Italy, Micronesia, Ecuador, Libya, Liberia, Mexico, Venezuela, Philippines, Thailand, Afghanistan and more were how I spent the first 30 years in a nomad meets the Ritz sort of lifestyle.
When I happened upon Hawaii, I found a place that combined lots of what I found ideal (climate, mixture of cultures, over the top natural beauty, the ocean…) and ended up staying for 10 years.
Towards the end of that period, I became enamored with the idea of making Hawaiian quilt pattern tables in local woods. After much experimentation, tables were made. The results were satisfying, but by now (a year had gone by) marquetry, as it is called, had become a passion, and I decided to return to Italy to study it seriously.
Todi, a beautiful town founded around the time of the Etruscans, with a history of marquetry dating back to the 1400’s, was where Daniele Parasecolo, truly one of Italy’s most outstanding marquetry craftsmen, had his studio. I became his sole apprentice for two years. Unlike the stereotype of the Old School craftsman, he is completely generous about sharing his hard earned knowledge, and I benefited enormously from the time spent as his student.
I feel that it is my pleasure and duty to teach whoever so desires that crosses my path as a sort of passing of the torch. Last school year, I had the opportunity to teach 4<SUP>th</SUP> graders at my daughter’s school in Todi a safe modified version of marquetry. The kids responded with enthusiasm and patience (it is a slow process), many of their projects taking days and days to complete. It was truly satisfying to see how proud the kids were with the results, many starting immediately on new and more complex projects.
Why did I choose marquetry? It sort of chose me. I love wood, but am uncomfortable with the amounts of wood used in other wood crafts (poor trees!). Marquetry is made with thin veneers, so that the minimum amount of wood possible is used. Also, I waste so little as I just use left over veneer for smaller pieces in other patterns.
My style of drawing is graphic and dramatic, which looks good in wood, and wood provides a counterbalance to the designs with its fascinating ability to always seem alive and to be generating a soft calm energy. That energy, the nature of wood, completes my art.
There are an astounding variety of colour, grain and patterns in wood that can be used in an infinite combination of ways to produce countless effects, and I enjoy the challenge of working within those parameters as I portray what has meaning to me. I do careful research on the pieces, especially those with historical subjects. Hawaii has always been my main source of inspiration, and even when I am in Italy, I just can’t stop depicting Hawaii.
I currently live with my daughter in Waimanalo on Oahu.
