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Visit our all new poetry website www.bayeuxpoetry.com
The Poetry & Art of Ferdinando Spina
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COMING OUT IN DECEMBER 2006 |
Poet and artist Ferdinando Spina is of Italian heritage. He was exposed to art at an early age. As a child he traveled with his parents across Europe, North America and Mexico and was exposed to many art and historical museums. It also helped that his father Edward was an artist who also painted. Without a doubt these early experiences were instrumental in planting the seed of an artist in the young Ferdinando.
While he was in grade school and high school he did not particularly do well in English but he liked poetry and Shakespeare a great deal. His love of the written poetic word was strong enough for him to begin writing in grade school at age 11.
Art and poetry have always held a great fascination for Ferdinando. While at university, studying psychology and social work, he still felt an artistic need and slowly began to pursue his art. In the summers, between studies, he traveled to Europe, Asia and Africa. During these travels he studied figurative drawing with street artists. After a short time he was able to sell his work and make money to pay for his travel expenses. After finishing his degree in social work and psychology he began to paint and sculpt and has not stopped since.
While he has no formal training in art or writing, his strong sense of purpose and will to learn to sculpt, to paint and to write have carried him. Although his lack of formal education has been a hurdle sometimes, he feels that ultimately it is the person and artist that must teach himself. Teachers can be guides but eventually the artist must strike out on his own and create his own form and style.
The Artist has been working in social work, painting and writing for the past four years in the Kitikmeot Region above the Arctic Circle. Much of his recent images and writings have been inspired by his Arctic work in the Canadian North. He resides in Calgary when not in the North.
Ferdinando has a number of works to his credit in the province of Alberta. Two of his sculptures can be found on 4th street in South West Calgary. These two sculptures are titled “Millennium Arch” and “Sentinels of Time.” On 17th Avenue S.W. a major mural on the UNICEF building was commissioned, titled “Prairie Round House Fun.” In Sien Lok Park (by center street bridge) stands “The Wall of Names”. This sculpture is constructed out of granite and bronze and was also commissioned. The works of Ferdinando Spina can be found in the art collections of the govenments of Alberta, Ontario, the Federal government and private and public collections in Canada, The USA, and Europe. The artist has been represented in the past by Gallery Moos, Harrison Gallery, and the Vorpal Gallery in New York and San Francisco. Currently he is self-represented.
Contact with the artist can be made by email at : fredspina@shaw.ca. Or his blog site at: www.spinaart.blogspot.com.
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Bayeux Arts gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Government of Canada through The Book Publishing Industry Development Program. Copyright © 2007 Bayeux Arts