The pressure is beginning to mount now; I need to have one wax completed so it can start the journey to becoming a bronze. A decision has been reached that one piece I have been working for the last 2 weeks will be made in bronze. I thought that I would be able to cast it directly in bronze because I am making it in wax but this is not possible because it isn’t hollow and would weigh too much. Therefore a rubber mould needs to be made, which can then filled with a thin layer of wax and then it can be cast hollow in bronze. The advantage of this process is that you can also make multiples. Unwittingly I have made quite a complex piece and will have to be made in 3 parts. On Thursday I will go to Lorenzo’s studio (a mould maker), to cast the wax piece. Lorenzo doesn’t speak any English and I don’t speak any Italian (not really) so it will be an interesting experience. I am feeling quite nervous about the fact I haven’t actually finished making the wax piece yet and I can see several problems with it that I am yet to resolve. Sometimes I can over work something to the point where it looses the energy it started with. I can over-fiddle! I have got to that stage now and I am trying to distance myself from it to resolve some of the issues without actually touching it.
Luckily yesterday I was thrown a life-line in the form of the most inspiring drawing lesson I have ever been to! I was invited to attend by the artist Almuth Tebbenhoff at the house of artist Inger Sannes, (they both work at Studio Sem). Before going I was told that it was an experimental life drawing class, using a method Amuth has developed after studying drawing this way for many years.
The day started by meeting them and the model, an Italian woman called Eva, in the Piazza on Sunday morning for a quick coffee before we drove up the mountain. We were heading to the beautiful village of Capazzano, which teeters on the top of a mountain with a stunning view across Pietrasanta all the way to the sea. We drove up small winding streets past olive groves and Tuscan houses until we reached Ingers house tucked away down a narrow street with citrus fruit trees and the sun shining off warm coloured stone. Then we went inside where I saw a fire was crackling away and a bed made up of furs and blankets on the floor for Eva. On the opposite side of the room was a table with 3 places set up with ink, brushes, pencils, conte crayons, bamboo, charcoal and a stock of paper. The session started by taking a pencil in each hand and putting dots on the paper in a haphazard way and went on to paint lines with a paintbrush in our mouths, using our finger and nails to draw with ink, drawing on each others drawings, drawing left handed, drawing with sticks, using music to draw by, the model did many different poses some very quick but no longer than about 15 minutes. I am condensing 3 hours of work into this list because I can’t explain it all in detail, but it was an incredible experience. In between drawing we had a lovely lunch of pasta, homemade bread and green tea. At the end of the session we looked at our drawings and discussed which ones worked and which ones didn’t. I was amazed that my drawings an incredible energy and spontaneity. I could see my style and line in them but I was achieving a lightness and feeling that I often struggle with, especially in drawing. I really loosened up and after an hour I was able to let go of some of my preconceived ideas about the figure and how I should draw it. I left on an absolute high! I really feel braver about my work now and I hope to take some of things I leant and apply them to my work at the foundry.
