Project: The Endless City

A couple of years ago me and my dad started to work on some children books...he invented and build a matrix to make a book...from a big piece of paper..
the idea was first to draw on this poster a story, cut, fold the poster following the line of the matrix and make a book.
It sounds very difficult but at the end it s a fun and easy process.
all the drawings made on the big paper at the end were cut...folded...destroyed...re-visited in this new book where the kids can draw their own story following some traces...

we started with "la Città Infinta" - the endless city - where i draw on his book a fantastic city  made of square...rectangular...tall...short buildings...blue ocean with red fishes...big trees...red bikes...stairs...falling moons...
The book was amazing, i drew it in one night and he printed in one day...the kids and less kids loved it.

we decided to keep going with the project and we made 2 other books:
- "La città altrove" en."a city somewhere" else with all pictures made  in different country and cities
-" Traccè" en. "Traces" made as  "Libro Nero" ,using a peculiar tecnique with a black ink, a stone and a roller. (we used the roller to spread the ink on the stone...then to spread the ink on pieces of paper cut and paste on the book creating different shapes and figures. The ink stays black just in some part leaving white edges and creating drawings ...i know..it sounds amazing!)

A publisher saw the books , he loved the idea and he wanted to do a series of children books from our work...we were so extited...after a year we are still waiting to be published :)

One year ago i was showing the books and T-shirt i made from those drawings to my friend Susan, i was telling her about my idea to show the books to some publisher here in Usa and to make t-shirts or prints from the drawings..i always tried to capitalized and monetize my art and my dad's art (that has a major value)...usually with no-profit result! But a lot of satisfaction :)

We ended up to start  this project called " the Endless city".
The Endless City...the name already has a lot of to say...a series of children books where kids can create their own story...but they also learn about 5 stories of 5 different kids who live in 5 different endless cities...all over the world!
Why?
Because we are aware that kids...and also a lot of adults don't know anything about what happened outside their own country! Probably it s not just about this country...probably we became so lazy that beside the summer trip we stopped to travel outside our countries and learn about different cultures...travelling...not just by airplane but with our curiosity...with our mind and eyes....

After one year this morning i received a call..
Su:do you want to come over and have lunch?
Se: Sure i will bring my pc so we can work a little..."

It usually doesn't happen ...to work...because of the wine that makes us too happy to concentrate on serious works...because of the tv and the milion of reality or comedy that become twice funny after a couple of bottle of wines or because we love chatting and gossiping till our trhout is so dry we have to stop...and open another bottle of wine.
anyway...today was a different day...no tv, no too much wine, no stupid reality show or gossip..no excuses
today we felt we wanted to work on an interesting project and we did...

We started "the Endless City"!

We sit there for hours thinking of which cities could be considered "the endless city", which kind of problems and cultural differences we could show to American Kids ( and hopefully kids from all over the world)...
we studied ...we researched and after a long conversation we chose the 5 cities...but we also decided that the cities could change if we find them inappropriate for the project.
- Nairobi, Nigeria
- Calcutta, India
- New York, Usa
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Baghdad, Iraq

we started to study Nairobi and its Kibera, a slum where 1.5 milion of people lives...Understand all the aspects of it..its enorminity, its poverty, its culture.

we started to learn about something we would like to teach ...The difference..

We are studying now...but soon we will build characters and drawings...it would be a challenge teach to the kids from all over the world that life is not everywhere like in their own town...touching arguments that sometimes are not properly for kids through colors, fairies and drawings!

This is a briefly explanation of one day of work.

Cheers.

The Endless City...is coming soon!

S.