L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY " Art is life. Art is move- ment. Only through art I feel deep delicate sensa- tions." Lucia Gonnella S a n F r a n c i s c o c a n b o a s t about many things, including its rich and varied cultural heritage. The North Beach district, sometimes called Little Italy, evokes Italy's cultural heritage. Many consider this neighbor- hood a slice of Italy. It is in North Beach that we find Lucia Gonnella, an Italian born artist who understands why so many adore North Beach as much as she does. L'Italo-Americano was fortu- nate to meet and chat with Lucia in the classic Caffé Puccini, one of North Beach's treasured and enduring Italian establishments. During our conversation, Lucia shared her passion for art and for San Francisco. When asked what brought her to San Francisco she replies, "I came to San Francisco by chance. It was my Italian friend that proposed me to come to the City for a week trip while I was staying in San Diego. My idea was to live there and at first I d i d n ' t w a n t t o v i s i t S a n F r a n c i s c o , b u t i n t h e e n d I accepted. This was at the begin- ning of my experience in the US. It was probably because SF looked special, more interna- tional. I started to live in the City 11 years ago. "At the beginning, though I found accommodation in the Downtown, I always liked to w a l k t o N o r t h B e a c h a n d t o Fisherman Wharf during the weekends. I was usually follow- ing my sensations and my intu- itions; there was not a rational, s p e c i f i c r e a s o n . O n e d a y i n 2007 I started living in North Beach." "I was looking for myself a n d e x p l o r i n g w h a t I w o u l d have liked to do here in the US. I was not aware of being an artist, though I was drawing and p a i n t i n g s i n c e I w a s c h i l d . When they asked me if I was an artist I was always saying 'No,' because I had artist's block. Then, one day the concierge at t h e S m a l l B u s i n e s s Administration said, 'Why don't you meet Martha Zlatar? She is an amazing art coach. She can help you.' In effect, meeting her changed my life. She helped me t h r o u g h d i f f e r e n t t o o l s t o unblock myself until I finally understood that my mission is that of creating, not for success, but for myself. It is a long heal- ing process. "After a few months, I real- ized that I always had the wish to paint outdoors, but in Italy I was ashamed to do it. First I started painting the roses on Lombard Street and then San Francisco views and buildings. I spent a lot of time doing water- colors on Fisherman Wharf. Then finally I started painting in N o r t h B e a c h s t r e e t s a n d o n Washington Square, where I did l o t s o f w a t e r c o l o r s o f t h e church. So I became aware of being a plein air painter. "One day, as I was painting n e a r C o l u m b u s a n d G r a n t A v e n u e s , I s t a r t e d m e e t i n g artists from North Beach related t o C a f f é T r i e s t e o r C a f f é P u c c i n i . O n M a y 2 0 1 1 , i n Vesuvio Café at the show orga- nized by Elizabeth Ashcroft 'Art in The Alley', I met artist Fanny Renoir, a well-known poet and writer, who has been my mentor and friend for five years now. With her I did lots of shows at Live Worms Gallery, p r o d u c i n g t h r e e . I a l s o m e t R o n a l d S a u e r a n d R e b e c c a Peters, two great artists and show producers, and took part in many of their exhibitions. "I think that, first of all, in San Francisco I found myself and in North Beach I found an artist community that supports me. The light of San Francisco is sometimes similar to that of Southern Italy, the combination of the different shapes of the sky, buildings, and trees inspires my art. "Besides, I think in every CATHERINE ACCARDI Lucia Gonnella – An Italian Artist in Love with San Francisco's North Beach corner of North Beach or San Francisco I can find something to paint. In North Beach in par- ticular there are many businesses concentrated in a few blocks: these stores are so colorful and characteristic." Lucia describes how Italy and her Italian heritage influence her art. "I think Italian heritage influences me in the way I paint San Francisco. Some people say that I see San Francisco with Italian eyes and that in my paint- ings San Francisco looks like Italy. In effect, I paint some- times parts of San Francisco that remind me of Italy. For instance, the San Francisco Art Institute with its tower surrounded by buildings reminds me of old Italian villages, the same for Coit Tower with the buildings and houses at the bottom. "I am probably influenced by Italian art, having lived most of my life in Italy and having been a student of Sergio Albano in Torino and Sabrina Capraro in M i l a n o . T h e s e a r t i s t s w e r e i n s p i r e d b y C a r l o C a r r à a n d Italian masters of the 20th centu- ry." T e a c h i n g a r t t o m e m b e r s o f N E X T V i l l a g e S F c a m e about in a fortuitous way. "I was b r o u g h t b y c h a n c e t o N E X T Village. I was in Maui for a v a c a t i o n w h e n I r e c e i v e d a n email by a certain Michael, there was no last name, asking if I was w i l l i n g t o t a k e h i s p l a c e i n teaching watercolors for NEXT V i l l a g e a n d I w a s h a p p y t o accept though it looked like I didn't know him at all. I think here again the North Beach art community helped me: then two d a y s a g o I f o u n d o u t t h a t Michael Leonard, an artist and art professor from Caffé Puccini gave them my name." Lucia has six art books and a chapbook of poems which she describes in this way: "I have six books about my artwork, done between 2007 and 2013. All are available on Blurb. The first two are about San Francisco, San Francisco Cityscapes and Life, I and II. The third is about Bari, Italy, my town and the fourth about nudes, Women: color and beauty. The fifth is For Horse Lovers Everywhere and is about watercolor of horses. The sixth, Hawaiian Times, is about Maui w h e r e I s p e n t a l o t o f t i m e . Three years ago I started to write p o e m s i n I t a l i a n a n d n o w I have one chapbook, Canticles of Love, a translation of my Italian poems, "Cantici d'amore," done by Ronald F. Sauer, also an amazing poet. The chapbook i s a v a i l a b l e a t C i t y L i g h t s Books." L u c i a l i k e s t o s a y , " T h e places I paint choose me," rather t h a n t h e o t h e r w a y a r o u n d . Explore and enjoy those places b y v i s i t i n g h e r w e b s i t e a t http://www.luciagonnella.com, h e r F a c e b o o k p a g e a t https://www.facebook.com/lucia. g o n n e l l a , a n d I n s t a g r a m a t https://www.instagram.com/gon nella_lucia. Lucia in North Beach, San Francisco. Courtesy of Lucia Gonnella Italian Community Services provid Bay Area Italian-American seniors and famili with trusted rourc to help them live healthy, independent and productive liv. We are commied to honoring and prerving the Italian language and culture, with an emphasis on the strength and suort that com om family, community, education and goodwill. Casa Coloniale John F. Fugazi 678 Green Street San Francisco, CA 94133 415 •362 •6423 www.italiancs.com . . • Translation for seniors /new immigrants • Community service coordination • Information and referrals

• Cover