The kitchen is my favourite place to work, for a number of reasons. Firstly, the room is large, bright and airy. I feel at my ease here, and I can enjoy the sunlight which pours through the big windows while sipping coffee – and all without interrupting my creative train of thought. Another advantage is the veranda, which opens onto the east side of the house. This is the perfect space to hang the first prototypes of my garlands, so that I can see what effect they have and see how the rays of sunlight play on the different colours. Sometimes I can sit there for an hour just looking at them!
Anna and family
When there are youngsters in the house, each with so many hobbies and pastimes, it's really necessary to organize the home so that each of them can express their creative genius to the full. My name is Anna and, among other things, I am a blogger... but before I tell you more about what I do for a living, a few words about my effervescent family: Carlo, my husband, is a dedicated fishing enthusiast, while Edoardo, our 17-year-old son, is a musician and composer. Luca, at 14, loves playing basketball and also spending the day with his father in the boat. As you can imagine, the rooms in our house are littered with the bits and pieces which each of us seem to collect: sheet music, guitars, records, fishing rods and..... scraps of brightly-coloured paper!
...as well as being a mother I am a creative artist
OK, so now it's time to tell you what I do: as well as being mother to two eclectic and energetic youngsters and trying to bring a little order to the turbulent chaos that is our home (but not too much order, because I find that a little disorder is dynamic and fun), I am a creative artist, specializing in floral garlands and multi-coloured festoons.
It all started a few years ago: it was my younger son Luca's birthday, and he had invited some of his classmates home for a big party.
I really wanted his party to be a memorable one, and as he is so passionate about everything to do with fish and the sea, I decided to decorate the living-room and the terrace, where the party was to take place, with special decorations of my own creation. I admit that I hadn't the slightest idea where to start. I looked around the house and began collecting anything that I thought might be useful: pages from old newspapers, wrapping paper from the previous Christmas, labels from detergent bottles, cardboard boxes, old postcards, plastic bags... nothing was safe from the barrage of ideas that were charging through my head!!
Slowly, a little at a time, I managed to make some coloured garlands, and I hung them up all round the room. As if by magic, the room was transformed into an original, fantasmagorical world where dark blue, green and sky blue, blending with the sunlight from the veranda, created an almost realistic underwater scene, surrounded by starfish and clownfish. The mothers of Luca's classmates were so impressed that they began to ask me to do the decorations for their kids' parties, and so.... a little at a time it became a real job!
I started a blog, where I post updates describing the tricks of the trade: I explain where to find the best materials, and offer templates and decorative patterns as free downloads. And I have lots of fun doing video tutorials, which get lots of positive feedback. I suppose I'm a bit of a celebrity in my field! (Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but there's no harm blowing my own trumpet!!)
At the moment I'm working on decorations for a wedding – now that's a real responsibility! The bride and groom like vintage-style stuff, and they have asked me to use classic pastel colours like yellow and lilac, interspersed with slashes of peacock blue. I'm still in the brainstorming phase, so I haven't yet decided on the best approach – as you can see from my table, littered with pieces of paper and photographs cut out of newspapers...
Goodness, it's late! I didn't realize it was almost lunchtime, and the kids will be home soon, famished as always. There's just time to put the water on for a plate of pasta while I put away all my coloured scraps and the instruments I use. I hope to see you later on my blog!
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