I remember meeting an oil painter at an outdoor show who explained the importance of viewing creativity as a gift from our Creator. From that moment on, painting for me seized to be a hobby and I began my art career.
After 20 years of meeting hundreds of fellow artists I must agree with that painter of long ago. But even though the road isn’t a straight one, the creative spark within us all remains a gift that keeps on giving, no matter what.
sab•bat•i•cal [suh-bat-i-kuh'l] noun, any extended period of leave from one’s customary work, especially for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.
I heard this word for the first time in highschool. A favorite teacher left “on sabbatical” and images swirled in my mind of an exotic trip to a far away land learning about some native group, their ceremonies and traditions.I fell in love with this word!
This year I have learned to weave, carve in wood and took a course in mould making. I honed my skills at reading and writing in Italian, and took freelance work creating logos, food blogging and producing videos . Recently I launched a new website featuring my alter ego ita-liana, creating a space for my humorous works which I have been re-visiting. I am especially looking forward to an upcoming course with sculptor Bruno Lucchesi.
This holiday season I took the time to think about Christmas decorations for the first time in 6 years. Usually all consumed by upcoming show preparations, painting, shipping, framing, designing printed materials etc etc etc. my thoughts instead turned to reverse painting on glass. ( oh and yes we have a pink vintage tree!)
But how? what kind of glass? what kind of paints? why, where, when? etc. And as my better half watched me squirm, google, and plough through the next few days with a loving smirk on his face, here is the result.
Christmas is a time of giving, sharing and a reminder to be thankful of our every blessing amidst both the joy and sadness of our lives.
May the light of the season, both colored and white, light you up with joy and love this season and throughout the entire year.
I sigh as another summer closes without a trip to my beloved Italy. Filling the void with Italian film, music and booksI joyfully cling to the promise of an extensive trip in 2012. One morning, feeling especially estranged by my Italian muse, I heard artist Fabrizio De Andre’s, Genova Blues on my i Tunes playlist and I began to question my identity.How odd, I thought. An Italian artist singing the blues! An Italianesque version with an Elvis like twang and a spattering of heavily accented english lyrics. While reminiscing about how all things American are so enthusiastically embraced in Italy I envisioned the headline…”Canadian born artist paints Italy.” The question “who am I?” comes up. Am I Canadian? Am I Italian? Neither or both?I recall the label “Italo Canadian.” A somewhat endearing term that has been artfully crafted to sum up this crisis of identity that greatly oversimplifies my personal experience. My childhood memories consist of snowy winters and snowmobiling, learning to water ski on an icy cold cottage lake and tapping frosty sugar maples for syrup in early spring. Sparrow Lake, Ontario, Canada. I think I am about 4 yrs old and I LOVED that snowsuit! Tapping trees and collecting sap, Gravenhurst, Ontario CanadaAdd to this slivers of dreamy postcard scenes of a bustling almond harvest in Sicily. A lazy sojourn on a Calabrian beach strung with a row of straw huts and fetching olive oil from a stone cool cantina dating back to the middle ages. Above: Archive photo of huts on Ferruzzano Beach Below: present day (photo by F. Sculli)
Since I started painting in fresco in 1993, my subjects have been predominantly Italian architectural landscapes. The wine and olive oil that runs through my veins is hard to ignore as is the special and close relationship I had with my grandmother whose village I paint tirelessly.This past year however was a time for introspection and my rural setting and excruciatingly slow internet connection worked hand in hand to encourage a readjustment in priorties. While I made some space for change and growth I delightfully embraced it with the arrival of 7 horses that took up residence across the way and a family of bluebirds that visit daily to feed on our front lawn. Images swirl through my mind with an urge to interpret subjects that are slightly removed from my “Italian side.” I come back to that timeless question. Am I Canadian? Am I Italian? I finally come to this conclusion. I am neither and both. I am a visual artist. I paint beauty and what is deeply familiar to me. I paint the complexity of who I am.At present “home” looks more beautiful and familiar to me than ever and although I am sure that I will always maintain a fiercely Italian side to my personality, I hope you will enjoy discovering “my Canadian side” as well.A presto! or should I say, until next time “EH!”Post or View Comments ›
As a long awaited sequel to my first video titled “My Italy” that focused on my travels and experiences in Calabria I now bring you a new video on Sicily. Ragusa, Ibla is a gem of a place where my father was born.
Adorned with Baroque architecture and rich in culture and beauty it stands proud and sure that it will remain forever. A stark contrast to the lazy, pastoral and fragile Ferruzzano from where my mother came. Click on the play button in the middle of the screen below and enjoy the trip!
Wan’t to experience more Sicilian delights? Visit one of my very favorite blogs Baroque Sicily where Jann Huizenga writes about her life and experiences while living in Ragusa Ibla. And by the way her photographs of the people, architecture, colors and beauty are exquisite. Well worth a look! Enjoy!
Celebrating 19 years of continued exploration and specialization in fresco painting, an ancient art that requires painting into wet plaster with pure pigment.
Liana Sofia creates small to medium frescoes on panels of wood, tile, stone or cement board, while larger works are detachments from wall to cloth, the result of a restoration process called “The Strappo Technique.” or Fresco detachments.
Rich with the memory of the moment of capture, each fresco begins with a photograph taken within the villages of Liana Sofia's parents and grandparents. She aims to re-live the experience and beauty of each place as she paints it, to evoke a sense of presence to the viewer.
Fine art collectors across the country have become intrigued by Liana Sofia's work when they understand the historical significance of the medium as well as it’s challenges,complexity and unique beauty.
Italian Film I LOVE!
*Golden Door (Nuovomondo)
The Leopard (Gattopardo)
Mafioso
Cinema Paradiso
Kaos
Respiro
Life is Beautiful
*The Tiger and the Snow (La Tigre e la Neve)
Il Postino
The Flowers of St Francis
The Bicycle Thief
*Mid-August Lunch(Pranzo di Ferragosto)
Wildflower (Fiorile)
Quiet Chaos (Caos Calmo)
The Nativity Story (well not
Italian but filmed in Calabria)
This year I have learned to weave, carve in wood and took a course in mould making. I honed my skills at reading and writing in Italian, and took freelance work creating logos, food blogging and producing videos .
Images swirl through my mind with an 
