February is here, which means is time for the yearly
Get the CICCABOOM artwork that speaks to your heart,
for your dear ones, or for yourself.
Art made with love in Berlin, now at a special price,
but just until the 14th of February!
It has been already one year since the world situation drastically changed due to the pandemic.
In December 2020 the third and harder lockdown began in Germany, and it still going on, with a hope that the situation will get better with the coming of the beautiful season.
The art and culture scene in Berlin, as in the rest of the world, has been on hold for a year.
We are all waiting for the situation to evolve and get better.
I was placing a lot of effort on web networking because I thought it was the only way nowadays to keep creating networks.
But that’s not true. I want my art to reach people in the real life.
Since galleries and museums are still closed, artists have to find other ways to reach people with art.
After brainstorming with my partner and artist, Yukihiro Taguchi, something popped up in our minds: it was time to stop waiting and start to act!
Why not using the public space?
Why not simply carrying art around the city?
And why not on the public trains and make train’s wagons our galleries?
And that’s exactly what we did.
So the idea of Kunst im Zug was born.
The concept is very simple: guerrilla art exhibitions on trains.
On Sunday the 14th of February, the artists Yukihiro Taguchi, Marnie Feuerriegel, Linda Havenstein and I started the Kunst im Zug movement.
There are no rules against bringing your art with you on the train, and the feedback from the people we met during the action was extraordinarily positive. Even the two young police officers we have met in a station in Kreuzberg had a good and warm reaction.
So people, Kunst im Zug!
We repeat the action every Sunday in Berlin, and you can participate anytime just taking your art with you on the train, it doesn’t matter if we are not on the same wagon, or train, or city.
Wherever you are, whatever art or design you are creating, join Kunst im Zug!
Visit Kunst im Zug Instagram to follow the movement and be updated on the next actions.
I hope to meet you on the train, rolling art together!
Art is a business.
It is not just twinkles and colors, but also marketing, planning, production, selling, shipping, and all that stuff that may sound boring but still necessary.
As a full-time artist and the only person in my small business, I have learned, and keep learning, to extricate myself between the duty and the pleasure of this job.
I thought about the possibility to have a gallery or an agent to care about all the bureaucracy and paperwork, leaving to me just the joy of pure creation.
But I have chosen to deal personally with the people, managing by myself the production and the selling of my artwork. This because I want my art to remain accessible not only to a niche of wealthy collectors but to everyone who wishes to admire my works on the walls of their own houses.
Day by day I roll up my sleeves and organize my time to administrate every aspect of my artist profession. And believe me, it is really easy when the boundary between job and passion is bland, ending to work seven days a week, 12 hours a day or more.
But I am a lover of self-time, the time for rest and leisure. I cannot and do not want to give up on it.
How do I manage it?
Yes. Planning is the golden rule.
A bit for my engineering studies, a bit perhaps for a personal predisposition, I admit that I enjoy creating to-do lists.
Lists and plans, short and long term. I usually plan the year goals, the monthly ones, and every week I make a detailed plan for every day. Maniacal? Maybe, but this allows me to keep always at least one day of the week free for the necessary leisure.
And as a day rule, no work after dinner! Also because, maybe for my Sicilian genes, after eating my belly steals all the energy to my brain.
To keep the mood up, it is absolutely needful to gratify and reward yourself after the hard work, to remember the simple and beautiful things that are the purpose of our efforts.
I don’t want to sound like an Italian cliche, but a good meal (even better if shared with the people we love) always remembers us that the essential is simple, and we are lucky to have it because it is not granted, even if we sometimes forget it.
A nice warm bath or a long shower works just as well for me, face masks, body oils, and so on! Self-care and the exclusive me-time as a reward for the hard work.
Sport and movement are also essential for me, although the Berlin winter makes me particularly lazy. But even just half an hour of physical activity or a little stretching in the morning before starting the day is enough to have more energy, and everything flows much more smoothly.
Dancing? Everyday. Yes, I know, the world pandemic made clubs close and who knows when they will reopen. But that certainly can’t stop us from shaking the body. Dancing helps me to release negative vibes and replaces them with energy and happiness.
I dance everywhere, walking on the street, in line at the supermarket, in the studio, at home alone.
And of course, just to bring out another Italian cliché, I sing! And loudly!
At home, in the shower, while working, in the park, on the bicycle.
And after that, I’m feeling much better.
Just try it!
That’s more or less how I try to survive as a full-time artist.
I hope you enjoyed my tips!
And you? How do you manage to balance productivity and self-time?
I would be really happy to read your thoughts about it.
Love is in the air and the sun finally shine on Berlin!!!
Special VALENTINE’S SALE is starting today!
30% OFF on all the CATUS LOVE art prints, just until the 15th February.
Be sure you don’t miss it! Check the offer now on my Etsy Shop <3
Hello there!
I have fresh uploaded new vintage hand painted ceramics on my Etsy shop.
Lot of dishes, espresso cups and tea cups for all the taste! I hand painted and fired them in my home studio in Berlin, adding to the original glaze and decor my illustrations. The two thing merge perfectly despite the difference of age.
And because of the power of love, Valentine’s Day coming and my incurable romanticism and blablablabla….I’m planning to have soon sales, giveaways and many other surprise so STAY TUNED!
Follow me on Facebook or Instagram for any updated.
Bacio!
