Hi, I’m Maria
I was born in London. Mum was Norwegian, Dad was Italian. At home in Acton, we spoke in English with a smattering of dialetto piacentino and misgivings.
I grew up in the 1970s and 80s, when winters were frosty and snow dappled our back garden. Summers were spent gnawing focaccia ligure in San Lorenzo al Mare, and visiting i nonni in Emilia-Romagna.
At School, back in Ealing, I excelled in gazing-out-of-the-window across the playground and onto the traffic in Hanger Lane, only snapping back to attention for Art.
And essay writing too.
Dad worked long hours in our restaurant. And as soon as I was tall enough to peer over the counter of the bar, I was roped in to – ‘learn the trade’.
Grades fell, but a gritty life knowledge grew.
In my twenties I eloped with my sanity to Italy, and went on to study illustration in the Scuola del Fumetto in Milan. This was the 1990s and Tangentopoli was our backdrop.
For several years I lived in San Michele di Morfasso, the tiny village in the Appennino Piacentino where my dad came from. Over the years I’ve also lived in Milan, Piacenza, Carpi, and Bologna.
Since 2009 I’ve been living in Parma.
Work wise (Do I have to? It’s a mess…) I’ve been a sales assistant in a jewelry shop and a cake shop, barista, waiter, head of house, fresh pasta chef, hairdresser, hairdressing teacher, cleaner, grape picker, illustrator, writer, content creator, social media manager, graphic designer, art tutor, fashion illustrator, actress in English language education musicals, copywriter, blogger, book keeper, secretary, (and current) admin assistant in a refugee and asylum seeker facility
Also – I’ve done a bit of running.
This site is my space to share some of my thoughts.
If you’d like to chat — drop me a message!