Artnotes: In Paper Mache

 

Liberty House behind the Hotel   Blair Pessemier  Acrylic on  canvas   12 x 12"  30 x 30cm 375.00 Ginkgo in Fall    Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic on large paper (arrives rolled)  56 x 36"  142 x 92cm  375.00 Oak in the Field    Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic on large paper (arrives rolled)  56 x 36"  142 x 92cm  375.00 “Why don’t we come meet you?” I asked a New York friend visiting Tuscany.  He usually drives up to Roccamalatina (his mom lives in Tuscany) for a day or two, but this time, we rented a hotel room in Caiamore, Viareggio, a beach town outside of where our friend stays in Pietrasanta.  There was much appeal to all this – we’d been wanting to go to Pietrasanta, a town famous for its metal casting.  I had a clay sculpture we wanted to cast, and I am always trying to get Blair to rekindle his interest in the “fire arts”.   Viareggio is an old city, founded around 1150.   It has about 65,000 inhabitants, but in the summer and during Carnevale, that population swells.  It is a perfect example of the “Liberty Style” of architecture – a sort of Victorian look that hails from the early 1900s.  Stone and wooden houses, with decorative friezes and stone gates, abound.  It is very close to Pisa and the leaning tower (we admired the tower and the baptistery from the outside).  It is equally far in the other direction from Carrara, and what appears to be snow covered mountains, actually the quarries.    Viareggio had the first Mardi Gras parade/celebration in Italy, started in the late 1800s.   They are famous for grand paper mache likenesses of politicians and other characters.   We mostly walked on the beach, drank coffee and looked around.  It was sunny all the time, and we really enjoyed the locale.  In fact, there are museums about the area, including a “carnival” museum we would like to see the next time.  Pietrasanta, the city we planned to go to, was surprising to us – we had expected something more artsy, but in fact, it was a place where the artists had been replaced in favor of fancy galleries and expensive stores and restaurants.   It was still a very beautiful place, and a decommissioned church, made into a museum, appealed to me more (architecturally) than those in the provincial capital of Lucca. We brought my rabbit to a foundery:  300 euros to make the mold, and 700 per casting.  This struck us as a lot for a 6 inch tall hollow bronze artwork.  I may have to stick to clay, or better yet paper mache.  I could create my own little carnival parade of paper mache floats.

HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our paintings at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed.   sign up for Artnotes, our weekly art missive, by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com or https://mailchi.mp/341f508cecf8/artnotes INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  No politics, no sales pitches, please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM