EXHIBITION: ‘ILLUMINATE - THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION’
Anglesea art space
10-21 june 2021
Minerva Lamorgese (Mivart Creations) Interview
HG: Recently you shared a very personal insight through Facebook and Instagram about why being an artist is so important and why you became a children’s book illustrator. How did you start in illustration?
ML: It all happened very naturally, when I was little books meant a lot to me, they were a resource of inspiration. I would read the story, look at the artwork and be curious about the technique and how the book was made. One particular book helped me realise what I wanted to be and I knew then it was my dream. It is called Cari Bambini della Terra (Dear children of the Earth) designed by Greenpeace and illustrated by Schim Schimmel. Dear Children of the Earth begins a remarkable letter from Mother Earth asking for help from children everywhere. She writes to express her love for each and every child and asks for their love and appreciation in return. This book touched me so deeply and inspired me to think that if you have the skills to draw, paint or craft things you should use your art for good purposes. This is why I chose to become a children’s book illustrator.
HG: Did you start drawing to tell stories when you were younger?
ML: Always! I used to make little self-made concertina and animation books. I am very grateful to my family who have always encouraged and believed in what I’ve been doing and said if I really want to do something, I had to work hard for it, which I have. My art practice has evolved throughout my life and since having my daughter I’ve been inspired to bring my illustration to life by shifting the illustrations into sculptures.
HG: Did you go straight into university after secondary school?
ML: In Italy we have a middle school which is three years, where you study everything including the introduction to art history and technique. You then go into high school at about 14yo for five years. In middle school I created the very first drawing of Speranza (‘Hope’ - which is a beautiful fine art print and sculpture in the exhibition). I had an art teacher who gave me a really hard time, she never believed in my art and lost this drawing. The original illustration was a boy on a hill holding an earth balloon, surrounded by many multicultural people standing around him. That was my message for the International Peace Day for the school art show. At the time I was also passionate about riding horses and working with people with disability practicing hippotherapy. My art teacher told me I shouldn’t be studying art, that I should keep riding horses, because there was no art in my soul. That was a absolute killer to hear. But I had an interesting reaction to how she treated me, I actually became empowered – as I thought “no way!!”, I’m going to grow my art and follow my soul.
I have always been interested in psychology and self-understanding. In high school I chose to study psychology, sociology, philosophy and pedagogy for children - but I kept drawing and painting and doing little workshops with artists I really liked. Art has been my safe place, during the bad and the good. When I decided what to do next, I knew I wanted to study art in university becasue I was beginning to feel I was wasting my time with psychology. But now I know the study of communication and interpretation has influenced my illustration, especially through such a visual language. I rebalanced myself after high school and I enrolled in an illustration and graphic design course in Perugia for one year. We were taught in a more commercial style, which was not what I wanted. So I decided to move to Rome to study a diploma in illustration art at the Academy of Visual Art and New Media, Scuola internazionale di Comics for three years. At the end of the thesis you present a self-produced children’s book. I decided to write my own story, Il Seme magico (The Magic Seed). It was a story about the environment, deforestation and a girl who loved the forest and wants to return the energy back to nature. As soon as I finished it was published – such an amazing kick start, so I was excited to explore more. I studied for one more year in comics which I had always had a fascination for. The funny thing was when I studied illustration they told me I had a comic style, when I studied comics they told me I had a very strong illustration style... so I really couldn’t fit any box until I made my own one, realising they could both co-exist as a fusion of styles. The illustration study was a great course, we learnt about technique, style and we studied a lot of books to discover different writers and artists. They pushed us to participate in the Bologna Book Fair where I participated a few times and felt like a little dreamer in a big pond! You are surrounded by people who consider illustration as a really important art form and believe children’s books are an essential part of our future. I truly loved the comics course as well, learning a different way of thinking and creating, studying perspectives, storyboarding, lots of anatomy, movement and live drawings. In order to tell a story with visual communication you must know the vocabulary first!
HG: Did you publish any other books after Il Seme magico (The Magic Seed)?
ML: Yes I did. I was approached by someone who worked for the Minister of Agriculture in the education section UNAPOL. They were launching a program about healthy eating, and this particular program was dedicated to the importance of extra virgin olive oil. The education book has gone through schools in a few regions in Italy – the children would visit the Frantoio where they made the oil. It was amazing because they would receive a beautiful collectable box that held my educational children’s illustrated book and next to the book was a little sample bottle of the oil!
I’m always creating new stories and have a few books on my shelf that I would love to publish. The latest is the ‘Metamorphosis’, a concertina picture book (which is in the exhibition) that I would love to get published. I always thought that the highest skill for an illustrator would be to be able to communicate without the use of any words “where the illustrations speak for themselves”. Also as a traveller I often experienced language barriers, so I wanted to master the evocative communication capacity that silent books have. I can’t wait to publish it!
HG: Yay, me too!
When you moved to Australia, did you find it difficult to continue making art at the beginning?
ML: I have always been curious to experiment and try different things. Another great passion of mine is the circus, I absolutely love the environment and people, so I came here from Ireland driven by my desire to keep studying the aerial skill. I did some classes at NICA (National Institute of Circus Arts in Prahran, Melbourne – where HG also happened to work on reception for about 6 months!) and absolutely loved it because it was very artistic with a theatre element. It was all about diversity of expression for me, I love dancing in the air!
I also came here for the love of the ocean and the surf. I’ve been sailing for eleven years which was my job to support my art and study overseas. I thought if I can do this in Europe I can do it Australia! I worked in marinas in Melbourne and Williamstown, which is where I met my husband. I took my book to some publishers, but I was a bit sceptical about technology and using platforms like Instagram, and I didn’t have a website back then. I received some great feedback though, especially about gaps in marketing and presentation. I wanted to study more in Melbourne but it was limited to visas status to get in and very expensive. As soon as I arrived in Australia I had to invest my finances in the English IELTS course which is a requested score to allow foreigners access to study other courses and apply for jobs.
In Australia sometimes you get considered not just as a traveller, but as an immigrant, which can make it tough. But it reinforced who I am and where I come from, and I am proud of my culture that I brought in my backpack! For these reasons I made Mivart Creations.
HG: So why Mivart Creations?
ML: People asked why didn’t I call myself ‘Minerva Lamorgese Art’ or ‘Minerva Lamorgese Illustration’, Mivart Creations is an act of rebellion for myself! I thought, if I’m not publishing right now I must be missing something, so how about I design a clear brand to help shape the audience I want and who I want to dedicate my work to. I really started to sharpen my skills professionally because of the unacceptance, and sometimes when doors slam in your face it can move you to say right, ok, I’ll take this on board. Grief can either push you down or reinforce you, so I decided on the latter. My inner child knew what I wanted to do and I listened. I kept my style and the artwork happened at the right time. About 20 years later I have finally given life back to the illustration Speranza (Hope) in 2017, I redeveloped the concept for an International Peace Day exhibition, this time held by a group of healing artists in Melbourne. In the meantime, my little one arrived. Becoming a mother and having family and friends in Italy, made me understand that maybe sailing and circus may not be an easy future with a child. I thought “this is my moment”. While I was pregnant she brought me so much inspiration so quickly. I understood I needed to be a provider and that the beautiful practice of illustration could create an income. I had been doing some craft markets overseas too so I thought I can test my designs in markets here. ‘Bringing Illustration To Life’ developed, creating painted 3D paper mache sculptures from my 2D watercolour illustrations. I like art to be flying around the room, to be part of daily living, to be affordable, sustainable where possible and not just written in a book.
HG: When I was speaking to Lucy about her experience at markets, she found that people didn’t often spontaneously buy art, they would tend to spend their money in other ways. Have you found that in your experience?
ML: It really depends on the market I think. Maybe at the start yes, they would more likely buy my illustrated jigsaw puzzles or tea towels, rather than a unique handmade sculpture. But now I’m actually experiencing the opposite, selling one of a kind sculptures more often and particularly the small native birds which are lovely and cheerful.
Three years ago when I started doing local markets with a baby I needed to be closer to home because I was breastfeeding. I’ve been involved in the Aireys Inlet Market for a while which used to be indoors. Now I enjoy having a full outdoor stall and have started participating in the Barwon Heads Market where I have found a very appreciative audience.
HG: I know you’ve had a couple of recently commissioned works, tell us a bit about them.
ML: Yes, I have had locals asking me for something special, custom sculptures, I have done some logo work, educational projects and an instruction sheet for a weaving art project. Lately I worked with Coastal Nectar. He had a school educational activity which was about sharing the knowledge of bee keeping and how important these little creatures are to the planet. I would love to work more with schools and education, it’s totally a dream I have. I have also created family portraits in watercolour, as people want something different to a photograph, something more personal.
HG: What’s next Minerva?!
ML: I have a few projects in the pot! As I said earlier, I have a Metamorphosis book that needs to be shared, so I need to find a publisher - to go through an Australian publisher would be amazing. I am excited to be accepted by Illustrators Australia for professional membership, now I must set up my account and portfolio. Continuing to focus on a children’s book career is very important as well as developing public art concepts and installation for the Hope 3D Sculpture. I would love to do more mural work as I love life sized walls - I used to do illustration as art performance, drawing large scale murals while interacting with the crowd, I miss that. Continuing to do markets is an ongoing commitment, it’s a very genuine experience to share my art and stories and meet wonderful people. I have jigsaws in a local shop called Frangipanis in Anglesea, fine artwork dispayed at the Eagles Nest Gallery and now the Onda foodhouse local cafe in Aireys Inlet has some of my sculptural seagulls and cards - it would be great to have more opportunities like these. I love sharing my art with the local community and those who enjoy some Italian vibes!
> www.mivart.com.au
> www.instagram.com/mivart_creations
> www.facebook.com/Mivartist
MINERVA’S BIO
Minerva is an Italian multidisciplinary artist who moved to the Surf Coast in 2018. With a background in children's book illustration, she has always been passionate about art and how to balance creativity with education to inspire children. Deeply influenced by the ocean and the new creativity motherhood brings, she launched her brand Mivart_Creations with the purpose of Bringing Illustrations to Life. Creating with her young daughter by her side was the challenge that made Minerva ponder how she could bring her illustration from two-dimensions to 3D, making art more tangible, interesting and entertaining for her daughter's development and creativity. "Bringing illustration to life has been a natural process that needed to happen in order to make art with my little one next to me. My sculpture illustrations and books are inspired and designed for children, so they can experience the magic of stories in their home environment."
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