‘Flying Gecko’ – Lucia Masciullo – the bid is at $160

For their daughter’s fourth birthday, Lucia Masciullo and her husband presented their daughter with a handsome owl-printed kite.

Later, on a very windy day, Lucia found herself running after that same kite, now escaping over the open ocean with her daughter crying out fearfully from behind her. Lucia is a good runner, but she was no match for the kites prowess that day.

‘…whether she got distracted or just wanted to test the consequences, she let go of the string,’ Lucia remembers. ‘The kite flew away towards the sea.

‘It kept flying away, finally free from human hands, becoming smaller and smaller on the horizon until it disappeared in the direction of a pink building in Palm Beach.’

And so, the distraught and windswept family swiftly bundled into the car and sped off to track the wayward kite. It was soon found enmeshed fortuitously in an electric line. ‘I knocked on the door, explained the situation (and at first, the owners were skeptical, thinking I was trying to sell them something). But when they saw the kite still flying, they helped me untangle the string and returned the kite to a little girl with a big smile. From that day on, she’s held the kite handle quite firmly.’

Lucia has more than 30 books behind her as well as several intriguing lives. She speaks in a lilting Italian accent that melts all worry away and finds pieces of hope and peace in the words of someone like Wisława Szymborska, a polish poet who captures the simple pleasures of life couched within eternity in a comforting and somewhat pragmatic way.

‘For myself and the world around me I hope for understanding of what truly matters in life, that’s all. And to remember, as the poet Wisława Szymborska said, that “nothing’s a gift; everything is borrowed.” In the end, we must give everything back.’

In the same vein she also enjoys, ‘My Neighbour Totoro’, a film by Hayao Miyazaki and one of her own collaborations ‘Eat My Dust!’ Written by Neridah McMullin, telling the story of Jean Robertson and Kathleen Howell.

Lucia began her life in Livorno, Italy.

‘I grew up in an apartment in the centre of a busy town in Italy with no parks nearby,’ Lucia said.

‘My favourite game was playing Lego with my little brother. Japanese anime series of giant robots were popular at the time, so we used our limited variety of Lego City pieces to build robots that could stand and move a little bit. Our imaginations filled in what the technology lacked.’

In Italy Lucia exercised her love of science, studying and then working for some time as a biologist, however this lifestyle gradually paled and grew tedious, due to its repetitive nature and lab setting.

In 2007, Lucia followed her husband to Australia and began to send out some of her illustration work. She had completed a course in Florence where they had seen potential and encouraged her. Lucia soon received an offer to illustrate a book and began building her portfolio as a working illustrator. She never looked back.

Lucia enjoys expanding her tool set, however she most often uses watercolours, pencils, collage and acrylic to create. Her characters are often stylised and never fail to be dressed in vibrant, memorable attire. Her art works are subtly recognisable through their often greenish, yellow hues with gorgeous, finely drawn shading.

Lucia also has a striking ability to depict weather that wonderfully supports any story she chooses to take on. For example, the change to sudden rough storm in ‘Come Down Cat!’ written by Sonya Hartnett, and the calm yet thrilling dawn  in ‘Eat My Dust’ setting the atmosphere of fresh and daring anticipation, before two women set off on an historical race.

Some other lovely collaborations include: ‘Dragon Folding’ with Christopher Cheng, ‘Olive’ with Edwina Wyatt and ‘Go Home Cat’ with Sonya Hartnett. These are mostly quite traditional in style and tend towards fairytale, however some more abstract, folk work is included in the poetry collection ‘Moonfish’ by Harry Laing.

Lucia is very much at home in Australia after almost 20 years, however her Italian cultural roots remain strong and I wondered how much they still influenced her.

‘My best childhood memories come from my grandparents’ house in the countryside,’ she said. ‘We visited them regularly on weekends, and in summer stayed without our parents. It was wonderful—freedom to run on the lawn, play with mud, discover plants and insects in the garden, and splash around with all sorts of colours. My nonna (a former teacher) always had activities for us to do. I remember catching fireflies to place under a glass in summer, pressing grapes to make wine in autumn, and gathering chestnuts in winter to roast in the fireplace. 

She goes on to speak about what she loves most about living in Australia.

‘I love being outdoors when I’m not at work, and here on the Gold Coast, there’s everything I enjoy.

‘I live in a quiet, green suburb, with pleasant weather in every season, and both the beach and the mountains are just 20 minutes away. Most importantly, the people are incredibly friendly. Coming from Italy, we found it fascinating—and a bit surprising—that we can accidentally leave the garage open in the morning (it’s happened a couple of times, maybe three!) and discover in the afternoon that nothing has been taken.

‘On top of all this, I feel so lucky to live in a country where creatives are respected and can make a living from their work.’

When it comes to being a full-time artist, Lucia says somewhat mischievously: ‘What I love is having time to think and plan, Scheduling holidays when everyone else is at work, visiting galleries, libraries, reading books, and saying, “I’m at work.”’

Lucia’s kite is drawn in acrylic paints and Lucia’s trademark green and yellow. Though robust, the kite remains lightweight through the use of foam, in case anyone wants to let the little creature roam freely in the skies or, just to hang it with ease.

‘I went with one of the cutest, funniest animals I know: the gecko,’ Lucia said.

‘I love geckos. Maybe it’s because they remind me of my childhood, when summer evenings were spent watching geckos catching insects that flew around the lamps. Or perhaps it’s the gecko in my studio, who announces the evening’s arrival and reminds me it’s time to stop working.’ 

Lucia explained that the design was inspired by the flying dragon lizard (Draco volans), which has a colourful flap of skin extending from its throat that lets it glide from tree to tree in Asian forests. ‘For the tail, I cut small foam pieces and attached them to a matching wool thread to create a sort of 3D effect. I added big eyes, a wide, toothy smile, and some pearl stickers to complete the look.’

by Adelaide Stolba