Back after a while -with a 'giveaway' though! ;)

*** Hi guys!! Finally a bit of time for a blog update! I'm so sorry about having negleted the blog so far, but I've been very busy! Lots of projects on the table at the moment, although they are not related, however recently I've been commissioned lots of cartoon portraits. Maybe those of you who have been following me on my fan page on facebook already know what I am talking about! :) Anyway, I'd like to post some of the portraits i've been drawing on this blog as well, so that i can tide this space over too! :D Here they are:

****** Ciao raghi!!! Finalmente un pó di tempo per aggiornare il blog! Mi dispiace di averlo trascurato neglu ultimi mesi ma sono stata molto occupata con differenti progetti (anche se non riguardanti il campo artistico). Tuttavia, mi sono arrivata molte commissioni per ritratti "cartonizzati"!! :D Ne posto alcuni anche qui, spero vi piacciano!

***If you'd like a portrait like those, jsut write me an email or leave a comment on this post giving me your email address and I shall contact you soon with more info about rates (very good ones!! ;) ) and everythign you need to know to get one!

******Sono contenta che l'idea dei ritratti cartoni animati stia riscuotendo successo e se anche voine volete uno, non esitate a contattarmi via email o lasciandomi un commento sotto questo post con il vostro recapito! Vi forniró piú info su tutto (prezzi compresi: MOLTO CONVENIENTI! ;) )

***Also, there;s something to celebrate: in fact, my facebook fan page has reached(and passed) 500 fans  (YAY!!! :D ) and I've decided to celebrate this even by organising a giveaway. If you are on facebook too, what are you waiting for? Go and like my Ermy's art page and participate to the giveaway too!!! :D Below a photo of the prizes: a wonderful notebook with the cover designed by me and decorated with rhinestones and a cute set of buttons. Please, feel free to participate although you do not live in Italy: it just takes a comment and a share of the photo with the prizes on your facebook profile or page!! ;) Just click on the picture below to go to the giveaway page! :)

******Infine, c'é anche qualcosa da celebrare!! :D La mia pagina facebook ha raggiunto (e passato!) i 500 fan (URRAAA!!!) quindi per festeggiare l'evento ho indetto un giveaway! Se siete giá fan della mia pagina facebook, non esitate a partecipare, e se non lo siete...CHE ASPETTATE?? Per partecipare basta solo commentare e condividere la foto dei premi in palio, e cioé: un bellissimo taccuino con un'immagine originale disegnata da me e decorata con strass e, inoltre, un fantastico set di spillette!! Cliccate sull'immagine sotto per andare alla pagina del giveaway: :D

***So far, so good for the time being. I need to get back to my work. Unfortunately, over the next months I won't have the time to update this blog constistently, but please keep following me especially on my facebook page, since it's there where I am posting things in the first place at the moment! ;)

******Bene, questo é quanto per questo aggiornamento, ora torno a lavoro. Purtroppo non posso promettere aggiornamenti assidui a questo blog, soprattutto nei prossimi mesi durante i quali saró molto occupata con varie cose. Tuttavia, se mi seguite su facebook, sarete di sicuro aggiornati piú spesso, poiché al momento é il primo canale che sto usando per gli aggiornamenti!! ;)

Stay tuned and see you soon,

Ermy***

Fiera del Baratto e dell'Usato - Anteprima

Cosa avete da fare a fine novembre??? Venite a fare un giro alla Fiera del Baratto e dell'Usato a Napoli presso la mostra d'Oltremare! Ecco qui sotto una fantastica anteprima degli oggetti che potrete trovare...ovviamente fatti da me! Specchietti, spillette, ma non solo...presto posteró altro materiale e non saró sola al mio stand: un'altra mia amica esperta in bigiotteria fatta a mano sará presente con i suoi bellissimi e luccicosi lavori presso lo stand 689 (per maggiore info su facebook, la pagian "Giocando con le Perline" ) !!!  

Perció, mi raccomando: per i regali di Natale passate da noi il 24 e 25 novembre!!! Saremo lí tutta la giornata! Vi aspettiamoooooooo!!!

Un pó di cosucce che potrete trovare presso la fiera... :3

Sooooooo...here we go! I finally managed to get these buttons/badges and mirrors done. I hope you like the illustrations on them! On sale at my stand at a local fair, and right after the fair, they'll be on sale online as well! If you are interested, drop me inbox or email.

Ciao for now!

Ermy***

Of journeys in September...

Haven’t used this blog for a while to write something about my personal life, so I decided to do it right now, although I am going through a particularly boring life patch. Yet, it’s September, a month that is meant to bring along some rain but also new situations, new life experiences, new beginnings.
Almost every new experience in life starts in September, doesn’t it? The first day at school, university, a new job... I guess, you all can but agree with that and, perhaps, you reader are embarking on a new journey just right now, when reading this post, whether is starting a new academic year or a new working year. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still looking for my next journey to embark on, and although sometimes it seems I’ve found it, some hindrance appears out of the blue getting my path stuck. When this happens, after moaning and wailing about it for a while, I just sit nostalgically remembering my “good old days”...just like now, that I flick through the memories of a past Summer that doled me out some happiness and hope, but also sorrow and disappointment.
This summer started with an exam. Not one I had to sit for, but one that my very first students had to take. It was a day crammed with emotions, expectations, satisfaction as well as disappointment. Yet, an experience to treasure for many, regardless the results, because what really matters is the journey not its end.  “You know what? English is not that bad. I think I can learn it, after all!” this was what one of my most challenging students told me once he came out of the exam room and what really made everything worth it.
Then, it was time for another journey that started in the middle of July, a journey to England with my family that was so much looking forward to seeing the place I called my home throughout all 2011.Warwick University is a place where I left treasured memories, where I understood that friendship or love know no boundaries of country or age and where I took my first steps in the world of grown-ups. One year seems to be a long time but time also goes by quickly, especially when you are a student abroad with a whole new life to cope with and so many opportunities to make your own. However, in no time I found myself sitting on the floor of my Heronbank bedroom trying to pack into boxes all that I had accumulted throghout a challenging and rewarding year and trying to accept the idea that I was not going back to that place again. But last July I went back there and this time was to enjoy my graduation ceremony.
I still remember the graduation day like it was yesterday: the heavy excitement, the fear of tripping while walking down the stage to shake the chancellor’s hand and receive my degree, the solemn but also amusing chancellor’s speech and the inspiring talk by the Warwick alumna Fiona Barton that filled us with hope and optimism for our future. Then, it was just some snapshots and, in just a blink of an eye, everything was over again leaving a bitter aftertaste; because these kinds of events highlight the culmination of something but also the conclusion of something; and this something was that one year life journey that I shared with people from all across the world and from all walks of lives. The graduation ceremony was the formal closure of this unbelievable period of my life and pervaded me with a feeling of nostalgia that still now lingers on my heart. Still, once I left Warwick and got to London to meet some of my most dearest friends that I had left last September, a beaming smile replaced the nostalgic frown on my face.
I am glad they didn’t kick us out of Nando’s the night we had dinner there, when I was laughing so hard for something that one of my friends said or did that I think the owner would have called the police, if he only had seen! Yet, no one was drinking alcohol, but this is just the evidence that you don’t need to drink alcohol to be happy...It was really a night full of laughs and good food (at least as far as I’m concerned! XD) followed up by a looong phone call between me and Mei (because we CLEARLY had NOT had enough time to catch up during the dinner) where we shared our “deepest secrets” just like we used to do in one of our bedrooms when living in Heronbank.
What was next, it was just a rushing August that made me one year older and a bit disappointed and tried to make it up by bringing me on a fun holiday with my sister and two dear friends of mine on the Ischia island, where we spent our time swimming, lying under the sun and having fun at night by also involving in crazy dances not so young people staying in our hotel, who apparently needed dance teachers like us to hit the floor. XD
And now that is over and my days are again made of hours of job hunting and studying to keep my languages and skills up, hoping that I will be taken for one of the jobs I’ve been applying for, I again moan and wail about how difficult is for me leaving here in Italy and so much miss my life back in England, where there were so many opportunities around me. I’ve always lived my life in the anticipation of “what’s next?”, and now that I can’t make out any “next” ahead, it scares me a bit. Still, I’m determined not to give up, because what I had and what I had been through was something I had worked hard to get. I’m sure my next journey is going to start soon, although this time it won’t begin in September, apparently! :)

...still travelling around Italy with Pinocchio

*** Ed eccoci qua ad annunciare un nuovo appuntamento artistico da non perdere! La mostra dedicata al famoso burattino Pinocchio (non vi ricordate? Allora andate a leggere qui, qui o qui! :D ) adesso sbarca Vinovo (TO)! Infatti, il 25 settembre sará inaugurata la mostra "30 e piú artisti per Pinocchio" patrocinata dal Comune di Vinovo che sará ospitata nell'Ala comunale "Don Donadio". Come si puó dedurre dal titolo, stavolta non solo ci saranno lavori di pittori, disegnatori e illustratori, ma anche fotografi e grafici! Una mostra davvero da non perdere! Mi raccomando non mancate! :D

Per maggiori info, basta guardare sotto oppure visitare il blog 130 Anni di Pinocchio . La mostra sará aperta dal 25 settembre al 30 ottobre. :D

Infine, giusto per restare in tema, qui sotto un'illustrazione del mio Pinocchio (se volete vedere quella che sará esposta alla mostra, basta che clicchiate qui) e...ci vediamo a Vinovo!!! :D

****** Some great and very *artistic* news! The exhibition dedicated to Pinocchio (a little reminder? Just read here, here or  here! :D ), the most famous puppet in the world, will be soon on again. After the great success of the last edition ("30 artisti per pinocchio" at the Collodi Museum), this time it's the city of Vinovo (Turin) that is hosting the exhibition. "30 e piú artisti per Pinocchio" (30 and more artists for Pinocchio) not only will it features painters's and illustrators's works, but also photographers's and designers's. That's definetely a must-see miscellany of artworks that will be opened from September, 15 to October, 30.
If you can read Italian, more info in the picture above or at the blog 130 Anni di Pinocchio. 

Sooo, without straying from the post theme, above there's a picture of my Pinocchio (and if you want to see the one showcased at the exhibition, just have a look here) and...see you soon in Vinovo! :D

*** iMAGine

*** Eccoci di ritorno con nuove allettanti notizie! :D Vi segnalo la nuova rivista online "iMAGine" dove presento il progetto "TRICOTE TATIANA" insieme a Jocelyne Marque. Qui sotto una nuova illustrazione presetnata nel magazine.

 La rivista é francese, tuttavia merita un'occhiata anche solo per le immagini presentate: ci sono tanti artisti emergenti che meritano davvero! Cliccate sotto per leggere! 

http://imagineeditionjeunesse.blogspot.it/p/le-mag.html

***** Here we are again with some great news! The new online French Magazine "iMAGine" has came out with it's first number and me and the writer Jocelyne Marque present our project "TRICOTE TATIANA" in the section "Coup de pouce". Above a new illustration from the story, hope you'll like it! :) 
Have a look at this new magazine, there are many artists and writers who really deserve appreciation. Click on the link below! 

http://imagineeditionjeunesse.blogspot.it/p/le-mag.html

******* Bonnes nouvelles! Le nouveau magazine en ligne "iMAGine" a sorti avec son premier numéro et moi et Jocelyne Marque présentons notre projet "TRICOTE TATIANA" dans la section "Coup de pouce". Dessus d'une nouvelle illustration de l'histoire! :) Jetez un oeil à ce nouveau magazine, il ya de nombreux artistes et écrivains qui méritent vraiment. Cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous! 

http://imagineeditionjeunesse.blogspot.it/p/le-mag.html

30 Artisti per Pinocchio @ Museo di Pinocchio di Collodi

** Talmente presa dai progetti in corso, mi ero quasi dimenticata di parlarvi della mostra 30 artisti per Pinocchio in corso al Museo di Pinocchio di Collodi situato nell'omonimo parco. :D La Fondazione Collodi ha infatti deciso di esporre nel museo dedicato al mitico burattino le 30 opere vincitrici del concorso Illustra Pinocchio. :D

La mostra ha proprio un bell'allestimento che riflette i carattestici dintorni del parco "pinocchiesco": merita davvero una visita!!!:D

L' Entrata / The exhibition entrance :)

Exhibition entrance and on the right Darinka Mignatta's "Evoluzione di Pinocchio"

***** I was so busy with my new storybook projects that I almost forgot to tell you about the ongoing exhibition at  Pinocchio Museum in Pescia. 

The Collodi Foundation has set up a magnificent artshow called "30 artisti per Pinocchio" featuring the first 30 winner artworks of the "Illustra Pinocchio"contest (so there's my little artwork too! :) ). The exhibition has been very well arranged, as you can see from the following photos: everything around the paintings recalls Pinocchio's tale just like the museum surroundings; the museum is in fact situated in the marvellous Pinocchio's Park, the only amusement park in the world completely dedicated to Pinocchio. A GREAT IDEA, INDEED! :D

From the left: "Il Gatto e la Volpe" by Laura Sighinolfi and "Sogno di libertà" by Sarolta Szulyovszky

In the background, my artwork "Mangiafuoco regala cinque monete d'oro a Pinocchio" (on the left) next to Andrea Castellani's "Dancing Pinocchio" (on the right). In the foreground, "Pinocchio Apocrifo"  by Stefano Bessoni.

** La mostra é stata inaugurata il 7 giugno e resterà aperta fino all' 8 luglio. Se siete in giro per Pescia non dimenticate di farci un salto e immergetevi nel meraviglioso mondo di Pinocchio nell'unico parco al mondo a lui interamente dedicato!!! ;) Per maggiori informazioni riguardanti la mostra, visitate la pagina facebook Io Amo Pinocchio. Lì, troverete anche nuove foto e aggiornamenti che gireró anche nella mia pagina Ermy's Art.

From the left:"Una finestra per Carlo" by Romina De Rossi, "In trappola" by Marisa Vestita, "All'ombra di Pinocchio" by Daniela Giarratana

From the left: "Pinocchio Puppets" by Luca Stella, "Davanti allo Specchio" by Ramona Pepegna Bianchini. Center: "Pinocchio con due nuovi amici" by Domenico Amato.

***** The exhibition opened on June, 7 and it's on until July, 8. If you are around Pescia, pay it visit and get immersed in the wonderful Pinocchio's world! ;) More info about the exhibition (and more photos too) can be found at the following facebook page Io Amo Pinocchio; unfortunately this page is only in Italian, but don't you worry: my facebook page Ermy's Art will keep you up-to-date in English too!!! ;) Stay tuned and see you soon!!!!!

From the top: "Incredibilmente Pinocchio" by Chiara Giurgiutti and "Pinocchio e la Balena" by Manuela Adreani

Tatiana brings some more love...

* Soooorryyyy...I've been away for a while: I've been very busy with my teaching job. Yet, I have here some more stuff about my ner project Tricote Tatiana! with the french writer Jocelyne.
Tricote Tatiana! is a story suitable for 4 to 8 years old children and tells about a sorceress, Tatiana, who brings endless love to people by knitting, knitting and knitting... One day she arrives in small town in Ukraine and here it starts her friendship story with three cute children, Piotr, Tamara and Marina. They will learn to knit -of course! but they will learn especially about the importance of love and friendship... as you can see, here are some character studies. :D

*** Lo sooo....scusate se sono stata lontana per un pó da questo blog, ma sono stata occupata col lavoro a scuola. Tuttavia sono contenta di poter annunciare un bel pó di novitá guardanti il mio progetto con la scrittrice francese Jocelyne Marque, Tricote Tatiana!.
Tricote Tatiana é una storia per bimbi dai 4 agli 8 anni, e narra di Tatiana, una maga che porta infinto amore alle persone lavorando a maglia con i suoi meravigliosi ferri. Un giorno arriva in una piccola cittá dell'Ucraina e stringe amicizia con tre bambini, Piotr, Tamara e Marina, i quali impareranno a lavorare a maglia ma sorpattutto l'importanza dell'amicizia. Ecco qui alcuni studi dei personaggi.

* We are officially looking for publishers for this project, so whoever is interested please contact me. The story is in French, but me and Jocelyne are not only aiming at the French market: I can provide translations into Italian and English for Italian and Anglophone publishers who may be interested. :)
To know more about the story visit Jocelyne Marque's blog,  below is an original extract of the story:

*** Tricote Tatiana é ufficialmente alla ricerca di editori, quindi chiunque sia interessato mi contatti. La storia é in francese, tuttavia io e Jocelyne siamo aperte a proposte di editori di qualsiasi nazioni (renderó presto disponibili traduzioni del soggetto in italiano e inglese). Per saperne di piú sulla storia, visitate il blog di Jocelyne Marque. Qui sotto un estratto in lingua originale:

Tatiana rêvait de rencontrer des enfants. La magicienne quitta son pays et se laissa porter par le vent. Un matin d’hiver, elle se posa dans un minuscule village. Sous les toits couverts de neige, Tatiana entendit des rires légers, des babillages. Irouskava lui plut immédiatement. De son sac, elle sortit une jolie cabane de bois… et hop, s’installa !
Les villageois considérèrent la nouvelle venue avec méfiance. Mais les enfants comprirent que la jeune femme ne ressemblait à nulle autre. Elle possédait d’étranges et sympathiques pouvoirs…

[ITA: Tatiana sognava d'incotrare i bambini. La maga lasció il suo paese facendosi portare dal vento. Una mattina d'inverno, atterró in un piccolo villaggio. Sotto i tetti coperti di neve, Tatiana udí sottili risate, un leggero chiacchiericcio. Irouskava le piacque immediatamente. Dalla sua borsa tiró fuori una bella casa di legno di bosco...e hop! Lì si sistemò!
La gente del villaggio non si fidava tanto della nuova arrivata. Ma i bambini capivano che la giovane donna era come nessun altra.  Possedeva strani e benevoli poteri...]


* Finally, I'm more than happy to announce that our project "Tricote Tatiana" will be officially presented on the n.1 of the online French magazine iMAGine which will be released in June. Soon more info about this too. New illustrations of Tricote Tatiana will be featured in the magazine along with the the sneak preview of the cover of "Tricote Tatiana", which I post here too. ;)

 *** Infine sono piú che felice ti annunciare che Tricote Tatiana sará ufficialmente presentato sul numero 1 della rivista francese online  iMAGine, che uscirá questo giugno. Presto vi forniró notizie piú dettagliate su ció. Nuove illustrazioni di Tricote Tatiana saranno presentate nell'articolo dedicatogli all'interno della rivista insieme a un anteprima della copertina, che pubblico anche qui. ;)

* News coming soon! Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed for us!

***A presto e restate sintonizzati! Incrociate le dita per noi!

Ermy***