text Martina Olivieri
Virginia Di Giorgio, the enchanting artist
Our interview with the creator and illustrator of Virgola
When did you first feel the creative spark?
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I remember when I was little, I’d go to my grandmother’s and she’d give me the pieces of card used for packaging stockings to draw on. The materials have changed now, but the determination is the same.
How did Virgola come about?
Almost by chance - she was a card for my boyfriend, a little girl without a name holding a heart. She was not conceived to be sold, she created her own space and I let her run with it. She even took my name - Virgola was my childhood nickname.
What do Virginia and Virgola have in common?
Not much really. I’m very cynical, less of a dreamer and romantic than my little character. Virgola is the projection of a part of me that I’m constantly trying to overcome, but which is there.
Where do you find inspiration for your drawings? In art - I often go to exhibitions and museums because they’re places that make me feel good. In music, because I believe that union between the arts leads to more interesting results. Rarely in people, I aspire to less fragile models.
How come you never draw her mouth?
It seemed a funnier face to me. Then I realized that without a mouth or eyebrows her face reflects the emotions we want to give it. The same drawing can seem sad to some people and funny to others, they can overwrite it with their feelings.
Florence in three of your favourite places.
Fiesole, I’d escape there every time I needed to get in touch with nature and with myself. The Uffizi, it’s my sacred place. Lastly, the San Marco area where I feel at home and protected.
Tell us about two (Florentine) monuments that speak to you.
Santa Croce, which feels like a friend. The Baptistry, makes me feel part of something immense.
