@tonimaugeriartwork •
5 Questions:
1. My Great Grandfather Bartholomew Maugeri came to the United States from Sicily in 1905 for political reasons.
2. Our immigration story has created a strong family bond. The hardships and loss my brothers and I experienced at very young ages created an unbreakable bond and loyalty between us. We are all three creatives with roots in our Sicilian heritage. We witnessed the colorful generations of our family and are proud of the accomplishments, unity, and compassion all of them made possible for us.
3. Home is solace, and my personality makes it necessary to retreat to quiet places. I created a space called Home that is warm and comforting to myself and others. Here … I make art and curate art and nature from all of my life’s journeys. But of late ~ I have come to realize home is wherever I am, and I will always hold my family and memories in my heart and soul.
4. I feel the pull between my family and my roots the strongest at times of trouble. I am a magical thinker involved in ritual oracle as were my Sicilian ancestors. So I turn to Self, Community, Nature and Spirit with respect.
5. My hope is centered around faith in beauty, nature, and people. My dreams are to learn, create and spread kindness.
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Bio | Art Statement
I am a visionary teller of tales crafted by editing and reinterpreting big and small moments. Subtle narrative interpretations of mystery, imagination, and humor captured from our constantly changing lives are spun from my observation with positive intent.
In my work, I externalize what I see in my mind’s eye and feel in my bones. I invite interactive ritual through my assemblage and mixed media artwork. Charged objects, organic materials, relics, mementos, and artifacts are combined and cold connected with mixed media materials, trinkets, and discarded urban decay to create altars and reliquary boxes from beginning to middle to end. Some ideas take the form of tomes and two-dimensional artworks.
I invite you to open books, open doors, explore objects, and give meaning. My interactive artwork is meant to engage the viewer in the joy of personal crossings that unfold slowly and naturally … in all their glorious grit … for better or worse.
Let’s all explore and meet the most marvelous people!
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Memento Interwoven, Assemblage
MEMENTO INTERTWINED is an homage to my powerful, magical women ancestors. I am celebrating the stories they gave me and the parts of my character they gave me.
Making this piece, I learned that we are all Self and Community. I mean, we are all that we are and all from the cosmic soup that preceded us. Forever intertwined.
When I think about immigration on a personal level, it is overwhelming. I wonder about the voyage of my Grandfather from Sicily to New York. I remember all the colorful characters and their very real struggles and accomplishments. The laughter and sadness. All the occupations, from steel workers to divers to tugboat captains. The traditions and cooking competitions. I see me woven into the fabric of all of them. I feel the immense power of the women I come from and the strong thread of creativity.
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