Robin Bell: Pioneers and famous Canadians
12/13/23 • 22 min
See pictures and read more on materiallyspeaking.com
We settle down to chat outside Robin Bell’s home at a sheltered table with a spectacular view of the sea, from Pisa to La Spezia, and the never ending horizon. An exterior storage space against a yellow wall reveals shelves laden with maquettes and sculptures in various stages of completion.
Robin discusses his move from working with marble to bronze and his focus on creating larger sculptures. He shares stories about some of his notable commissions, including sculptures of Winston Churchill, Ulysses and the hockey star and Canadian politician, Ken Dryden.
Robin talks about his Irish heritage and how he loves telling stories through his sculptures. He also describes his working process and how he immerses himself in the characters he sculpts. He recounts the preparations he took to sculpt a Canadian cutting horse called Peppy San, which took three years to make.
Coming from a military family involved Robin in much travelling and he acknowledges the influence his grandfather’s pioneering spirit had on him. He reflects on how attached he is to the view of the horizon over the sea from his house near Pietrasanta. Nowadays Robin creates a drawing daily, which he posts on social media.
See pictures and read more on materiallyspeaking.com
We settle down to chat outside Robin Bell’s home at a sheltered table with a spectacular view of the sea, from Pisa to La Spezia, and the never ending horizon. An exterior storage space against a yellow wall reveals shelves laden with maquettes and sculptures in various stages of completion.
Robin discusses his move from working with marble to bronze and his focus on creating larger sculptures. He shares stories about some of his notable commissions, including sculptures of Winston Churchill, Ulysses and the hockey star and Canadian politician, Ken Dryden.
Robin talks about his Irish heritage and how he loves telling stories through his sculptures. He also describes his working process and how he immerses himself in the characters he sculpts. He recounts the preparations he took to sculpt a Canadian cutting horse called Peppy San, which took three years to make.
Coming from a military family involved Robin in much travelling and he acknowledges the influence his grandfather’s pioneering spirit had on him. He reflects on how attached he is to the view of the horizon over the sea from his house near Pietrasanta. Nowadays Robin creates a drawing daily, which he posts on social media.
Previous Episode
Janice Mehlman: Come fly with me
See pictures and read more on materiallyspeaking.com
The long, narrow, glass-walled studio of Janice Mehlman is perched half way up the steep garden of her home, on a hillside near Pietrasanta.
Many of her abstract photographs are hung on crisp white walls, and she welcomes us inside to look at some of her work from the last 30 years. She explains how she started as a photographer, focusing on black-and-white images of architecture. After creating an image that captured a chance moment of light on a discarded photographic proof in her waste bin, she started to incorporate objects into her compositions.
She shows us her workbench, where she finds inspiration. When light from the window shines in, it illuminates a cornucopia of materials in every colour and texture. We see swimwear, hats, netting and fluorescent wrapping – all glittering in the morning sun.
Janice explains how her work has evolved over the years, particularly in relation to her exploration of her sensuality and sexuality as a woman. She talks about using her own intimate garments and other objects to create compositions that reflect her inner soul.
She also recounts how her work has responded to different experiences, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and shows us a few pieces from that series.
We hear how she was inspired by a disastrous trip to Chicago to create one of her most acclaimed series of work, choosing to find the positive even in adversity.
Next Episode
Gabriele Gelatti: Like an insect
See pictures and read more on materiallyspeaking.com
Gabriele talks to us about his upbringing in Genoa, his self-taught artistic training, his love for the history of art, and for photography.
He explains the process of creating pebble mosaics, including the selection of stones and the use of lime mortar. He also discusses the importance of preserving the skills and techniques of mosaic making and the impact of climate change on the availability of materials.
We met Gabriele in a city park called Campo Pisano – where Genoa once beat Pisa at the battle of Meloria, and confined more than 9,000 prisoners. Here he is restoring a memorial mosaic which was first made by Gabriele’s teacher Armando Porta. Further info and images on Wikipedia.
For many centuries Genoa wielded enormous power as a maritime republic and was considered one of the wealthiest cities in the world. On our way to Gabriele’s studio he showed us the narrow streets and wonderful architecture, with layers of history.
Liguria, is a region of northern Italy; a narrow strip bordered by sea on one side and densely wooded mountains on the other. The air here smells of salt from the sea, minerals from the rocks, and pine from the hills. Its traditional crafts are mostly inspired by materials from the sea and forests.
Gabriele emphasises the need to pass on the craft to future generations. Gabriele's work is driven by his deep connection to nature and a desire to create beautiful and sustainable art.
Materially Speaking - Robin Bell: Pioneers and famous Canadians
Transcript
With Ulysses, through a friend, I discovered a man who was the curator of the Queen's ship collection. And through him, I discovered how Ulysses ship actually worked and how the mast was put in place, because all these sculptures are like a piece of theater and you've got to have your stage set up properly before you put your figure in it. I grew my toenails for four months to figure out what that would actually look like on the guy.
SpIf you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/materially-speaking-379697/robin-bell-pioneers-and-famous-canadians-54219656"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to robin bell: pioneers and famous canadians on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy