Day Five: We will resume studying as usual at 9:00. After an initial warm-up exercise, we will assess progress from the day before. Depending on a number of factors, at this point and over the course of the day, I may encourage students to start their sculptures over. This is not a critique or failure of the sculpture, but an assessment of what can be learned from either continuing versus restarting. As Romolo maintains, it really takes little time to sculpt a figure, and the most important take away from this workshop is learning how to train your eye to see. Every time you restart a sculpture, it goes faster and is better than the time before. The fifth day is a stock-taking day, assessing what has been learned and evaluating what could still be mastered by the conclusion of the program. Everyone's trajectory by now will be different and the training will take on a more individual relationship, with each participant getting significant personal instruction to guide their sculpture's progress. The group will work for five hours, with regular breaks, until lunchtime at 14:00. At 15:30, we will descend into the village to visit the foundry where Romolo casts his bronze sculpture and the marble yard where he has also created. You will get to see how artists make the leap from simple models, like the ones you will be creating to professional finished public art in fine art materials of bronze and marble. For those who wish to have their own finished works cast into plaster or bronze at the end of the workshop, we will help make arrangements for the casting with Fonderia D'Arte. For those wishing to have their works carved into marble, we will engage the services of the marble studio of Galeotti Brothers. All financial arrangements and costs for carving or casting the work are the responsibility of the individual artist and not included in the cost of the Art Retreat package. But Studio Romolo will do its best efforts to facilitate the process. After the tour, there will be an optional dinner at a nearby restaurant with a prix fixe menu for those who wish to join. Transportation back to Almora will be provided after dinner, or participants are free to break away from the group and pursue their own interests at any time after the morning workshop is over.
Day Six (Final Day) As usual, we will get to work at 9:00. The last day starts with a few exercises to loosen everyone up. The biggest issue facing participants at this point is usually not to get to "tight" trying to perfect details of the sculpture, rather than focus on the big picture of the artwork. Romolo will work one on one with the participants, helping them to maintain their overall artistic vision so that they don't obsess about details and create a harmonic and clear artistic vision of a completed sculpture. At this point, each student's work will be very different and very personal. That is how it should be, everyone has a different truth about creating. A successful workshop allows you to turn that truth into something you can see and share with the world. The group will work for five hours, with regular breaks, until lunchtime at 14:00. However, those wishing to personally deliver their sculptures to the foundry or marble studio to be cast or carved will need to depart for the artisans before noon, when they close shop for the weekend (transport provided). Those who either don't want to create a bronze or marble or wish Studio Romolo to deliver the artwork for them the following week may continue on until the conclusion of the workshop session at 14:00. The participants will have the afternoon off to enjoy the area on their own, visiting the beaches, the shops, and many cultural institutions which make up the area. We will meet at 19:30 for a farewell dinner and final night in Almora.
