Dispatches from Italy: Eco Warrior

Contributor post by Kat of Zero the One

I introduce to you Viktoria, Hungarian fire-dancing eco warrior. She used to be part of a troupe in Budapest, wielding swords and contraptions I don�t have a name for. Since she moved to Italy her biggest work has been the transformation of waste into useable goods or recycling trash into fashion. Old bicycle parts like wheel rings and rubber tires have been transformed into hanging lamps, belts, edgy jewelry and chairs. Excess fabric from factories she used to weave into bags, hammocks, and sandals and more recently utilizing coffee packaging into water-proof clutches and purses (with all the espresso Italians consume she sure has a LOT of material to work with). Take a look at her video portrait here:

Muse: Viktoria Varga from Katerina Bon Vora on Vimeo.

It requires more than creativity to do the kind of work she does. A big amount of guts and stubborn perseverance is equally essential. Considering Italy has delivered brands like Armani or Versace, impressing the Italian shopper takes a lot of work. And though it is amazing for an artist to work with discarded materials it is conversely challenging for business. Despite this and the chic crowd of Pesaro, Viktoria has managed to provoke the local scene with free workshops at her studio where she shares her skills on various crafts and recycling.

Her playfulness and magic personality has attracted new friendships and connections. While at first reluctant to approach her work, a growing number of people are following and a local art/design shop is fast selling her work and adding to her already long list of orders. She plans to set up an online shop later this year but for now she�s headed up north for a long road trip to Poland for the biggest juggling festival of the year.
�We need to live life now!�, she says.

Kat
Zero the One

Dispatches from Italy: Maria in Morlupo

Contributor post by Kat of Zero the One

Tucked somewhere in the outskirts of Rome, in a place called Morlupo, is the small yet cozy home of Maria. A print-fabric stylist, she works closely with design by choosing the right combination of colors for patterns (a job I�d imagine to be seriously fun. Oh, and required attendance to big fashion and design expos in Paris � and everywhere else. Ahh hard work..)

She has a thing for wood, organic textures, her rain-resistant Furla bag, her curious little cat.

Maria in the morning after breakfast resembling Queen Elizabeth � Cate Blanchet, that is, or at least I think so.

What makes this beautiful space all the more intriguing is the neighborhood that surrounds it. Stepping outside the doorway is all you need to do to enter into another world.

Dispatches from Italy: Accademia di Belle Arti

Contributor post by Kat of Zero the One

Earlier this month we had a chance to go up Urbino. Dubbed as the �ideal city�, it is an architectural beauty with the most important 15th century building in Italy AND birthplace of Raphael � part of the Renaissance trinity including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Lucky for us it was the same day the Accademia di Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts) opened its doors for everyone to see and explore.

There were live demonstrations, open studios, artists, professors and art-enthusiasts enjoying the creative work propped against walls, on the ceiling, on the floor, dripping from a brush � it was ALIVE. For anyone who ever dreamed of creating the most beautiful things in a beautiful place will swoon at thought of taking up an art course here. I did and I walked all around it, entered all the open rooms and surrendered as painters do on canvas.

Every little work space has its own personality and almost always reflects whoever inhabits it. I like to to imagine the character behind it, whether he or she has brightly colored hair or enjoys some weird hobby like � water polo. Or Chinese checkers.

Learn more about Accademia di Belli Arti at accademiadiurbino.it