IF: Winter (Inverno)

A tempo debito
l'inverno
finirà.

IF: Mail (Posta)

Dear Santa,
I would really like to have my town back.
Thank you.

Caro Babbo Natale,
mi piacerebbe molto riavere la mia città.
Grazie.

IF: Savour (Assaporare)

Copying a masterpiece allows me to savour it to the fullest.

I savour each line and each stroke, while I try to look at the paper with someone else's eyes.
Looking at this old copy of Egon Schiele's "Freundschaft" ("Friendship") makes me think of old and new friends: of Summa, Lauretta and Ninetta, from my old life, of Giorgia and Roberta, whom I met here in Pescara where my second life started; of Cristina, Tiziana and Suzanna, kindred spirits whose words reach me across the web; of Letizia and Giuseppe, so much more than just a sister and a brother. I think of friendship and savour being surrounded by people I can count on.

Copiare un capolavoro mi permette di assaporarlo fino in fondo.
Assaporo ogni linea e ogni pennellata, mentre tento di guardare la carta con gli occhi di qualcun altro.
Guardare questa vecchia copia di "Freundschaft" ("Amicizia") di Egon Schiele mi fa pensare alle mie amiche, vecchie e nuove: Summa, Lauretta e Ninetta, della mia vecchia vita, Giorgia e Roberta, che ho conosciuto qui a Pescara, dove ha avuto inizio la mia seconda vita; Cristina, Tiziana e Suzanna, anime affini le cui parole mi raggiungono attraverso la Rete; Letizia e Giuseppe, che sono molto di più che semplicemente una sorella e un fratello. Penso all'amicizia e assaporo l'essere circondata da persone su cui posso contare.

Si può fare - It can be done

It can be done, it can be done You can take it, you can leave it
It can be done, it can be done You can run and fly.
You can sing and you can shout You can sell and buy
You can steal and present You can cry and dance.
It can be done, it can be done You can take or leave
You can want and fight Stop and give up.
It can be done, it can be done You can take or leave
You can grow and change And continue to sail.
It can be done, it can be done You can take or leave
It can be done, it can be done Leave and return.
You can betray and conquer You can say and then deny
You can play and work Hate and then love.
It can be done, it can be done You can take or leave
It can be done, it can be done You can eat and fast.
You can sleep and suffer You can laugh and dream
You can fall and make mistakes And then start again.
It can be done, it can be done You can take or leave
It can be done, it can be done You can ask and find.
You can teach and tell You can pretend and lie
You can destroy and burn And then try again.
It can be done.

"Living well is the best revenge" (G. Herbert) (Vivere bene è la migliore vendetta)

A war is going on here.
Not much time for creativity.
But I opened a Zazzle shop.

Qui è in corso una guerra.
Non c'è molto tempo per la creatività.
Ma ho aperto un negozio Zazzle.



create & buy custom products at Zazzle

IF: Spent (Speso)

No need to be sad for an old pencil.

Una vita ben spesa. Ovvero: non c'è bisogno di essere tristi per una vecchia matita.

IF: Racing (Corsa)

IF: Spooky (Sinistro)

Playing with suminagashi, again.
These three spooky creatures emerged, from the floating ink whirls and from my mind.

Which one scares you the most (if any)?

Ancora esperimenti con il suminagashi.
Queste tre sinistre creature sono emerse dai vortici dell'inchiostro fluttuante, e dalla mia mente.
Quale vi sembra la più spaventosa (posto che le troviate tali)?

Happy birthday, dad (Buon compleanno, papi)

We miss you.

Ci manchi.

IF: Transportation (Trasporto)

Imagination and a paper boat will transport you wherever you want.




L'immaginazione e una barchetta di carta vi porteranno dovunque vorrete.

IF: Beneath

Experimenting with suminagashi ("ink-floating"), an ancient Japanese technique of decorating paper. Ink is dropped carefully to float on a still water surface and then blown across to form delicate swirls, after which the ink is picked up by laying a sheet of rice paper atop the ink covered water.
The result is unpredictable and makes me think of geological strata beneath the earth surface.

IF: Acrobat

Another quick, last minute submission, in the wee hours.

I've got a lot to learn about watercolors and wet-in-wet technique but hey, this is what this blog is for (among many other things): practicing.

IF: Proverb (Proverbio)

Quella che per il bruco è la fine del mondo, per il resto del mondo è una farfalla.

Meditation for the weekend

IF: Immovable

"Immota manet" ("It remains immovable") is my hometown's motto.
L'Aquila has survived many earthquakes. I hope it will survive this one too.
But it will never be the same. It did not remain unmoved.

IF: Atmosphere

Painted 12 years ago during a sailboat holiday, this little watercolour takes me back to an atmosphere of peacefulness and of feeling at one with nature.

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time - André Gide

IF: Star Gazing

Inspired by a photograph of my beautiful daughter, taken by my talented brother.

When your mind's made up

There are decisions that are particularly hard to make.
But after so much thinking, sleepless nights, aimless days, tears and hope and anger and fear, there comes a time when all that's left is a clear mind.
(Well, actually some tears and anger and fear remain. But no more doubts).

IF: Double

TAI CHI CHUAN DOUBLE SWORD FORM



Above is an excerpt from the notes I used to take when I studied tai chi, to remember movements and sequences.
I have practiced tai chi chuan for ten years. It is a beautiful and deep martial art that requires a lifelong study and never becomes boring.
I loved it and it helped me in many ways. Of course, it also helped me manage stress during difficult times.
But the earthquake + my father's illness + the problems with my husband were a bit too much. Far from the dojo, from my master and my fellow practitioners I could/would not find the time, place, concentration, energy and will to continue practicing.
But I am confident that as I go further, step by step, towards regaining control of my life, tai chi will return to me.

IF: Diary

A person's face is the diary of their life.

IF: Giant - La Fraise des Pyrénées

Summer time... this is what comes to my mind.
(And a big thank you to René Magritte, of course)

Guest artist and parental concerns

Every now and then I am worried that my daughter (Lucrezia, almost 10) is watching a bit too much TV and that she might lose her creative spirit.
Then, between two cartoon marathons, she says: "I want to make something with the pyrograph" and she makes this:



and I sigh with relief.

Just curious...

...which flower portrait do you like best?

Meditation

Nothing like
painting
wild flowers
while watching Richard Gere in "American Gigolo"
to forget all problems for a couple of hours.

Ciao, papi

On June 15 my dad passed away, in a hospital in Padova, far from home.
He wanted to recover.
He wanted to visit Berlin, to buy a bicycle, to learn to play the guitar, to return to L'Aquila.
He loved books, Jorge Luis Borges, music,humor, teaching, his family, his hometown.
He was shy, gentle and very loved.
This was his library. This was him.

IF: Ripples

Past, present, future

I found this today while decluttering. Made more than a year ago using watercolor and an old letter from an old friend, it is very imperfect but I like it because this is how I feel my relationship with my past should look like.

IF: Slither

The wise snail slithered from the 11 February post to this one because she wanted to be submitted to Illustration Friday and I couldn't say no.

IF: Equipment

I thought that in this journey towards (re)discovering my creativity, it could be good, every now and then, to recall to memory some of the many projects from the times when I was a little girl and was always making, building, crafting something, or trying to, or looking for someone who would teach me.
This is my first attempt, which also happens to be a last-minute submission to Illustration Friday.

IF: Cocoon

My first submission for Illustration Friday. Topic: cocoon.

Rest

We all need a break from our daily battles, from time to time.




(Inspired by a bas-relief on Freiburg Cathedral)

Received! Part 6 (The End)

I waited before posting these, because I wanted to post the last 3 postcards all together. But the 10th never arrived. So here they are, the beautiful works by Sara (? can't read the name)



and Sally



Thank you!

DIY

Almost one year has passed, and the earthquake debris still have not been removed.
The town center is still closed to the people who used to live or work there.
Many or us have not even seen it after the earthquake.
We have had enough of it.
Thus, the people of L'Aquila decided to remove the debris by themselves and have been doing it, with wheelbarrows and buckets, for three weeks now.
On 28th February I was there with my family (my husband and my eldest daughter are in the drawing above). I met so many of my fellow citizen whom I hadn't been seeing for months, I saw the main street full of life, smiling faces, voices, again. I felt part of a community, again.
We all were there to demonstrate, but also to work, in a very concrete way.
It was beautiful.
It felt like home. Almost.

Received! Part 5

I received this postcard from Zarah. She also wrote kind words on the back. My daughter loves rain, so she immediately chose this one as her favourite.
Actually, I like all of them.

Received! Part 4

Every day a new treat!
This one is by Jennifer .




I love how the postcards I am receiving are all different, but complementing each other.
They are currently being displayed on my fridge. I hope they will distract me from eating snacks and chocolate at night...

Received! Part 3

The right encouragement at the right time!



from Monique

Received! Part 2

Another one! So fun to check the mailbox every day!
Big thanks to Chris!

Received! Part 1

Wow, today the first 3 postcards from my swap partners arrived into my mailbox. Enjoy!

Thank you so much to Tara, Amy and Brii!

Finished!

It's 2 in the night, but the postcards for the swap are finished, at last!


(inspired by this photo by Maya)

Guest artist

Francesco, age 2.

DIY Postcard Swap

I joined my first DIY Postcard Swap, organized by Hanna. Each participant prepares 10 handmade (painted, collaged, altered etc.) postcards for as many creative people around the world. I just received the addresses of my 10 swap partners: from Malaysia to Great Britain, from New Zealand to Singapore.. I can't wait to see what will come into my mailbox!
In the meantime, I have prepared 6 out of my 10 postcards. Here they are.













There is also a flickr group if you are curious about what the other swappers have prepared.