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
