Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Muse: A Video Portrait Workshop




Excellent news! We are teaching our first online class over at Skillshare and its all about creating Video Portraits. Learn more about that here. It is a really exciting new project for us - me and Francesco. Something we're both crazy about doing (doing it half crazy too, in a good way). Hope you'll join and explore this new territory with us. Don't worry, we'll try and cover everything important in a memorable way, playing with the online/digital possibilities available today. ;)

Thursday, January 17, 2013

You are worth more than many sparrows



We witnessed the making of this giant mural - a human tiered cake of the system (otherwise referred to as the tower of babel) and saw parts of what it took to make long time-lapse videos. In this case it took a week and around 3-4 different cameras all operated by Giacomo, not to mention all the tools/machinery required to paint this on the side of a building. Ozmo, the artist, says everything here like a giant mirror of Italy. Looking back and looking at this, I think both of them made a masterpiece. Find this at Macro in Via Nizza, Rome.



The dust may have settled. There is still so much to be done at least for me and the work that waits every morning for its turn, waits still with others. I like to think that I am not alone in this quest for completion. Everyday is still a chance and every now is someplace else than where we were before.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Rome Creatives 1st Meet


Not too long ago I opened up a group within the InterNations community called Rome Creatives. The concept was to "Learn. Share. Create." - which became a kind of advocacy over the years of collaborating with creatives: artists, designers, musicians, philosophers, scientists, meditators, and their kin. They say "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Eat, drink and be merry? Perhaps that and a bit more substance.



By chance I found this sweet spot not too far from my son's first ever asilo/school. Its called Officina Dolce (more photos + article here), and immediately I thought - CUPCAKES! and also, brilliant location for a meet! One baby step led to another. I talked to the owner and created this little video portrait, put up my online flyer and had four people show up.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Affordable Art Fair


Welcome to the Affordable Art Fair in Rome. I didn't expect to be so enthralled by this affair but as I was approaching the entrance with this gigantic bamboo installation, I knew I was about to be - well, wowed.

A short video I took of the event here:

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Libya 2006


That is a picture of the ancient Greek and Roman ruins of Libya, from a distance. It is hard to imagine that once upon a time here in this dry desert was a thriving enterprise and an empire teeming with activity, drama, and culture just a few thousand years ago. Perhaps now it is all left completely to our imagination especially after the recent civil war and bombings. Without these landmarks, these fossils, who will remember? Unless one bothers to pick up a book, or look through some photographs, it is as if nothing happened. All turned into dust.


These film photographs were taken in 2006 by my husband Francesco. Back then he had the lucky opportunity to visit (it was never so easy for foreigners to visit Libya under Geddafi). At the time he was so inspired by his experience that he immediately wrote a book, very personal and he was about to publish it but unfortunately one of the real-life characters involved in the book did not approve of it and it had to go hidden until the recent war broke out and a sudden desire to release this work made him rewrite the whole book and publish it this year. I used some of his pictures from the actual trip to create the cover for Libya 2006: Viaggio a tre voci (A Trip in 3 Voices). Here is the design I came up with, my imagination of what Libya feels like.


The publisher has a fixed format for their books so I didn't have to design the title and text but here is how it looks printed.


It is in Italian and Francesco has some copies if anyone is interested in purchasing. Do you think its a good idea to try and make it available for purchase online?

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Muse: La Tela


So I've finally completed the video for La Tela, our next door neighbor while we were living in Macerata for about a year (sometime last May). It is also a museum on artisan weaving and a handicrafts workshop! I know, I know.. It was one of the most amazing discoveries literally right outside our doorstep. I also wrote an article on them over at Poppytalk.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Circus Mechanicus, Street Artists and Buskers


Have a look into the tiny world of Circus Mechanicus! One of the the many attractions of the recent Pennabilli Street Artists and Busker's Festival, perhaps my favorite because of the whimsy, the lovely details and work put into it (the Hungarian lady, one of two who made this, told me it took 3 years to complete. Afterall, its a tiny circus - mechanicus! The characters inside MOVE.) Their group is called Tintalo. They do such wonderful projects and are completely inspired by the circus.


Its the first time I witness an event in the interior of central Italy (as countryside as it can get!) that was so big with crowds and performers from all over the world. There were performances ever hour, everywhere, until 2am for days and many quirky little shops and food stands, fun games for both young and young at heart like stilts (Claire was damn good at it!), wooden balancing things and objects that made me nostalgic about growing up before technological inventions like gameboy or pc gaming. Nothing beats 3d real-time interactive games!


She was so nice and happy to be taken a shot of. Looking out into rolling hills and greens, you too can imagine how anything is possible.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Sunken Church


Over a month ago, a friend of Francesco asked me to bring to life his vision for this graphic inspired by the story of the sunken church in Ancona (read about it by scrolling down his blog here). I met Jason, a missionary unlike any other, and his family only a few times and felt sad they had to leave just when I was starting to settle in Italy. Anyway, we had an interesting conversation over tandoori chicken one time. Shared some thoughts on books. Malcolm Gladwell came up and a brief chat over The Black Swan (not the movie). I thought he was amazingly open and curious (hearing about the time Fra brought an anarchist to one of their dinners to discuss creation makes me want to bonk Fra's head but still, Jason is so chill. That was probably even fun for him - my guess.)


So here is Jason's vision of the sunken church - under the Adriatic sea! Thats the Duomo of Ancona, by the way still on top of a hill and can be viewed today should you pass by this port city. What a fun project to work on, this one. Thanks again Jason!

Hear more about him and his adventures over at www.sunkenchurch.com

On other life news, we just recently moved to Pesaro and I'm loving it. Still need to move in a few more stuff and working on finishing projects like Project Greece, which you can now subscribe to for launch updates and news as fresh as lemonade on a hot sunny day like today OH YES.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Theater collaboration

Fra with Monica's Vagina (art).
Some scenes here from last week's theater/film collaboration. Its called "The Three Worst Hours of my Life" translated from Italian, written and performed by Fra. It was fun, tiring but happy to spend a few days with these guys, made connections and saw everything spark. We had a theater all to ourselves with lights to manipulate, the whole shebang - big thanks to Simone who helped us find this space.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Muse: Roberto Papini

Brilliant and in constant pursuit of beauty, symmetry and truth - some words I can offer on Roberto Papini. While his choice of material is almost always used/recycled/trash, calling his work recycled art seems a bit absurd. Look closely and see how the materials shed their former identity as he assigns new roles, pegs and cogs in his machine/canvas/opus. A generous and simple man, bahai messenger, fan of classical music and philosophical conversations, its impossible not to fall in love with him. No matter that hes turning 91 this year, hes incredibly fit and sharp for his age and generous as he may be, he doesn't like being photographed - or filmed.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Librare Part 2


Here are a few more images from Stefania's laboratory Librare. The drawers of metal things are actually drawers of metal fonts. I remember there are several on just Bodoni. This is old school printing press stuff, she even has Gutenberg-ish wood blocks (possibly inherited from her father) and a paper chopping machine from the 50s that still works today (chops up to 10cm thick paper and thats how you get even sides on books).

Monday, March 5, 2012

Muse: Librare



This week we have the tall and magnificent Stefania of Librare whom I've known for some time, admired from afar. Shes monolithic (taller than me or my tall hub) yet approachable with a quirky yet sophisticated style. Its my first attempt at an interview (my Italian still needs a LOT of work) but trying to film these encounters has been fun so far..

More vignettes to follow in the coming days.. Wish you a good week ahead!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Raw Color

Theres something transcendental about creating something beautiful with little or no harm to the planet. Its hard to get by the creative (dare I say, art) world without looking like a hippie activist when striving for an eco-sustainable aesthetic. Nothing bad about being a hippie (as I can be) or an activist but I try to detach from these labels as it can be limiting. Though I have my beliefs I'm more of a do-what-you-love-what-you-do proactivist than an activist. Hence, check out the beauty of Raw Color.

Friday, February 24, 2012

I Misteri della Jungla Nera


The Mysteries of the Black Jungle. A book I found some time ago that propelled me back to the tropics as I leafed through its pages with vivid illustrations, colours so familiar I can feel my skin sweat, remembering the chorus of frogs, crickets, mantras.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Inspired



Don't have much to say other than I'm really bursting with ideas at the moment. Excited, giddy, high - yep.
Thank you Aya for sharing this excellent music video.

Also my good friend, talented photographer, stylist, fashionista to the Nth level - Plhong (same friend who requested my last/first PS tutorial) is now for hire. :)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Muse: Smallest Forest


I met her only once, in Manila - call it a chance encounter through a friend of a dear friend who happened to be into art and all that good stuff. and she, Natalie or Smallest Forest, revealed herself and blew my mind with the wildest things I could dream of. But really, before I even saw her work, she made me laugh so hard I could've choked on my own spit. Sharp, witty, unpretentious, fierce, wild and natural. I immediately felt a deep respect and kinship.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Alphaville



Welcome to Alphaville by Jean-Luc Godard (1965), dystopian science fiction and film noir (Fra suggests George Orwell's 1984. I say Sin City with a brooding Dick Tracy poet.).