Francesco Tataranni
- City
- Matera
- Country
- Italy
My name is Francesco, I’m 33, and I’m a simple, kind, and somewhat introverted guy. I have many passions, including artistic practices, especially wood carving. I’ve been practicing it for less than three years, but I’m passionate about it and eager to experiment and learn. I also love painting; in fact, combining the two artistic techniques comes naturally to me. I work primarily with lime wood, creating charming, brightly colored sculptures, and I’m specializing in puppet making. I adore them and would love to work with them in the future. I love what I do because it allows me to express myself and have fun, and it’s also a way to live a slower life, meditating and becoming more self-aware. I sincerely hope this becomes my dream job in the future.
For now, carving is a passion and a great hobby, even though I spend many hours every day working on it. I’m working on setting up my own small business as a professional craftsman and I hope I can succeed. I’ve been doing it for almost three years. I’ve always been drawn to carving, and in recent years I picked up a knife and a block of wood for the first time and immediately fell in love. I love doing everything by hand and I mainly use carving knives and gouges. The rest is all magic and passion.
Artworks
This work of mine is a puppet named "Francesco," just like me; it was my first puppet ever, and I was very happy with the result. It's inspired by tradition, like Pinocchio, but with a modern twist and more sinuous forms. As with all my work, I was inspired by a magical, almost fairytale-like, and innocent world. The piece is made of linden wood and colored with watercolors. It features all the classic puppet joints, and by attaching strings, it can be used for dedicated theatrical performances.
This work of mine is a puppet named "Little Red Riding Hood" my second. It too is inspired by a specific character, whose name it bears, a classic fairy tale known throughout Europe, and I have revisited it, letting my imagination run wild. The piece is made of lime wood and colored with watercolors. It also features fake glasses made of brass filament. It features all the classic puppet joints, and by attaching strings, it can be used for dedicated theatrical performances.
This piece is a bowl for holding objects or simply for display, crafted entirely by hand from olive wood, a wood typical of Southern Italy and where I live, Matera, in Basilicata. I wanted to showcase a block of wood with this unique texture because, for me, it's incredibly elegant. I gave the bowl a rough, irregular look to highlight the ancient soul of this beautiful wood, which for us is truly cultural. Finally, I nourished and polished it with extra virgin olive oil.