Pietrasanta Bronze Casting Residency 2012

I think it’s safe to say I’m not the most verbal blogger…! But I will endeavour to do better, as this is my last 6 weeks in Pietrasanta. To be honest my silence is largely due to finding one piece I have been working on very difficult to finish, as I mentioned in my last blog. I have now finished it and it is on it’s way to be made into bronze along with two small pieces. This means we have added the sprues and the wax is ready to have a ceramic shell, which is like the mould in which the bronze is poured. I think I have been rather slow about getting to this point, it has been quite stressful and I have given myself a hard time, it has been a struggle to stop experimenting and commit. However now I am back with experimenting and I have decided to make a series of clay heads. I have longed to make something with clay and something that isn’t small scale for a while now. What I really want, is to produce at least one work in bronze that exudes a kind of confidence and I don’t feel I have that in the wax having only really used it for the last 7 weeks vs clay for the past 10 years! This residency has been challenging both on a professional and personal level, I have had to learn to live alone and work in another country in a foreign language. Professionally it’s been an ongoing negotiation to discover what this residency will mean for me and what I want from it, more that what might be expected from me.

Following on from the incredible drawing lesson I did last month I have been using those drawing techniques in my own drawings and in life drawing classes. Working without guidance from Almuth makes is much harder and I have felt myself losing my way but I am persisting and I am now discovering something new, that belongs to me. I am beginning to think that there is something in that one lesson up in the mountains that will impact on my work for a long time. I can’t tell you how inspiring it is. It has also made me realise how important it is to draw in this way, setting aside at least 2 hours a week to draw is really important and utterly enjoyable. Following a life drawing class last week a rather wild artist told me that I ought to have some boundaries, which I thought was hilarious at the time considering the source of this comment! But actually I have mulled this over and I think Almuth was my boundary in the class and without her I wasn’t setting my own parameters. I have started to do this by sticking to a pallet, technique and drawing one drawing per pose and it worked well for me in the class today. I think trying to do too many new things at once often ends up in a bit of a mess. This is my mind-set in relation making these clay heads, if I stick to something I know and the only thing that changes is the transformation into bronze then I will actually learn a lot more. It’s a bit like science GCSE, you are taught to only change one component at a time to get the best results. I think I can safely say that’s the only thing I remember from those classes, apart from…no nothing else.

All my musings haven’t left much room for all the other stuff going on in my life here, so I’m going to give it to you in a nutshell: cycling to the beach, sunshine, espressos, Lucca, Cinque Terre, my Dad visits, foundry visits, bar visits, lots of aubergine, tears, lunches with various artists, BBC, bad literature, Italian lessons, mould-making, skype…

So much to say I don’t know where to start. Last time I posted I failed to mention my meeting with Helaine Blumenfeld, which was fantastic. I had the honour of seeing her studios in Pietrasanta; she is certainly prolific and her work has such an incredible energy. I really enjoyed seeing the models and sketches of her work; there is something special in getting a glimpse into the sketchbooks or workings of an artist’s studio. For me these bursts of energy and incomplete things are exciting, I like the working out of things and discovery rather than the polished finished item. Finishing work is a problem I have come across again in the last week as I yet again over did a work and sort of killed it a bit. But I took a risk and I’m proud of that but it is difficult that I can’t always trust and see when something works and when I ought to stop. It’s exacerbated by the creation of bronze works. I am beginning to measure my works value in relation to the material of bronze, is this piece worthy or this one? Have I done enough to warrant the expense? Interesting and bizarre way of thinking about it, but up until now my work is so temporary so low-fi that my forms raise the materials up but now the fear is whether my forms can hold up in this material. It’s not really about economics, it’s a new system of judgement I seem to have set up that is unhelpful and is holding me back. So enough is enough, I have one piece on it’s journey towards bronze and the other pieces are going to be a lot less arduous and more spontaneous, this is where my energy is and this is what I want from this residency…fun, energy, spontaneity, experimentation. And hopefully something vaguely coherent at the end….

But I have digressed someone drastically from the story at hand: Helaine’s studio. We sat and had tea after my tour and talked for some time about Italy, Artisans, language, sculpture, family and many other things. One of the things Helaine and I discussed was whether or not I should try enlarging works using the old techniques that are still used now in foundries and stone carving studios all over Italy. It’s about measuring point on a model and translating them onto another material but increasing the ratio…I think. We agreed that it isn’t for me and I am relieved. It was the one thing I didn’t much want to do! I felt Helaine was tuned into my work when she suggested it might not be the right thing for me. The idea of slavishly translating the random marks and gestures I make from one scale to another is not appealing to me, I would rather just make something bigger myself. If you want something monumentally massive then sure this is helpful technique but I am not considering this at the moment unless I am offered some sort of major commission…open to offers!

I also had the pleasure, while Helaine was in town, to attend the exhibition Donna Sculptura in Pietrasanta curated by Valentina Fogher my friend and contact here in Pietrasanta and a woman that seems super human in various roles in life including Museum curator and mother and still finds the time to help me out and give me tours of the exhibitions. I was lucky enough to bag an invite to the artist’s lunch after the opening where I enjoyed the company of some wonderful artists and guests. The exhibition itself is put on annually but this year it was an anniversary so 40 artist were included with 3 artists leading the exhibition as a homage to women who have since passed away. I am including some pictures that were my highlights.

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.

I am now getting into the life here and as the dust settles I begin to address bigger questions than ‘Where is the supermarket?’ and ‘How many espresso’s can I drink before my heart starts racing (Answer: 3)?’. So now the questions are: How do I use wax? How do I work on this (small) scale? How do I make a permanent work? These questions are fundamental; because I have a love affair with clay, because I work with the figure life-sized and because my work is ephemeral. The ephemerality of the work is crucial; it is really central to my practice at this point (for many reasons I can’t get into now). While this is interesting it is also a struggle to have a practice that only exists for the duration of an exhibition or worse still never even leaves the studio! I make sculpture that should be viewed for ‘real’ not just as a performance or photograph. I am here in Pietrasanta to address this conundrum and so for me it’s not as ‘simple’ as just making a piece of work in bronze…not that it ever is, I suspect. The process and language I have developed is producing some of my best work but also leaving me with a practice that is hard to exhibit and, dare I say, is not economically viable! My job is to now see if I can retain the strengths I perceive and transform my practice.

Admittedly it has only been a week and a half so far and perhaps even 3 months won’t be long enough to address everything. However, I am attempting to push out these concerns and approach them not cerebrally but by working through them. The result: a small battle with the wax has ensued! Before I got here I thought this was an exercise in understanding bronze as a material but currently it is understanding wax as a material. It doesn’t yield to my whim and it frustratingly stays exactly where you last put it! The joy of my work is that it normally falls apart and I have to figure out a way to put it back together. Wax seems to lend itself to smooth surfaces and I want texture… However I will stop here as I vow to no longer fight it but make peace and see what happens…

Another fresh challenge is having worked in isolation for over a year in rural Belgium (as you can imagine there isn’t much else to do but make sculpture!) I am now working in a foundry surrounded by male artisans while I play around with wax. They are very tolerant of my messing around but I feel exposed as a fumble about and make hash of it. I’m sure I can be victorious in the end but my pesky artists ego wants to produce something good and sort of do a ‘ta da’ with a flourish and possibly a silk scarf. It is also hard not being able to converse freely with them about what I want to achieve. Alfredo has been making positive noises in my direction recently and I finally I plucked up the courage to approach him with a model and ask him in bad Italian ‘Do you like this? Why do you like it? Composition or technique?’ he responds by saying ‘both’ which makes me feel pretty chuffed however what he goes on to say is that I am going to struggle to make in bronze because it need to be hollow and some other things I couldn’t understand at all! But it is amazing what can be communicated without too many words.

Helaine Blumenfeld, the Vice President of the Royal British Society of Sculptors (and general star), is the artist instrumental in setting up this residency and (I hope) will be my mentor is arriving tomorrow and I will have the chance to talk to her about my ideas and thoughts. I am really looking forward to seeing her, as she knows my practice already and can be a really valuable guide through this journey I am on.

I suppose a brief introduction is in order: I’m Kate, an artist born in 1982, Birmingham. I lived in London for 10 years and for the last year or so I have been based in Belgium. I studied at Goldsmiths college and most recently at the Slade School of Fine Art. Before I finished my Masters I worked for Anthony Caro as his PA for 3 years.

The last year or so in Belgium has been my first opportunity to work full time in the studio and it has been fantastically productive. Over the last year I have applied to various residencies, opportunities etc and for a while I was getting good at finding my way onto the shortlist but never quite getting there! However after being awarded a bursary from the Royal British Society of Sculptors (RBSS) last year I was able to apply to this residency and to my surprise I got it!

..Anyway, back to the present…

The residency: 3 months artist-in-residence in a Foundry in Pietrasanta fully supported with a budget to make 3 small bronzes. The daily routine is working in the wax room making pieces from wax that can be evetually cast directly in bronze.

I have been here for 9 days. However it’s only really been 4 days in the foundry because when I arrived last week, after a quick tour of the workshops, it was closed due to a patron saints festival in the town. My apartment is a good size for me but a bit cold…in other words I can see my breath and I wear 5 layers at all times! But I am assured spring officially starts in Italy on February 22nd!

It’s all going well so far, the men in the foundry are all very friendly and seem very tolerant of my lack of Italian…’Scusi, non parlo Italiano’ I’m good at that one! I studied Italian for a while before I got here and it is very helpful but now I realise how ignorant I am! But, I am managing to communicate ok and Raimondo, my main man in the foundry, speaks some English so we muddle by. The wax room itself is a lovely warm sanctuary with the artisans perfecting and refining the waxes ready for casting. It’s a really chilled atmosphere. Although I am the only artist-in-residence I have met two other artists there, they are there finishing their own waxes and they come in intermittently. They both arrived in 1973 and never left! Robin is Canadian and Marie is from Venezuela so they both speak English and they are both really friendly and helpful.

Using wax is quite difficult and doesn’t at all behave like clay and therefore I am having to learn about the material and adapt the ideas I had before I started. Working on a small scale is difficult for me but it is quite liberating to make work I can carry around in my hand.

After only 3 days working in the foundry; I went to see a marble carving place to look at stone with Marie, I have bought some clay and visited a ceramics workshop, I met my neighbours a Swedish couple who work at Studio Sem (a well know marble carving studio), had drinks with an Argentinian artist, I had an ‘economic’ lunch in the town with a group of about 6 artists who have all been working in Pietrasanta for years and yesterday I had lunch with Marie at her studio! It seems once an artist comes here to work they either move here or they come back year after year and I can understand why. It’s incredible that a town is dedicated to sculpture! The main occupation is stone carving because of the marble quarries in the mountains. I feel like so much is possible here, everything just seems so relaxed and well set up.

http://www.fonderiamariani.com