Transitioning to papier mache and sculpture
This period also marked the beginning of Carlotta’s time making paper sculptures. “Someone invited me to enter an art exhibit. I wanted to do more than illustrate so I decided to do a sculpture. My Dad once, when we were kids, did a puppet theatre for us. So I decided to do a similar sculpture in paper.”
Creating with paper marked a turning point for Carlotta, especially because she went deep within a family theme with this work. “This arrived after a big difficult moment. So to be able to come out with your own personality and with your own voice is something that is priceless.”
Carlotta’s recognition grew after her initial display and she was even able to create an exhibition with her father in Paris. After showing in places around Europe, her workload eventually became unmanageable.
“At the beginning, I was shocked and happy and proud because after I had this little tiny exhibition in this little village near Montechino. I was asked to show my artwork on a tour, and national TV came, the national newspaper came and I was so happy. People started knowing my work and asking me for sculptures. So I did commission work. In the end, I was stressed because I was producing more than 100 sculptures a year.
I am self-taught as a sculptor. I didn't have a specific technique; I just moved by myself. So I became very technically skilled, but little by little, I produced so much and I also had a baby and found it difficult to work at night. Eventually, I started feeling that my work was not speaking anymore and I was not able to give soul to what I created.”
It was this feeling plus a family event that moved Carlotta in another direction.
Turning points
At this point, Carlotta became interested in teaching.
“I was protecting my technique. I started seeing copies of my work popping up all around the world, because social media gives you so much, but they also see you so much. So I started seeing my sculpture in Iran and in the States in Italy. At first I was very angry but eventually, I said, ‘Okay, I'm ready. I can share.’ I visualised a group of women and me sharing my technique. And I began to prepare a project for an International School so I could teach people how to make a sculpture from their illustrations.”
Sadly, it was around this time that Carlotta’s sister Judy and her husband, John Franco lost their lives in a mountain accident in Mont Blanc.
“From that moment, my life obviously completely changed,” says Carlotta. “The sculpture I was working on at the time was never finished.”
Carlotta returned to her parents’ winery, not knowing what to do. “When you get lost, you have to be attached to something stable. I decided to stop making my art for a while.”
New beginnings
Carlotta speaks of remembering her sister with honour and gratitude.
“My new work arrived while I was helping my family and making visits to my winery. I was at that moment, instead of my teeny tiny workshop in Montechino, I was immersed in nature, every day working in the vineyards or seeing the process of nature and revisiting the ancient oak tree of my childhood.”
“I never lost the connection with nature. I had seen so much nature around me, and I started seeing nature as a potential of new art for me, a new way to express myself.”
This triggered a new phase of Carlotta’s works. She moved on to creating botanical prints on paper, and even making her own botanical inks and dyes, using ancient, long-forgotten recipes.
“I started printing everything I saw around me and seeing my surroundings as potential. I felt inspired by my sister every time.”
From a ‘sabbatical of the soul’ to next steps