Poet of Papyrus: Francesca Vitali

Francesca Vitali
Specialty: Jewelry, exploring paper as a medium
Most Recent Craft Show: Washington Craft Show
Upcoming Craft Show: None Planned for 2013

Paper. It's usually something you write on, or put into your printer, or hold between your hands as a magazine or a book. Although the modern day has brought the material into use in the wearable art field, few have dealt with it so originally and spectacularly as Francesca Vitali, an Italian who immigrated to the United States. Although trained as a chemist, Vitali found inspiration in American propensity to shift careers within the course of one's life.

Satelliti (Satellites) brooch of repurposed paper, sterling silver; woven, 2010.

  
    Craft was not unfamiliar to her, however; indeed, as a young girl she was already making jewelry. Paper was quickly realized as a useful medium for her early experimentation; she recalls, “The first piece that I have ever made of paper was a very long necklace made of strung paper beads, and the paper was from a clothing line catalog. I’m amazed I still remember that!” It was the endless range of colors available from magazines and other publications that lit her imagination. Just by re-using old paper products, she had a limitless palette to choose from.

A Mano Libera Series, Aspide (Freehand Series, Asp) necklace of recycled paper, sterling silver, nylon coated steel cable; woven, 2011.

    Vitali’s self-taught techniques yield suprising results. Most of her pieces are composed of many tight composite folds, which then are wound around each other to produce organic and geometric shapes. Each fold exposes the color of the glossy paper, and Vitali makes sure to add in variation to make for spicy designs. A coiling spiral wave form made from gold and white paper, with a black border is threaded through with wire to make a necklace; the voluminous shape is as magnificent a pendant as any gemstone. The piece, Aspide, or Asp, is broad enough to almost be a pectoral. Vitali’s work uses weaving techniques to achieve this luminous final product. This series, A Mano Libera, takes a single long woven element which is then shaped in a manner similar to a freeform drawing.

Connessioni (Connections) necklace of recycled paper, magnet; woven, 2012.

    “I have mastered my weaving technique and my new challenges are striving to find new structures, new shapes and new ways of transforming paper,” she says. An example of these challenges is her new piece Connessioni. “The new necklace was inspired by one of my favorite color combination (red/black and white) and paper combination (repurposed paper/book pages). I wanted to connect all these elements into a necklace made only of paper,” Vitali explains. “And of course the name of the piece “Connessioni” means connections!”

    In contrast to A Mano Libre, in Connessioni the paper itself is the necklace, “wire”, clasp and all. The interwoven connection between red and white paper appears to be not only functional, providing some give to the necklace, but also a visual centerpoint. Abbraccio is another completely paper design which features a closure at the back, like a torque. Simply shaped, here it is Vitali’s use of color that commends the piece; the glossy purple, pink and deep red are a resonant combination.

Abbraccio (Embrace) necklace of repurposed paper; woven, 2012.

    Francesca’s description of the creative state pays homage to that same ineffable source of inspiration that many artists relate to. “Mostly I work at night in my studio, when the rest of the house is quite and asleep,” Vitali explains. “That is a magic time of my day, as a matter of fact my studio is a small sunroom with three walls made of windows, so I’m practically in the middle of the dark. On one side there is a hill and the rest is just neighbors backyards. Everything is still except my hands and my brain. I spend most of my time weaving while thinking of new pieces, just writing about it puts me in that happy state that I’m not sure I can really describe… I just want to make a new piece!”

Selection of Vitali's work at her booth in the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show 2012.

    As part of her picking up a new career in the United States, Vitali has taken many classes in order to learn metalsmithing techniques to incorporate into her work. Early admirers of her jewelry will remember her aluminum cuff "sheller" or "shelly" bracelets, where only a quarter of the diameter of the circular design contains woven paper. The paper provides the color, rendering the piece a picture of elegant simplicity. Vitali has worked metal into a number of her pieces, however has recently found herself trending back to using paper alone.

“For years, I have worked a lot on paper and metal, always trying to figure more ways to combine these two elements,” she describes, “but recently in the past year and half I found that I’m very attracted by paper only. In a way I’m going back where all started. The only difference now is that I’m doing it as a conscious choice over incorporating other material.”

Having come full circle, Vitali is juggling her jewelrymaking with her baby daughter, Penelope. Continuing to impress, her vibrant and unusual pieces stand out in both technical skill and aesthetic sense. Who knew paper could be so fashionable?

More of her work can be found here.

Illusione Ottica (Optical Illusion) bracelets of repurposed
paper; woven, 2012.