Sabbatical screenprints

Last November, finding myself with no commissioned work to speak of 

for the first time in several decades, I decided to experiment with different 

print techniques at the lovely A14 in Milan. Beatrice and Mira at EastWestPrint 

now have some of my screenprints available in their online shop, along with 

lots of other interesting things - do go and have a look!

Not a collection of jugs

    An old friend asked me if I was hoarding, don't be silly, I answered, I'm ready to do lots of pouring, and in great style with these jugs and others that I do not possess. 'Another Jug' prints and originals are on show at the moment in Udine at Temporary/Permanent, a delightful little gallery run by Toni Casula and Giovanna Durì. Do go along and have a look if you're in the area. 

    Un vecchio amico mi ha chiesto se stavo accumulando brocche in modo compulsivo, ma no, che sciocco, ho risposto, mi sto preparando per poter versare molto, e a questo punto sono pronta, in grande stile con queste brocche ed altre che per ora non possiedo. Potere vedere 'Another Jug' stampe e originali in questi giorni a Udine, nella deliziosa galleria Temporary/Permanent, gestita da Toni Casula e Giovanna Durì. Fate un salto a trovargli se siete in zona.

December Domus

A brilliant way to finish the year has been this project
for the December issue of Domus magazine, a virtual
visit to the Paris exhibition Tutto Ponti. I immagined I
was leaving a note on the kitchen table for a friend
who was visiting the exhibition after me.

Two double page spreads and the best bit of all is
the index!!

A Day at the Sea - exhibition in Camogli

---------I'm very excited to be showing a series of
monoprints I have recently made at Atelier A14 in Milan at P46
a little jewel of a gallery in Camogli on the Ligurian coast.
---------Sono molto contenta di esporre una serie di monotipie 
realizzate recentemente a Atelier A14 in una gallerie a Camogli, 
P46, un piccolo gioiello!

Vinodromo . Milan

Do go along to have an aperitivo in this wine bar if you're in Milan
over the next few weeks, you can see my wine collages
and the food is great too!
It's open until the middle of August.
Fate un salto a prendere l'aperitivo in questa enoteca se siete 
a Milano nelle prossime settimane, potete vedere i miei collages 
con le etichette e si mangia bene! 
Rimane aperta fino a metà agosto.

Tapirulan guide to Salsomaggiore

 Group photo on the opening night. Foto di gruppo 
la sera dell'inaugurazione.

I participated in the latest Tapirulan guide, Salsomaggiore this time.
It was quite strange to be in the area again as it's not far from
Tabiano Castello where I rented a house with friends some years ago.
The exhibition is on until July, well worth a visit if you're in the area
and Salsomaggiore itself has a rather old fashioned air, interesting to
walk round and then move on!
Ho partecipato alla guida di Salsomaggiore realizzato recentemente 
da Tapirulan. Era strano essere di nuovo nella zona perché è vicino a 
Tabiano Castello dove avevamo una casa con degli amici anni fa. 
La mostra rimane fino a luglio, ne vale la pena se siete nella zona 
e Salsomaggiore ha un fascino un po' polveroso, è divertente farci 
un giro e poi proseguire!

Back from Bologna/Rientrata da Bologna

And as from today, my jug prints are hanging in a charming flat in the Brera district here in Milan which is available on airbnb, here.
Inoltre da oggi le mie brocche sono appese in un'appartamento delizioso qua a Milano, in zona Brera ed è affitabile trammite airbnb; ecco il link!

Lovely surprise meeting up with Silvana in Bologna! My whole jug project started from a Christmas card we did together in 2009. See her wonderful work here. 
Bella sorpresa incontrare Silvana a Bologna! Il progetto delle brocche nasce da un biglietto di natale che abbiamo fatto insieme nel 2009. Ecco il suo sito per vedere i suoi bellissimi lavori.

Back from Bologna yesterday evening and as usual it was good to put work on the wall, meet new people, chat about it, in this case eat some wonderful fish and spend time in a new city. It's very time consuming and tiring too, but many thanks to Banco 32 for their hospitality, to Colin for coming all the way from Hexham and all the friends who visited. Here are a few photos, more from the pro on the way!
Thanks as well to the online magazine Bologna cult for their article which you can read here.
Rientrata da Bologna ieri sera e come al solito era bello vedere il nostro lavoro appeso al muro, incontrare persone nuove, chiacchierare, in questo caso assaggiare dell'ottimo pesce e passare del tempo in una nuova città. Ci vuole molto tempo ed è molto stancante, ma ringrazio Banco 32 per le loro ospitalità, Colin per essere venuto da Hexham, e tutti gli amici che hanno visitato la mostra. Ecco qualche foto e a tra poco con quelle dal professionista!
Grazie alla rivista online Bologna Cult, ne parla qua.

Polish proverb with Pulcino elefante

Ready to go to Alberto Casiraghy's in Osnago this morning to print
the Polish proverb Colin and I have chosen for our booklet!
See it at the exhibition opening next week in Milan - details
on the way.
Pronta per la partenza verso Osnago stamattina. Vado 
da Alberto Casiraghy a stampare il proverbio polacco che io 
e Colin abbiamo scelto per il nostro libricino! Ci sarà alla 
mostra che inaugura la settimana prossima a Milano - 
dettagli in arrivo.

David Austin Roses

This was for Gardenia a couple of years ago/Questo era per Gardenia un paio di anni fa.

My mum was a great fan of David Austin, her garden was full of his roses and there were
always several copies of his catalogue in the house, which, of course I have kept! From
time to time I've used them for commissioned work for Gardenia or my own stuff and I recently
decided to use up the whole collection, from 1993 to 1999!
I also emailed DA this summer and they very kindly put 2 of this year's catalogues in the post.
I was delighted and very surprised to see that they had arrived, yesterday, 1st October - 6 weeks
later!!
Of course I had completely given up on the idea of ever seeing them. Wonderful, like a present!
_____Mia madre amava David Austin, il suo giardino era pieno delle sue rose e in casa nostra 
giravano diverse copie del catalogo, che ovviamente ho tenuto! Ogni tanto li ho utilizzati i per 
lavori commissionati da Gardenia oppure per i miei progetti e recentemente ho deciso di fare 
fuori l'intera collezione, da 1993 a 1999, usandoli per i collages.
Quest'estate ho sentito DA via mail e, molto disponibili, mi hanno subito spedito un paio dei 
cataloghi 2014. Ero contentissima e anche molto sorpresa quando ho visto ieri, 1 ottobre che 
erano arrivati, dopo un mese e mezzo. Non ci speravo più. Meraviglioso, un regalo!

Studio 26/08

A week later and after a brief trip to France, (more about that later) the flower
theme is gelling for the exhibition in Milan this autumn.
Dopo una settimana e un salto in Francia, (dettagli tra poco) il tema 
dei fiori si sta definendo per la mostra a Milano questo autunno.

Studio 14/08

Finally getting going here in the studio - the weather's perfect,
my local bar is still open, I've bought paper and the rest,
here goes!
Finalmente mi sto avviando qua in studio - il tempo è perfetto, 
il mio bar è ancora aperto, ho fatto la scorta di carta ecc., 
mi butto!

Cats in Pontremoli, now! Gatti a Pontremoli!

A group exhibition dedicated to cats on at the moment in Pontremoli,
at the Ex-Macelleria gallery.
Una mostra collettiva dedicata ai gatti in corso in questi giorni a 
Pontremoli, alla galleria Ex-Macelleria. 

Volevo anche dire che qualcuno mi ha chiesto di aggiungere i commenti 
in italiano, e quindi inizio, sperando di non fare degli strafalcioni 
troppo grosse!

Gardens de-constructed at Villa Pavesi Negri

A one day exhibition near Pontremoli in what looks like
a rather wonderful villa.
These are the collages I did for Cristiana Serra Zanetti's
garden proposals in Gardenia magazine.
They're quite fun because they mix flowers and vegetables
in a way that's reminiscent of that most wonderful French
garden, Villandry. I remember falling in love with idea when
I visited there a few years ago, driving through France on
my way to London.

Help I'm lost - Tapirulan exhibition in the Violin Museum, Cremona

"Aiuto mi sono perso" in Italian is worth a visit; it's an exhibition about the
province of Cremona featuring the work of 52 illustrators.
It's on until 18 May, open every day 10.00am - 6.00 pm. Organised by the
Tapirulan Association www.tapirulan.it, it's accompanied by a catalogue
which is also a guide to the province of Cremona, and an extra bonus is
that the exhibition is in the Violin Museum in Cremona http://www.museodelviolino.org/.
If you can organise to see a concert in the recently opened Auditorium, even better.
A circular stage and curvy shapes have been built into the existing rationalist building
by the architects Arkpabi and the accoustics are meant to be fantastic!
This is my map of the Province, some incredible names here, but not much
help for getting around, so as the organisers say: "Bring a compass or a navigator"

Viaggiare mangiando 2

Aperitivo next Wednesday at Orti&Commenda
in via Orti, Milan, from 6.00pm - I'm showing some
of my my Saturday maps for La Repubblica - looking
forward to seeing you there! Here's the invitation,
designed by Simonetta Rocco:

European wine

This is the piece about white grape varieties - I'd like
to do red too, but as there are none in Luxembourg,
it wasn't an immediate priority! And as I was saying before I
mysteriously deleted it, due to an airport strike in Milan, I had
a whole extra day wandering round Luxembourg, walking up to
the modern art gallery MUDAM, as well as a delicious dinner
with Marco, Andrea and Francois, a charming Parisian who was
visiting them for the weekend.

Some pictures of the opening:

Back from Luxembourg where the exhibition went really well!
Thanks to Marco, Andrea, Simonetta, Saverio, Donata, Ivana, Daniele, Vincenza and everyone else who helped make it happen.
Here are some photos, more on the way.

Call for European wine labels!!

More about the exhibition in Luxemburg, very exciting!
The opening will now be around the middle of April because I'm
doing ALL new work for it, on the subject of...guess what...wine,
and I would like to ask for some help.
I need to find wine labels from 10 European countries by mid-February
so that I can finish the pictures by mid-March.
If you would like to participate please post one or two wine labels
(more if you have them of course) to me in my studio:
via Lomellina 23, 20133 Milan
and I will make you part of the project - not sure how yet, but I've just
come out of the meeting so need to work on this part ((-:
Thank you!!

Exhibition in Milan, still running!

This exhibition opened in Milan at Orti&Commenda
in via Orti in July and believe it or not it's still running.
Just in case you haven't been along yet, it's a really
pleasant caffè, run by very friendly people and the food,
all organic, is delicious and extremly reasonable.
There's a whole range of my work, prints and originals
the Cial calendar collages as well as some new messy
kitchens - what more can I say...