Livia

"I was born in Sardegna (Sardinia), raised in Sicily, and came to the United States when I was 14. A lot of people think, 'Oh, how romantic to come from Italy all the way across the ocean to a new country', but when you're that age, it isn't romantic. It's traumatic. I had studied English at school, but it didn't sound anything like the southern English I heard when I got here. I couldn't understand anything. I was so homesick. Not only was I in the wrong country, I was landlocked. I couldn't just hop in a car and go home. I missed the beauty I'd grown up with: the mosaics, the churches, the museums, the ruins of Pompeii that we played in as children. I missed my family. I come from the oldest continuous line of potters on the island of Sardinia; I still have photos of myself on my grandfather's lap throwing tiny pots. Art and beauty were all around me; I couldn't help being a part of it; it shaped who I am. 

"I will always be involved in art. I teach art here at an elementary school, and the kids are so ridiculously adorable and cute that it pulls at your heart. When I take out the paints and see their faces light up, it's wonderful. I give them a storyline and then watch them learn how to express themselves through art. I've been back to Italy many times over the years, and I always cry when I get on the plane to come home to the States, but I have children and grandchildren here now, so I don't want to leave. I miss Italy, but I love what I do."

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