Have you ever wondered where the Picciuli come from?
We always do. For this reason we have done research that has led us once again to the Mediterranean area, on the Costa degli Dei, where beauty can only give life to other beauty.
It is known that pregnant women are advised to avoid having to deal with hazardous materials. During her first maternity, in order to continue creating without harmful side effects to her and her unborn child, the artist Vanessa Cariati bought polymer clay, the kind that is modeled without cooking.
Inspired by her new status, she began to create babies made of polymer clay. Very detailed small works that became then the party favors for the baptism of her first child.
In reality, party favors are all the same. Although they have been used as such, they are not party favors and are not created in series. Each baby figurine has a different toy, each one is positioned differently. Given the success of the first figurines made of polymer clay, with many requests, after maternity, Vanessa began to build them with ceramic. She then called them: βPicciuliβ.
Before becoming a mother, Vanessa had worked hard as a financial agent for a bank, and was always traveling around Italy. As soon as she discovered to be pregnant, she dropped everything to fully immerse herself in the new adventure.
Unlike Countess Lene Thun, who, inspired by her sleeping son, created the famous little angel of Bolzano, Vanessa communicated with her baby even before he was born. She was able to see the unborn child in his daily actions and activities. She imagined him in his moments of play, in his evolution. It might be for this reason that the Picciuli cannot all be the same. They are indeed as authentic as people and as the artist herself.
The double energy that mom Vanessa held in her lap found expression in those works of art that represent something more than a figurine. In fact Picciuli represent the child spirit of the person to whom they are given, therefore they have a soul.
VC: “If we all became children again, if we were able to remember that we have been children, everything would be better.”
Vanessa’s researches at the time of her maternity was also supported by the reading of books such as ‘Secrets of the Baby Whispererβ, by Tracy Hogg. This was perhaps the spark that lit the light in the heart of the artist who began to take an interest in the more childlike aspect of people, by capturing the soul of the person in first the drawing and then in the modeled form. But certainly the artist’s studies and art therapy activities also have enriched her vision.
VC: β Art therapy has changed me and my way of teaching. Through the artistic channel, the sharing of experiences, the development of creativity and the recognition of emotions are facilitated. In Art Therapy the essential is not the result of creation, but the creative process with the emerging emotions. “
Before creating a Picciulo, Vanessa imagines the person back to his/her childish playing phase. She is able to perceive the deepest essence of the person who is going to be her artistic subject. Then she captures some chatateristic elements that she brings in her creation and that are the deepest soul of the Picciulo.
Just as people are, each Picciulo is unique. Each figurine is completely hand made and hand painted.Since the Picciuli were born they became popular and today Vanessa creates different types of Picciuli. She makes babies, girls, granpa and grandmaβs and more Picciuli. The production time of each work depends on the subject and on the inspiration. Once is born, each Picciulo is accompanied by a rolled parchment, a small pergamena, with a thought written on it. It represent in words what inspired the artist. The pergamena is the first step towards the discovery of one’s Picciulo, which is presented in a jute bag and decorated with tulle and colored raffia. It is a double gift featuring the Picciulo and the thought from which it was born. The process of discovery of one’s own Picciulo is a slow and exciting unveiling.
Through I Picciuli Vanessa has moved many emotions and even more people. To make you understand what lies behind a Picciulo, perhaps it is easier to tell you an anecdote.
One day, to a head teacher whom she only met at school, Vanessa gave a Picciulo who represented her.The head teacher at school was always dressed soberly, nothing of her private life showed outwardly. She was very discrete and professional. But the Picciulo who represented her was inserted in nature, in a bucolic context and surrounded by farm animals. The head teacher called her daughter and showed her the Picciulo. The surprised daughter said: “Mom it’s you!” The woman, who hardly knew Vanessa, was moved and impressed from how Vanessa had managed to understand her true self that she never showed in public. Since then, the two ladies have been linked by a deep friendship.
This magic happens every time Vanessa creates a Picciulo, because she discovers and extracts the child spirit in you in order to immortalize it.
VC βIt has to be an artisanal job but it has to speak. If I can’t see it, it’s not born. When I feel satisfied then I feel that the Picciulo is it. “
Vanessa is not vain as an artist. She is different from those who are recognized as such and do you know why? Because she doesn’t sell herself. She is not suited to treat art as a factory product, first of all because her art is not a factory product but it is the result of an encounter with the divine and this attributes a certain sacredness to the piece. Art is an act of love. It is an expression of creative and artistic freedom, therefore, as such, it needs to be free.
Vanessa experiences art by creating, sharing and by helping people through art. Hers is a mission that she carries out by teaching and by organizing interesting events and workshops.
Do you want your Picciulo?
Do you want your husband, wife, son, daughter, friend… Picciulo?
A Picciulo is unique and can only be purchased on the artist’s website at www.vanessacariati.it, where you will also find other masterpieces made with different artistic tecniques.
Contact her and be amazed!
