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- April 4, 2009
Lessons carved in stone
Italian sculptor Roberto Chiti
keeps the art of working in alabaster alive as artist in residence for
Appoquinimink School District
By: REID
CHAMPAGNE/Special to The News Journal
Posted: March 26,
2009
"In clay, you add pieces as you go along," said
the Appoquinimink High School sophomore, "but in stone, you can't add back. You
have to work backward to avoid
mistakes."
And while Cooper and the 40 or so students taking a
special ceramics and sculpture class will make some mistakes anyway, it helps
they have an international master stone carver to
teach them. Robert Chiti, a sculptor from the Tuscany town Volterra, arrived in
February. He is the first guest artist in what organizers hope is a long-term
artist in residence program in the Appoquinimink
School District.
"We've been working on an international arts
program within the district for the past two years," says Nancy Petrella, who
teaches at Meredith Middle School in Middletown
and is chairwoman of the district artist in residence program. "Our goal has
been to invite an artist of international standing to provide an authentic
cultural
experience among our students."
Under the sponsorship of Delaware's
Italian-American Heritage Commission, Petrella joined some teachers on a trip to
Italy last summer. The teacher exchange was more about looking for ways to introduce Italian culture into the classroom.
The invitation to Chiti came as a result of discussions with officials in
Volterra, as well as the
assistance of Alberto Giannetti, a former heritage
commission representative, who remains active in affairs involving Italy and
Delaware.
"Roberto Chiti was selected because he furthered
our own goals for our program, but he also provided an opportunity to bring a
specific type of sculpture that has roots in ancient Italian history to our students here in Delaware," said
Petrella.
Chiti works in alabaster, a stone that's been used
in his area for thousands of years.
"I want to teach the tradition of working with
alabaster," Chiti said, as he busies himself among his first class. "There are
not many people working with this type of material anymore, and one of my purposes is to help keep alive this
ancient Etruscan art form."
Alabaster, a sedimentary rock derived from
chalk, is softer and easier to carve than marble. The students did not
necessarily find alabaster that easy to work with, but it fascinated them anyway.
"It's more intense than drawing," said Max
Manerchia, who was at work on a representation of the Beatles' Apple Records
logo. "You have to have a clearer idea of what you're doing, and even the simplest things require an awful lot of
steps."
Anthony Piane said his representation of a face
emerging from a curtain came from a performance he had seen of Pink Floyd's "The
Wall."
"I'm guessing it will take me about eight hours
of work to complete this," Piane said. "That's the longest I've ever worked on
anything." But the effort is well worth it, he said.
"Working with someone like Mr. Chiti is a
once-in-a-lifetime chance. People pay thousands of dollars to train with someone
like him, and we have him for free. He makes everything seem so much easier. The stone just seems to melt when he
works it."
Chiti, a former teacher, takes his time with
each student to make sure they stay on track. At one point, he demonstrated to
Jeanene Motley how not to cut too deeply into the
rose relief she'd chosen for her project. He showed her the difference between
cutting with a chisel and the smoother results achieved with an electric
drill.
With language a more than occasional impediment
(Chiti is conversant in English but relies on a volunteer interpreter, Flora
Calabrese, for more technical matters) Chiti is nevertheless able to convey how art becomes its own language and can
communicate without words.
This initial program calls for Chiti to spend
six weeks in Delaware, working with more than 180 students and teachers from
Appoquinimink and Middletown high schools, as
well as Meredith. The students' creations will be displayed along with Chiti's
works at Dover's Biggs Museum beginning April 4.
In addition to the support of the Biggs,
Petrella said the city of Volterra underwrote the costs of shipping Chiti's
stoneworking tools and additional pieces of art here. The school district is providing a stipend and living expenses for
Chiti during his stay. Some of those expenses are reduced by the volunteer
families who will receive Chiti as their guest.
Chiti's first hosts, Howard and Kathleen Otinsky of Middletown, looked forward
to the personal exposure to another culture. It's a mutual
exchange.
"We've taken Roberto to Washington, D.C., and
to local malls and out to dinner," said Kathleen. "He's had meatloaf and an
authentic Thanksgiving celebration while he's been with us, too."
Joe and Dodie Di Giacintos, are planning
a trip to New York, as well as hosting an Italian dessert party for Chiti during
his stay with them. The family has hosted student exchanges in the past and are looking forward to this one.
"We're Italian, and my wife is a pretty good
cook, so I expect we'll be serving some Italian dishes while he's with us," Joe
Di Giacinto predicted.
Appoquinimink art instructor Andrea Keim said
the program goes beyond hands-on projects in the school's makeshift studio
(custodians had to improvise space to provide for
adequate dust control, among other issues).
"Student lesson plans will include discussions
of the Volterra region, the history of alabaster carvings and its link to
ancient Etruscan history," she explained. "Roberto also brought a PowerPoint presentation."
Given the difficulty of working in stone, as
well the use of various tools and machinery, safety is part of the instruction.
For one thing, breathing masks are worn to prevent inhaling dust.
For another: "Roberto has taught the students
to always cut away from the body," Keim added.
Pictured above: Chiti
demonstrates to Brian Almarez (standing), Hilary Wilkins and Miller (seated) and
Stilwell why the light refraction and color variations of alabaster make
it attractive to sculptors. Carving in
alabaster is an ancient Etruscan art form.
Photographer:
Eric Crossan
If You'd like to
go:
"The Sculpture of Light: Volterra,
Italy, in Delaware" runs April 4 through July 21 at the Biggs
Museum of American Art in Dover. It showcases works by Appoquinimink artist in
residence Roberto Chiti, items by students from the district and historic
sculpture from Italy. Details: www.biggsmuseum.org.
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