smell them.The audio guide told that there are over 90
different specimens of lichen on those rocks.There are many colors in the stone, visible in their subtleties even at
the distance we had to stay.Some of the
stones have enough iron in them that when they fall over or are horizontal, one
can clearly see the ferric red color “flowing over” the stone.And they believe that human sacrifices were
done on these sacred stones.I only see
more questions than answers.Are we not
a complicated lot?
Happy birthday to Don
Elliott!Recently one of my long-time
art newsletter readers asked me how I have built my art career.Hmmm, I thought my art newsletter was a large
part of sharing this journey.Hahha,
oops!But, nonetheless, one of the
things that I do is exhibit my art and do it in a place that permits me to meet
new people.Such was the case when I
invested a whole lot of money to exhibit in New York City in 2005 (when I lived
in central Texas).
That event cost me around
$10,000 (all on credit cards, I may add, a scary risk for me).However, before that exhibit weekend was
over, I had met Don.He became one of my
collectors then, as well as my new gallerist.I remember clearly when he said to me, “Kelly, I love your work, but I
must admit that it is going to take some time to develop a market for nudes in
Indianapolis.”
Not only do I appreciate his
honesty, but I also feel really grateful that he has stuck by me all of these
years when another gallerist might not have taken on the challenge of the
Midwest.Don has placed my artworks in
collections in the USA and in Canada.When I need advice on selling, I call him.When I need a frame that compliments
my art, I give the project to Don.
So, “Cheers!” to a great
guy.Here are just a few of my artworks
that he currently has on exhibit at the Franklin Barry Gallery… go on, visit.Indianapolis has a lot to see![Don even has some notecards of images I took
of the city during one of my many visits there.]
“Oh Boy!” (5 male figures in
relief, wall hung), 15 x 9 inches, bronze mirror
And these artworks that are
not on my Web site, a charcoal drawing “After Prud’hon” and a small acrylic painting
from Fiesole, Italy, titled, “Buon Appetito!”:
Each
time I begin a new piece of art, I set out to learn something.In my new flat here in Florence, Italy, I
have set up a still life.I was inspired
when I found a blank linen canvas left by my friends Milixa and Elkin, painters
who lived in this flat before me.The
canvas is long and narrow, my favorite proportion for paintings.
Over
a year ago a sweet Florentine friend of mine for many years and I were taking a
walk outside near her home.As we talked
and walked past a vacant lot, Hafiza gathered what most people would have
considered weeds.I know something of
her eye and her heart, though, and I knew that I would soon ooh and ahh, as
many others have, over her natural treasures.She gave me a handful of goodies, including three stalks with elongated
pale green buds on one end.I took them
home that day in May, and the next morning, I awoke to spherical GIANT wish
makers!No, not dandelions, so much
larger:The flower is called “Goat’s
Beard,” but apparently there are many varieties of this.
I
gave one to my Florentine flatmatethat
day.One of the other two was damaged in
transit to my new home earlier this summer.Thus, I decided to create a painting sonner than planned, before I lost
these gifts from a cherished friend.Looking around the flat, I found a few object of interest and ultimately
decided to try painting a still life composition on this long rectangular
canvas.
I
wanted to paint with very little color to see how many different tones I could
create.I was also curious as to whether
or not I could paint some objects without actually copying the forms I saw in
front of me.In addition, I wanted to
work more with paint layers.This means
that in general, I will wait several days before adding something to a part of
the canvas, giving the paint underneath a chance to dry as much as I could.
I
include an image here of my setup.It is
modeled upon the Sight-Size Method, but obviously I am not
following it very rigorously.I like the
color and texture of the ceramic bowl, but I did not want to repeat the round
shape that is in the flower.So, I put a
candle under it for height.The paper
towel roll is there so I can see how much the light fades on a cylinder as it
nears the bottom.My canvas is not
aligned horizontally simply because I was working on the boards when I took
this image and it is better for my back if I do not bend over as I paint.Also, you may see that the camera was much
lower than my eye when viewing the setup.This gives the painting a different perspective, looking down upon the
scene.
So,
let us see how this movie ends!It is
back to the drawing board for me.
Happy Labor
Day, USA!
If
you like the things you are reading and can appreciate the time it takes to
take and edit the images and write something that I try to make worthwhile for
you, please consider making a donation.$5, $50, $500, or any amount at all is truly helpful.Thank you for your support and interest.Kelly
Before
I headed north recently to carve stone in the Medieval Festival in Pontremoli,
Italy, a friend and I went to see the exhibit at the newly reopened
Forte di Belvedere in Florence, Italy.The Forte was built by the famous Medici
family between 1590 and 1595.The artist
having a solo exhibit there is the apparently famous Zhang
Huan.[I am surprisingly
ignorant about most of the contemporary art world.]
I
did not particularly care for the large sculptures outside on the grounds.I did not feel that they were well made (the
hand-hammered bronze) or even aesthetically appealing in that space.However, the views of the city from the Forte
are quite good.And I did enjoy the art
that was inside and hanging on the walls.
I do
not have the space here to cover the entire exhibit, titled “L’Anima e
la Materia” (“Soul and Matter”).But I can share a few images and my responses to them.The works that really impressed me were
paintings of ash on linen.The artist
became a Buddhist monk in 2005 and it changed his art, naturally.The ash is actually the incense ash from
temples around Shanghai.The ashes are
taken to the artist’s studio and continue to burn to give him a collection of
different shades and textures to use in his art.
The
artist juxtaposed his image of Jesus Christ in “The Last Supper” with an ash
painting of Confucius speaking with his followers (the latter is shown here in entirety in the first image).I have always felt that black and white (or
monochrome neutral) images have a special kind of power for the viewer and
thus, I was lured in to examine this work.For me, the materials used are what is impressive or wonderful.The textures and sometimes subtlety is
intriguing.Mystery is hypnotic
for us, isn’t it?It is important to
keep our sense of curiosity occupied.
In
another room was my favorite piece in the exhibit.Up close who would not have thought of the
beach with these swirls?I also thought
of the mountains and the stones you often find near their rivers… combinations
of white and black.I love the textures
from the fires of the materials.
And then,
stand back a bit…. You see the grouping of tigers!While Mr. Huan used triangles in the
compositions of the Confucius piece and the tigers, the latter work is more
successful.In the two large panels in
the first room (with Confucius and Christ), the first response was “What the …
?” as one wonders what is being seen or what the point is.Upon closer inspection, one sees the seeming
chaos has an order and a beauty.And ok…
but the tigers composition to me is beautiful from any distance and I find it
more intriguing than a more precise image.
Now,
maybe I did not read the accompanying text as much as I should have, but I had
the impression that the artist wanted us to believe that he allows the ash to
burn until he has a collection of whites, greys, and blacks with which to
create a composition.My friend and I
both examined the sides and the images up close.We believe that there is paint applied over the
top of at least parts of the artwork.In
the seascape images, the sheer amount of work in sorting the ashes would have
been the sign of … an extremely “dedicated” (read “insanely patient”)
person.In any event, however the work
was created, the effects were lovely.
This
last piece I share with you in a pair of sculptures in a bright silver
material. One sculpture is of Buddha and one of Jesus.The face each other and their gestures
reflect one another.For someone such
as myself who finds religion interesting, but is not a believer, the idea of
how similar are the religions of the world is not a new one.And I felt that the point in this composition
was not particularly edifying.However,
I really loved the way the reflected light danced upon the table and wall.So, perhaps as with most things in life, we enjoy
what we can and disregard the rest.
If
you like the things you are reading and can appreciate the time it takes to
take and edit the images and write something that I try to make worthwhile for
you, please consider making a donation.$5, $50, $500, or any amount at all is truly helpful.Thank you for your support and interest.Kelly
From Florence to Siena-Eat.Drink.Shop.Sleep
: Exploring Chianti is like a treasure
hunt, around every corner is a surprise.And it is brought to you by my friend, Judy Witts Francini,
owner and tour de force behind http://www.divinacucina.com/
TARGET=_blank>Divina Cucina.Judy teaches people how to prepare and cook Italian
cuisine, and not just here in Tuscany!
