storytime magazine

I just received a little package in the mail from storytime magazine. It's a beautiful publication full of advertisement free illustrated stories.
I used to read magazines like this as a child, they had the most wonderful illustrations, and audiotapes with the most theatrical readings of the stories. Anyway here are a few samples from the one I illustrated, a shortened form of the secret garden. they really picked the right story for me and my botanical obsession!

ps, went to see this amazing gal play last night, totally blew me away. here's a song.

a newspaper

life is full and busy! i've started collaborating with italian newspaper corriere della sera, for their food section of course.
here are some samples.

sketchbook lately plus a little interview

have been quite busy lately, and happily so. i recently started two new picturebooks, and have been quite swamped with editorial work. sometimes i feel like my body is taking the shape of the chair, if it weren't for the little monkey's regular and pleasant interruptions.

on a personal note, i was recently interviewed by the lovely ladies over at museradio (an online podcast series about creatives and their work). here is the interview (hoping i won't bore the heck out of you with my life story)! photo below by Kat Tan.

coming home

here is a big tree illustration i made for my sister when she got married a couple of years ago, which i never photographed.

just got back from two months in australia. we went to melbourne to do a stop motion animation workshop for the state library of victoria (the kids were amazing!)

actually, australia is amazing, and i often wonder why i ever left.
among the general merryment and gallavanting around perth beaches parks and rivers, i also managed to finish a book project and start another, while nina turned one and started walking. great achievements all round.

early harvest

some illustrations for this year's early harvest magazine. the magazine is put together and edited by a group of melbourne kids through 100 story building's literacy program.
above is the cover illustration, below are the first pages where the editorial goes.

dans le bois

an illustration i made ages ago for a little girl called Nina, way before my little one was born. But I suppose she was already in my mind. I had forgotten about this til I found it again while sorting some images. it is available in the print shop.

a beachy christmas

a couple of portraits i made for a little christmas show at B17 illustrations in rome... only to then escape to a beachy christmas in australia. a jolly christmas to all!

redheads

*

a little trip to great grandmother's town.

my workspace

a piece i made for sir magazine. they do a lovely feature about creatives' work spaces.

foody mags

and for a completely different post from the previous one, a bit of editorial illustration from the past few months:

above, for parent and child magazine, below, waitrose weekend magazine, mit liebe magazine.

in other news, today i got a preview of a documentary for which gianluca and i and a team of brilliant french animators did some animated sequences earlier this year. it will come out soon in italy and i just cannot wait to share it here!

crayons and pencils

finally had a little spare time to sketch in between projects. it's so important and i wish i could be one of those incredibly prolific people who fill in numerous sketchbooks every year. I have one sketchbook that lasts forever, and rarely gets finished. i like to think the experimenting happens on the job. but this is so much better, and so liberating.

felt balls

finally got around to making this little mobile for nina's room.
now she can finally sleep though the night.

 got the felt balls here.

cardnest

started a collaboration with new card company cardnest. a really nice idea i think, to pick up writing to people again. i do miss that, from the pre digital days. here's a little interview too.

sketchbook

taking a break from food drawing. well, sort of.

september

i haven't forgotten this space, but it's been hard to make time for it. over the summer i finished (almost) a book for walker books, and started another one for usborne, finished the hundreds of drawings for a documentary about the jewish ghetto of venice, went to the little beach town of peschici for a few days (which was subsequently flooded), watched my daughter start crawling everywhere (and become an aussie! hello passport photo), moved my studio to the living room,
spent time with dear friend emma from melbourne, bought some tickets to go back to australia for christmas.
these are very exciting times!

red bus

from a book i've been working on for these guys.

on desk and walls

the space i work in is a hybrid studio / future baby's room. i tread though playmats and toys and scanner and bits of paper and think this working with baby business is going to get a lot harder once she starts to realise the fun to be had with opening drawers full of drawings and potentially hazardous art supplies. but one thing at a time. i've finally put some pictures on the wall. the first is a print by barbara berrada, the second a little illustration for my daughter. prints can be found here.

some images of desk and walls at the moment. I have a little too much on my plate I think, but am grateful for it.

finally, 1. my recipes were featured in anthology magazine recently. 2. a beautiful maker series on this space i recently discovered. this is especially wonderful. 3. what nina wants to listen to all the time.