Meet Elisa Fenoglio
Interview with the winner of the second season of the competition Gaudir.
Tell me about yourself.
For the first 17 years I lived in the small town of Piedmont, Italy, which is located near the Langhe. I lived in an apartment with my parents, office workers, and two sisters.
We were raised in humility, but also in the traditional values of honesty and respect for others.
At the age of 17 I moved to Turin to go to university and have been living here ever since.
I graduated first from the art lyceum and then from the stage design and costume section at the Academy of Arts.
I have always loved painting, drawing, sculpture. I have always been fascinated by nature, which offers an endless variety of substances and textures, with which I am deeply in love. I find so much amazing in the spotted and striped feline fur, in the delicate petals of flowers, in feathers of all shapes and sizes. Smooth and rough surfaces ... opaque and glossy ... which also characterize my work, in which I am not satisfied with any one technique, where I try to play, combining different objects in harmonious combinations ... a sphere that is the true engine of creativity.
Why did you decide to make dolls?
In my childhood dreams, I imagined myself as a sculptor of beautiful figurines. Then, about 20 years ago, I discovered the world of polymer sculptures, art dolls, dollhouse miniatures, and my love of combining different materials and textures can be fully expressed in this sector, which provides ample opportunities for creativity. This is how I managed to combine my love for sculpture with a passion for costumes. I started about 20 years ago with small characters for roomboxes, and then continued with larger sculptures at a scale of 1: 6, in which the human figure is the main character and the costume is given a lot of attention.
Who mainly influenced your style?
I think the style I have achieved today is the result of my artistic research and my past experiences in the entertainment industry combined with my personal preferences of some specific artists (such as; Godward or Alma-Tadema, Pre-Raphaelites or hyperrealistic artists), enriched by my a passion for historical costumes from past eras and my love for the combination of various materials and rich dynamic textures.
What is your biggest professional success? What's the thing you're more proud of?
I am very satisfied and grateful for all my professional experience. I started very early, at 22, just after university, to work in the entertainment world. I worked in the great Greek theaters of Sicily, as a seamstress in Rome on film production, and as a decorator for Italian television for many years before becoming a mother and looking for a creative way of expressing myself more suitable for family life than nomadic. For the last 15 years she has participated in exhibitions, made paintings and sculptures. I have won competitions and prizes for miniatures and dolls, participated in group exhibitions and met international artists of the highest caliber. I became an IGMA Master and PDMAG Master. I was invited several times to the annual exhibition of the Dabid Association, and I myself began organizing competitions as well as offering courses for international artists. These were all wonderful experiences, full of meaning and inspiration.
If a would you not became doll artist, who would you be?
In fact, in the past I have collaborated as an illustrator for magazines and publishers, and for 5 years I worked as an icon painter in Pearson Italy, collaborating with the creation of school textbooks for high school students. Of course, my favorite thing is to do dolls, but I like to do everything creative associated with beauty, inspiration, harmony. However, if I could not attend art school and do art work, I think I would still be looking for some kind of creativity in the laboratory. I think chemistry is also very exciting: in my youth I was fascinated by the reactions that take place between different elements, and when I had to choose which school to go to, I was very torn between artistic and scientific.
By you have a favorite movie or book?
My favorite books and films are thrillers and great novels about centuries past. I love Gone With the Wind, Anna Karenina, Il Gattopardo, Anna and the King ... (besides the novels, these are all costumed films with beautiful dresses).
Who do you think is the greatest person in the world?
I don't think there is a specific person. I think there are many great and outstanding people: those who every day decide to devote themselves to making the world a better place, those who love, who give themselves to others in their daily life, who protect the weak, care for the sick, fight for the oppressed and to give smiles and warmth even in the most difficult moments, as well as those who have worked in various fields for progress, for fundamental human rights and for the well-being of humanity.
What is the best thing that ever happened to the world?
It is difficult for me to choose something specific among the many that have allowed and still allow progress to develop in terms of civilization, culture and scientific and technological achievements.
Do you have a life credo or a principle that you follow?
I follow the principle: try to live in love and respect for others.