Tuscany Study: Stone Sculpture Workshops in Italy

Student Story: Beth Cullen

jonwolfe — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:58:10 +0000

The Joy of Carrara

From the day I realised I was a sculptor and reading about the romantic ideal of being a stone carver in the mountains of Italy, I never really wanted to go; I didn’t want to break the myth.

40^th birthday prezzzie to Carrera for 2 whole weeks from my doting hubby…Stone Carving!!!! Wow, I had to go now, the gift of uninterrupted time to think purely about form and how to work that stone, delicious!

I rented a car I found great for a bit of independence. Arrived at B&B (simple clean friendly) and was whisked over to Steve Shaheen (team Leader) and gang at a local pizza haunt, superb, we ate and drank and found out about each other, made some plan for the morning pick up and together worked out the best course of action.

Tool shops, fantastic in all my days as a bronze caster, I have never seen such dedicated tool shops for the task in hand, a great place to stock up on the tools you always wanted a bit cheaper than UK, and things you have never seen…. Brilliant, Steve is a wiz on tools great advice and you don’t need a great deal to get going…

Steve, well he is the backbone of the course, he has skills and talents beyond the chisel, he has a sensitive way to teach, he could take a novice or a skilled sculptor and let you make the course your own, either way he makes this place sing. He is a wonderful guy to spend your time with, and a fantastic sculptor.

Leonardo welcomes you to the yard, where lumps and piles of stones are there to be claimed and carved; lunch is a prompt 12 with great piles of pasta to keep you going and wine, and great stories from the gang. (Take tea, Brits! Espresso doesn’t always do the job.) It was a great pleasure to work alongside these artisans, for they have skills like no other.

We spent a day out in Florence and for a small fee we hired the great Piergiacomo, a specialist art historian, who did the ultimate M. Angelo tour, superb…. Have an early night though it is a long day.

The two weeks were a sumptuous blur, a decadent battle between you and the marble.

Last day pack up and organise shipping, your case arrives about a month later, and you have proof that you carved in Carrara.

The myth and dreams were not dashed but further ignited. The plan for next year is now taking place. You should go… because it’s sublime.

Beth Cullen

Student Story: James Cullen

jonwolfe — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:13:44 +0000

The Carrara Experience

Jim and his daughter Beth

For all my years as an artist I had waited with great expectation for the day I finally managed to elude all other responsibilities to arrive in the land that had for millions of years preserved such exquisite marble within its fortress mountains from where Michelangelo would ultimately carve his inimitable “David.”

As a man closing on seventy years of age I had waited most of my life for this chance to tackle the great challenge of carving the very marble that has tormented even the most eminent and capable sculptors over the centuries and yet who succeeded to master it and become legends in our history books. The thought of carving marble in Carrara then was an inspiring yet terrifying prospect for someone who hadn’t touched a chisel since being a student but I was to discover that I had absolutely nothing to fear and every thing to rejoice in as it turned out to be the most enjoyable and productive experience far beyond any I had hoped and anticipated.

Getting there

Having inspired my entire family to become artists, Beth my eldest daughter who is an established professional sculptor urged me to accompany her on this sculpture course and in so much turned the tables on our tradition by leading me into the unknown just as I had done so many times with her and how grateful I now am to her for her inspiration. She had arranged for us to go by plane from London Heathrow to Pisa where we hired a car with satellite navigation. This gave us the freedom to come and go as we pleased and we arrived at the address in Carrara where we were to stay without a hitch. On arrival Roberto and his wonderful family made us very welcome and throughout our stay they couldn’t do enough for us even to the extent of putting on a special night to celebrate us Brits with Roberto providing a brilliant BBQ of Spanish food and local wines. The property is very private and secure. The rooms are cool and clean with the linen and towels being changed daily. The dining room is spacious and breakfast is served to suit your schedule. For laptop users broadband is free.

Roberto, the host at Villa Acero, sets the table for breakfast.

The workshops

The Studio is full of inspiring completed works whilst the yards outside are equally heaped full of the most enticing blocks of marble of varying quality and colours. The studio owners and management team are friendly and helpful. Their expertise is essential when choosing marble to work with and this complements the gracious way the tutors support your own aspirations in order to get the best out of your time. To this end the lead professional sculptor Steve Shaheen has a gift of knowing just what to say and just when to say it as he helps you get to grips with your work. He also has that rare skill of knowing just what tools you will need and even takes you to the trade tool stores to acquire them.

Beth and I working with the pneumatic chisel.

All those involved in the academy work hard and long and this soon gets into your blood as you synchronise with this talented team of humble but impressively competent artisans not that graft is compulsory you can come and go as you please but the work ethic is truly addictive.

I loved the shaded open-air workspaces that they provided for us in the huge yard. They ensured that we had everything we needed and were also extremely safety conscious. They see that you come to no harm in this busy and bustling workplace yet they trust you as a brother artisan that I found charming and typical of these genuine and talented people.

Food

Some of the excellent food we enjoyed.

The daily lunch takes place on site in a typical workman-like kitchen and is always served on time yet whilst it is informal it is also generous in its delicious typically Italian fare and is normally helped down with local wine and much laughter and light-hearted chat. The best coffee in the world completes the meal. Work also resumes on time and in earnest and continues until you want to finish and that could be late at night if you were on a roll. In the evening there are many places to eat. The house is located in the town but it is quiet and peaceful and many restaurants are within walking distance. One Trattoria where you can eat under cover but actually in the street is “FolleMente”. And it’s only a few minutes walk just down the road and is well supported by the locals, which tells you a lot. The menu is great, the food is good and service is fast and friendly and the bill is surprisingly modest. For real quality food, we tried the Hotel Atlantic Restaurant near the seafront where we sat under giant umbrellas by the side of beautiful opulent swimming pools set in rich gardens. This proved to be a star choice as it was superb in every way with great fish dishes washed down with brilliant white wines, but as you may expect we did have to pay for it.

The Students

One of our delicious group lunches at the studio

We may have been just lucky, but I don’t think so as each student had a commitment to their own work and whilst we were all so different in our age, gender and work approach there was a stimulating air of camaraderie and support that grew quickly from the first day and became a regular positive daily appraisal of our progress. There existed a natural respect for each other and I valued and enjoyed the fact that everyone just got on with their work and most of the time we were oblivious to each other as we dealt with our own challenge locked within that inscrutable marble. We also had fun in the evening sharing giant pizzas and local wines and beers that was a great stress-buster after a hard days work. In all a happy perhaps unrepeatable journey of self discovery shared with others of a like, each facing the struggle of self expectation and with the added bonus of not only ending up with works in marble that are ultimately shipped home to remind one of the victories but also with new friends from across the world who share the same vision and passion for the greatest and most compelling art form of all. Would I do it all again? Absolutely!

James Cullen

www.jamescullen.com

Student Story: Amy Miller

jonwolfe — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:04:35 +0000

(Note: Amy Miller was a student in 2010′s sculpture course, and this year she’s returning to Carrara as an assistant instructor.)

The Experience

I’ve been studying stone carving under Steve Shaheen in NYC since September 2009. After being primarily self-taught in soapstone, I wanted someone to help push me to the next level in my work. Steve immediately suggested working in marble. He said it was the natural next step. He was exactly right. When the opportunity arose to carve in Italy with Steve, I knew it was where I needed to be. From the moment I first crawled out of the car at the Studio, all of my weariness of travel subsided. I was surrounded by huge blocks of marble! It was everywhere, so many different types and colors. Steve and Leonardo Corsanini, the owner of the Studio, lead me through the marble yard explaining the different types of stones. I spent the afternoon exploring the options of stone. There were so very many choices. It was incredible. The next day, I chose several stones and set up my workspace. Each of the following days was filled with learning and productivity. Each stone I worked with pushed me in new ways. Each one was a welcomed challenge. I could not have had this sort of intensity of experience elsewhere. The support and encouragement I felt from Steve, from the other workshop participants, and from the other artisans at the Studio all helped to push me forward with my work. The full-immersion – working beside professional carvers, being able to watch their techniques and processes, and listening to conversations (sometimes translated, sometimes inferred) about carving and life – was a vital component of the workshop for me. I learned more than I had anticipated. I accomplished so much more than I had ever hoped to do. I roughed out five pieces for a series I started in September when I met Steve. I cannot even express the enormity of it – it felt incredible to see the pieces start to line up across the wall as I worked on one, then on another and another.

Learning New Tools

Back in NYC, I had worked mainly by hand with hammer and chisel. Before this workshop, I’d only worked with an angle grinder once before in class for a few minutes. In this setting among so many professional carvers, I saw so many of them using a variety of power tools with an amazing range of outcomes from each tool. It seemed like the perfect time and place to find some bravery inside myself and learn to use an angle grinder. I was hooked. I loved working with the grinder. It fit so well with my forms and my patterns of thought. Over the next few weeks, my confidence level with this tool soared. By the end of the workshop, I was pleased with how easy it was to use a grinder to create the forms I saw in the stone. Being immersed in this setting and being encouraged to try many different types of stone enabled me to accomplished so much more than I had ever expected. I can’t wait to go back!

Life at the Carving Studio

I immediately felt at home at the Studio. Leo was a constant source of knowledge and guidance in stone availability. He asked questions about my experience level, about the forms I wanted to create, about my likes/dislikes of color and tonality for my series. He and Steve gave me support while pushing me forward to more challenging stones as well.

Lunch was a highlight of my day for many reasons. As you would expect, by 12noon we were all famished. The food was lovingly prepared by Luigi Corsanini, the gentleman who started the Studio and is also Leo’s father. Lunch is served upstairs in the Studio kitchen. It begins with carvers filing into the benches and chairs around a long table – they are all still lightly coated in dust (no matter how careful you are in dusting off, there’s always a little bit of stone dust left behind to prove you were working all morning). Plates heaping full of pasta are passed down hand to hand until all are served. Wine and water flow freely, but not excessively as we all have to return to our carving again soon. Jokes are made and laughter fills the room. Lunchtime has an old-world family feel to it. After the pasta is finished, a selection of salami and cheeses are brought out. (I am still trying to find any here in NYC that rivals the taste!) Espresso is made and often chocolates are passed around the table. A heart-felt “Grazie” to Luigi and we’re all back out into the sunshine to continue our carving.

A group photo after another of Luigi's delicious lunches.

Welcome to our new site!

admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:02:01 +0000

Hi there. Thanks for visiting. We’re working hard to update this site with information about our upcoming course in June 2011. Stay tuned…