Posted on Saturday, April 7th, 2012
After a season of cold and darkness, spring brings with it, light and warmth. This is true for the seasons, as well as with the journey of life.
Like the daffodils that emerge vibrant green and fresh through a snowy earth, welcome to the new work that has emerged from my season of change along with continued efforts to live simply, simply living.
- FRESCO
After a year of self reflection, new experiences and exposure to the knowledge of sculptors such as Bruno Lucchesi and Brenda Wainman Goulet the seed of an idea that had been germinating for many years had time to grow.
- BAS RELIEF (basso rilievo)
The Bas Relief Fresco is born. Thank you to all of my collectors for your patience and support and I hope you look forward to seeing more soon!
- BAS RELIEF FRESCO
Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.” ~ Sarah Breathnach
HAPPY SPRING!
Post or View Comments ›
Posted on Monday, December 19th, 2011
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.
Merry Christmas!
Post or View Comments ›
Posted on Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
I sigh as another summer closes without a trip to my beloved Italy. Filling the void with Italian film, music and books I 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 Canada
Add 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 ›
