With the end of the year approaching, I like to review and see if my year is complete. But how can you rate that? What IS complete? Maybe it’s achieving everything I set out to do but maybe it’s just enough to travel the path as best I can — one small step after the other.
2024 has been a year with both tumultuous upheaval and one of artistic achievement. It has also presented new possibilities for 2025. Pondering this, I recalled my first marble carving course in Carrara, Italy — and my first commission in Carrara marble.
I was living in Munich at the time — it was 1998. Although I studied Fine Art in Canada, I had never carved stone. I stumbled across an advert for a marble carving course in Carrara using the traditional methods of Michelangelo. Of course I signed up immediately. Being in those mountains and treading the very same earth that Michelangelo had was exhilarating. It was an amazing 2 weeks and started a passion for stone and a new series of work which culminated in an exhibition.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoerz discovered my exhibition. They had interpreted my abstract sculpture as a bird. Their daughter, Franka, had sadly died in her sleep and they wanted a bird sculpture for her grave. They visited my studio and became convinced I had been chosen by Franka and so I received the commission. Mrs. Hoerz said that she wanted to come with me to select the stone. I laughed and said that would be in Carrara. She said they were going to the south of France so we could meet.
I got in touch with a young Dutch sculptor, Raven, who I had met during my course. He agreed to meet me in spite of the years that had passed since we first met.
With my dog in the back of my Renault panel truck, we set off on our adventure. I somehow managed to find the meeting place in Carrara without a satnav — the good old days of paper maps. Raven told me I couldn’t just arrive in Carrara and expect to find the perfect piece of marble on the first day but I was more than happy to spend some time there to do some stone hunting.
The meeting with the Hoerz’s worked out perfectly. We agreed to set out with Raven first thing in the morning. The adventure ended very quickly because we actually did find the perfect piece of marble at the first place we visited. Raven reminded the Hoerz’s of their son so there was a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere between us. We went back the following day to get the stone cut to size. The stone and off-cut were loaded into the back of my panel truck and off I went back to Munich.
While working on one side of the sculpture, there were decisions I had to make about the carving that were puzzling but that I felt were right. At the cemetery Mr. Hoerz asked me to come and take a look at the sculpture approaching it from a distance. I discovered that the puzzling side appeared to have taken on the form of a Madonna. Thinking of it still gives me goose bumps.
The Hoerz’s invited me out to dinner after the sculpture was in place. Mr. Hoerz shared his impression that I was a true professional coming in at the right time knowing exactly where to make the cut on the marble. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I didn’t have a clue. Mrs. Hoerz told me that she was convinced Franka’s hand was guiding me the whole time and maybe it was.
I am very sad to be leaving my studio at 55 High Street in mid December. Thank you to all who have taken courses or visited me over the past 7 years. At the time of writing, I can’t confirm what will happen next but I will be in touch. The studio will take on a new form. I have every confidence that The Old Dairy project will be a success. Our Crowdfunder is still running at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-old-dairy-heacham-for-the-community so please give what you can to bring Studio @ 55 back into the heart of Heacham.
Esther Boehm, Studio @ 55 • https://www.studioat55.com
eb@estherboehm.com • 07538 986 235
Encouraging Individuality, Acceptance and Understanding
