I often have these wonderful moments of disbelief when I learn who my friends and neighbors are. My introduction to  Maria Carluccio was no exception.  One look at her website, and I ran to both of my kids' rooms and laughed out loud.  The artist who designed and painted several pieces of art on my children's walls lives right here in The Rivertowns. How could I not have know that? The art came from major suppliers of kids décor, including Land of Nod and Oopsy Daisy, but the artist lives right here. Carluccio's skill include: collage, illustration and her site also showcases some cool pieces done using a technique called aquatint.  Her talent and creativity is immeasurable and just reading about Carluccio on her site is enough to inspire anyone.

I recently met with Carluccio, who filled me in on her inspirations, art and life in the Rivertowns.

Patch: Tell me about your new book: I'm 3, Look What I Can Do?

Carluccio: Basically, when my daughter was a toddler, she was very into proclaiming how she could do things for herself. I began to notice how important it was to point out the things she could do herself, to encourage the independence. So I threw the idea out to my publisher. She too had a toddler at the time and immediate agreed that it would be a nice idea for a book. It's been really fun for me to experiment with the look of the book. I tried to keep the images simple and graphic but also fun and loose at the same time. I love to mix all sorts of papers and media in my work. I created the collages in Photoshop for this book, not by hand (which I usually do). I enjoy working digitally but making it look like it's got a hand done feel. 

Patch: Is it part of a series or are each of your books their own separate story?

Carluccio: Well, we have talked about other books that could be a part of a series from this but right now we've not figured that out. I'll have to see. I've thought of doing a book titled something like I'm 6, This is Me. I would like to continue this as a series if that's possible.

Patch: What inspired you to write children's books?  Do you have a favorite children's author you have drawn from, or is it all from your personal experiences?

Carluccio: I have loved children's book for ages. I remember as a young child I was always scanning books to examine the pictures, even before I could read. I began writing stories for children after I returned from living abroad for a few years (I was in my 20's, I guess). I spent so many years just drawing and collecting things in sketchbooks, doing odd jobs to just be able to see the world. After that period of wandering around I came to the conclusion I wanted to do this all the time. I have so many favorite author/illustrators. A few that have influenced me a lot are: Giselle Potter, Catia Chien, Robert Roth, Sara Fanelli, Jon Klassen, Oliver Jeffers, Marc Boutavant, Isabelle Arsenault and Mique Mioruchi....just to name a few, god there are so many more. 

Patch: Was it a natural progression from your incredible artwork?

Carluccio:  Hmmnn...Natural progression? Are you referring to a progression from visual artist to commercial artist? I guess I feel blessed enough to have been able to just keep myself going by taking on projects that I'm interested in. Luckily I find that things come to me for a reason, stuff that I feel is the right challenge. Like for example, I started a blog about a year ago (www.fiftytwoflowers.blogspot.com). It's a place for me to experiment and just force myself to put my thoughts and art it out there. I've had some interesting things come about by doing that. Stuff that encourages me to keep making new art.  I once heard a chef say, "make the food and people will come", I like to say, and "put the art out there and people will come". 

Patch: Let's talk about your art.  I know a lot of it is for sale via Land of Nod, Target,Oopsy Daisy, Pottery Barn.  Do you customize for individual buyers?

Carluccio: Well, I do think a good client relationship is so important. I believe anyone will do better work when they can communicate clearly and easily with the client. When you feel safe and open you can give all of yourself with out worrying about all the rest of the details, and sometimes there are lot and lots of details. I like to work closely with my clients but every situation is different. Creative solutions come about from many different ways.

Patch: What about the Rivertowns inspires you? 

Carluccio: I just love being close to nature. I am really at peace when I can walk in the woods near my house. It just forces me to slow down and keep perspective. I also love being close to the Hudson River. I've written many poems and stories about the river and specific things I love about nature.

Don't miss out on the chance to meet Carluccio today at the James Harmon Community Center's Holiday Book Signing (44 Main Street in Hastings) brought to you by Galapogos Books.  She will be there from 2-5p.m. signing copies of "I'm 3, Look What I Can Do!"  And if you are like me and can't get enough of her wonderful creations from books and paintings, get ready because next year she will be launching a new wall decal company with her business partner.  The company will sell removable wall stickers for kids' rooms that are wonderful solutions to not being able to decide what to do in a room. Even better, they're affordable.  Also in the works is a book called "Circle Rolls" due out sometime next year.