I’ve always believed that if life ever gets dull, there will always be stories to tell and to listen to. Stories distract, teach, amuse and get you lots of friends.
I grew up in a small town in Northern Italy where we had few toys so it was stories that kept me entertained and out of trouble. My grandpa, Nonno Peu, made me laugh or scared me out of my socks with his potent imagination.
Soon I started drawing the characters and places of his stories, just for fun: a fox den, a bell tower, a dwarf, a skinny lost dog. My childhood illustrations also helped my cousin Sergio who hated Roman History (“too many emperors, tyrants and republics”). I drew an image on each right lower corner of a notebook and then flipped just the corners and a story would unfold. Caesar, Caligula, Nero, battles and temples would appear and disappear and my cousin learned history (maybe).
When life took me away from the little town, I traveled and lived in many different places. Wherever I went and whatever I did, storytelling and art were at the core.
Sometimes my art was my livelihood.
Advertising
When working in advertising, I saw my illustrations spread on the side of buses.
Publishing
When working in a publishing house, I illustrated sun signs, drew charts, learnt about horoscopes, ascendants and tarot cards.
Government
When working for two different Italian Consulates, I got long vacations and survived the bureaucracy by making collages with leftover passport photos (until the system went digital).
Sometimes I combined storytelling with art, as when I owned and operated two art galleries.
In New Orleans, our gallery was located in the French Quarter, next to a bikers’ joint and few doors from a tattoo parlor. Our clients included bikers, society ladies, the gay community, each with his or her or their story. We gathered on Sunday afternoons for drinks and music and story telling. It was great fun (even if we didn’t sell much art).
In Miami, we opened a gallery focused on African art. My husband traveled extensively across Africa, bringing back sophisticated and powerful objects and textiles. Through the gallery, we were able to tell stories of how traditional Africans use their art daily, and how everyday objects are works of art. They are used to share food, shoo away bad spirits, encourage crops to grow, and serve as passports.
(Image: A Sande Women’s Secret Society Mask.)
As a guest lecturer at numerous art schools over the years, I’ve always insisted that students observe and touch our gallery objects to better understand the stories they tell and thus respect the cultures that produced them.
When my friend Milica asked me to illustrate her children’s stories, I found myself back where I started, illustrating stories, although this time not with Nonno Peu.
We started the Where in the World? book series featuring two daring sisters who explore the world. Each animal they meet has a unique personality and soul, such as Ali the alligator from the Everglades, Mister Snake from the tiny Italian island of Pantelleria and the goldfish from a Mumbai pond. All illustrations are original watercolors.
I may travel the world less now but I continue to be inspired by it. I have a trunkful of experiences from which to dig out stories and images, and to share them with you, adult and child readers, so that we may become friends and journey the world together.
Selections from my portfolio
