Il Cimitero dei Rimpianti e dei Rimorsi

Qualche settimana fa, pensavo: dal momento che non si può tornare indietro nel tempo e rimediare alle cose non fatte, non dette e a tutti gli errori, non sarebbe meraviglioso poter seppellire questi sentimenti in un cimitero apposito? Un buco, una lapide, una cerimonia e addio: spariti, dimenticati, si va avanti. Un'onoranze funebri per rimpianti e rimorsi, e un posto per sotterrarli, potrebbero essere il business del secolo, una roba che Taffo levati. Ma non ho soldi da investire e sai che palle ascoltare le lagne della gente tutto il tempo. Dunque mi sono limitata a fare quello che so fare meglio: un disegno scemo.

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Welcome to Fediverse, where the Internet is beautiful and free!

I've always had a bad relationship with social media. I understand why people love them, though: if used consciously, they can be interesting or entertaining. It's when I see professionals using social media platforms as the only channels to share their work that I raise my eyebrows. People in creative fields, especially, have completely abandoned personal platforms in favour of micro-blogging ones, which I find absurd. I understand the need to reach as wide an audience as possible; it's the same reason I'm still on social platforms owned by big tech companies, at least for now. What I don't get is how anyone can think that putting their work exclusively on platforms where they have no control is a good idea. "Keeping a blog costs too much time," they'd tell me, and it's true. Then they spend two hours a day scrolling a feed chosen by an algorithm, and I feel sick. Then again, I see them struggling to keep up with the latest trends and various upgrades (or downgrades, depending on your point of view), complaining about the time they waste. I don't think time is the issue here. Stories! You're nobody if you don't post six thousand stories a day! Reels! You have to make super cool reels…

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Il Fediverso – benvenuti nell’internet libero e bello!

Ho sempre avuto un rapporto complicato con i social media. Capisco perché alle persone piacciano: se usati con consapevolezza, possono essere interessanti o divertenti. È quando vedo professionisti che usano le piattaforme social come unici canali per condividere il proprio lavoro che alzo un sopracciglio. Soprattutto le persone nel campo creativo hanno abbandonato completamente le piattaforme personali a favore di quelle di micro-blogging, cosa che trovo assurda. La necessità di raggiungere un pubblico quanto più ampio possibile la capisco; è lo stesso motivo per cui sui social delle big tech – che sono quelli dove trovi la massa – ci sono anche io, almeno fino ad adesso. Quello che mi sfugge è come si possa pensare che mettere il proprio lavoro esclusivamente su piattaforme su cui non si ha controllo sia una buona idea. Ho veramente rivalutato lo spessore creativo di alcune persone quando le ho viste lasciare i propri blog in favore di Facebook o Instagram. «Tenere un blog mi costa troppo tempo», mi dicevano, ed è vero. Ma se calcoli che passi due ore al giorno a scrollare un feed senza senso, a guardare gente che mangia la pizza e posta l'unboxing di quello che ha comprato su Shein, non è il tempo che ti manca. Se poi…

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Home is Where my Cats Are.

I'm going to go a little personal with this post. Nothing profound, don't worry. When I was about to turn 15, my parents divorced. We lived in a great apartment downtown: I went to school in the neighbourhood, all my friends were there, and, until then, I had never lived anywhere else. Long story short, my father didn't agree to the divorce. He fought in every way he could to keep everything as it was, often becoming very brutal. According to the divorce agreement he didn't agree to, he should have left the apartment. But he refused to and kept the apartment and everything in it for himself. So my mum, my cat Freddy and I had to move to a new place, in a completely different neighbourhood. I felt uprooted and robbed of my own home, even if the new apartment was wonderful and in a very hip place. But as much as I loved living there, it didn't feel like home. In this new place, we had a balcony Freddy used to hang out on; from there, he could access a roof he could use as an additional sunbathing spot. We thought he was safe out on the balcony/roof, but one day he disappeared. We searched everywhere and…

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Halloween and Samahain

I get to post this illustration only now, even if Halloween, as we know and celebrate, was last night (as I write, it is the first of November), but Samhain lasts until today, so technically, I'm not late! Or I'm like 365 days early on Halloween - Samhain of next year!! Life is about points of view, sometimes. Here in Italy, we did not celebrate Halloween or Samhain until relatively recently. There were some fun parties in discos, but no children in costumes, no carved pumpkins, nothing. Halloween is a fun, commercial celebration, but the original festivity, Samhain, has very ancient roots, here in Italy as well. I live next to a farm, and the farmer once told me how their grandparents used to bake sweets and decorate the house - with pumpkins too -to welcome the spirits of their ancestors, celebrate winter, and show gratitude for what nature had offered in the last harvest. I'm pleased to see more and more people reconnecting to the old meaning of Samahin, while also having fun on Halloween. Time changes and traditions evolve, but in this time of uncertainty, there's a need to reconnect with nature, to return to our roots. After all, nature is the only force we can see and…

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Sempre con me.

Credo di aver sempre avuto un buon rapporto con la morte. Non che non sia un evento per me triste o che non soffra pazzamente dell'assenza di chi ho amato, anzi. Ma ho sempre accettato il fatto che la vita abbia una fine. L'essere stata a contatto con gli animali fin da piccolissima mi ha portato ad avere esperienze con il cessare della vita quasi da subito. Mi ricordo bene la morte del mio primo gatto, avevo cinque anni, e prima ancora dei miei criceti. Poi bisnonni, un cugino quando eravamo ancora molto piccoli entrambi, alcuni amici. Ma sopratutto, i miei animali. Ho cominciato ad accompangnarli nel loro trapasso molti anni fa, ogni volta che ho potuto, quando era la cosa giusta da fare. Hanno attraversato la porta verso l'infinito tra le mie braccia quasi tutti. E la chiamo 'porta verso l'infinito' perchè la storia del ponte dell'arcobaleno mi fa salire la glicemia. Specie per l'uso che ne fanno le sciure nei post sui social. Presente i commenti del tipo 'vola felice lassù sul ponte dell'arcobaleno pikkolo angelo!!' e giù caterbe di emoji con i cuoricini spezzati e gli arcobalenini con le nuvolette? Ecco. La morte, questa cosa inevitabile che nessuno accetta e sulla quale non si può scherzare. E'…

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Always with me.

I believe I’ve always had a good relationship with death. Not that it isn’t a sad event for me, or that I don’t suffer terribly from the absence of those I’ve loved—quite the opposite. But I’ve always accepted the fact that life has an end. Living with animals from a very young age meant that I experienced the end of life often as a child. I clearly remember the death of my first cat when I was five, and before that, the death of my hamsters. Then, great-grandparents, a cousin when we were both very little, and some friends. But above all, I saw the end of my animals' lives. Many years ago, I began accompanying them in their passing, every time I could, when it was the right thing to do. Almost all of them crossed the door to infinity in my arms. And I call it the “door to infinity” because the whole “rainbow bridge” story makes my blood sugar spike. Especially given how the ladies on social media use it. You know the kind of comments: “Fly high on the rainbow bridge, little angel!!”—followed by a flood of broken-heart emojis, rainbows, and fluffy clouds. Gee. Death: that inevitable thing no one accepts, and about which you’re not…

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Spay, neuter, love.

Days are beginning to get longer, which means spring is close! I'm a summer girl. I need long sunny days and afternoons spent in the garden or at the beach. I wait all winter for signs of spring. I have a countdown app on my phone that indicates how many days are left until the end of winter. That end never comes soon enough. At the same time, spring is also the season I fear the most. Spring is kitten season! Every year around May or June I get the 'gift' of a new unwanted and very pregnant mama cat, or unwanted kittens. I always search for new families for them, but it is becoming more difficult as time goes by. If you follow me on social media, you may have seen pictures of this kitten. Her name is Margherita and she was dumped here a few months ago. She has a cleft lip and a few balance issues which are improving with time. Due to her cleft lip, her nose has a funny flower shape and she snores a lot. She was quite shy and scared but now she's a force of nature: she plays continuously, eats like a cow and loooovvves to cuddle. Her coat was matted and…

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A 10-minute sketch

This is my cat, Margherita, the last addition to the family here at Cat Cottage. Well, this is her portrait of course, the first 10-minute sketch I made in a long time. I currently have a so-called day job and very little time to draw. I plan to leave this job as soon as possible because it is slowly killing me and my creativity. It's so bad when you don't have the time to do what you feel like you were born to do only because you have to survive, pay the bills and fit into modern slavery (because this is what we're talking about). Anyways, there is absolutely no freaking way I'm going to give up doing what I want to do and live the life I want to live. For how things are now, finding the time to do things you like is a rebellious act. So, last night I was planning how to find the time to draw every day no matter what and remembered what I used to do when I had a career in interior design and as much free time as I have now (almost none). I did this simple but efficient and fun exercise: I'd set a timer for the time I could…

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Happy 2025!

Welcome 2025! Here's to new beginnings! advice from Yogi Tea Lately, I’ve found it a bit tough to stay positive about the future. With wars, environmental disasters, and some pretty wild billionaires in power, it feels like things are a bit out of whack. Sometimes, it seems like humanity isn’t evolving as quickly or positively as it could be, and that can be really frustrating! 2024, has been quite a ride for me personally. I lost a job that I truly loved, which made me almost give up my website. This led to some financial struggles, and now I’m in a new job that feels like a significant step back. To top it off, my health—both physical and mental—hasn’t been the best either. There were months when I didn’t draw at all, and I felt lost, exhausted, and completely uninspired. The current state of the world hasn’t made things any easier. However, when times are tough, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost. It simply indicates that more color and light are needed. As a creative person, I think that's something I can contribute. While I don’t expect my drawings to change the world, I know I can bring a little brightness to my corner of it, and that’s my…

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