Review and white fingers

Post dated: 28th November 2012

I am at the end of my second month and have three weeks to go.

Filmmaker and photographer Gaia Consuelo Giani told me, "when you come to a new place, your eyes arrive on time, but your body takes a little longer".  I know what she means now.  For the first weeks, I felt disconnected and all at sea..I was all eyes and no legs. Now firmly settled in, this is not a time for flying with new ideas. It is a time to get my head down and plough.


I have two free carved pieces, three reliefs at various stages, two small blocks waiting for ideas and a cupboard full of maquettes.  For the final three weeks Keara, who has been enthusiastic and helpful in structuring my ideas, is supervising the cutting of a block of which more later. And I am going to finish up with a self portrait.

The Cold.
I was told that about this time of year the number of transient sculptors in Pietrasanta halves.  The days get shorter, the rain starts and the cold sets in.  I am working outside with a lean-to roof to keep the worst of the rain off.  And it gets very, very cold.

It is particularly hard for the artigiani.  Years of working with air hammers inhibits circulation in the fingers and, in the cold, the ends go white.  The pain is alleviated by warmth.  You can plunge your hands into hot water or toast them on a brazier.

Here, artigiani Simone Fortini and Leonardo Buratti take a brazier break.  The daily lighting of the brazier is a heartening moment.

One of the reasons I am making the self-portrait now rather than earlier in the residency is to make something large enough to keep me physically active.  This staves off the cold.