What’s the best thing I love about my job?

What I continue to love in my work is the feeling of being a source, a treasure chest. For me, creating has always been an occasion for amazement, surprise. What I finally realize, in part corresponds and in part is other than the initial vision because creating is a becoming, something that happens while it takes shape. I have the feeling that I am governing the subject, but I also prepare myself to accept what chance suggests to me. The condition is that of dialogue, with the figures and their forms, with colors and, last but not least, with matter

What is my idea of ​​happiness?

Living inspired, in deep harmony with my feelings. To live in truth, without hiding and without the suffocating dust that generates the fear of manifestation.

What is my biggest fear?

Being betrayed by dreams, and by those I trust.

What is the trait I most regret in myself?

Fear, when it stops me or compromises me

Which living people in my profession do I admire the most?

Those whose life is fused, one with what they dedicate themselves to and what they love

What is my biggest extravagance?

Perhaps the discomfort that words generate

On what occasion would I lie?

For the love of a dream to tell

What is the thing I don’t like most about my job?

Which transcends me, which surpasses me, which is beyond everyday life, beyond the experience of everyday life

When and where was I happiest in my job?

When I thought it was easier and more natural to find a space for your own world

If I could, what would I change about myself?

The shield I can adopt to defend myself, devaluing and doubting the value of what I want

What is my biggest success in the job?

For now it is to have reached with the books I have illustrated, many countries and therefore readers of the world

Where would I most like to live?

In a place between land and sea where nature is still uncontaminated, and those who live there know how to respect and honor it

What is my most precious asset?

My imagination and the ability to value it

What is my most prominent feature?

I think it is that I have not yet given up on wanting and suffering for what I consider unfair and squalid

What is the place that inspires me the most, in my city?

A small square overlooked by the apse of the Church of S. Domenico

What is my favorite place to eat and drink in my city?

A small restaurant, Serghej, run for decades by a single family, with few dishes on offer but prepared with infinite care

Which books have influenced my life and how?

The first book that really marked me, I read it as a teenager, while my companions were on a trip I rummaged in a dusty hotel library, and I was attracted by this book with a dark cover: The mirror and the shadow, by Giuseppe Barbieri . I still refer to some episodes narrated to tell aspects of the human soul. Finding it used in a banquet, I bought it again. Now I have two copies: the first copy in fact I had stolen from those forgotten shelves in an austere and dark corridor … I’m not ashamed, it was an act of passion

You only die once. What music would I listen to on my last day?

The fog, by Kate Bush with that final thunderous ancestral laugh that always excites me

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?

Difficult to identify a single name … Difficult and perhaps unfair … I risk naming Karen Blixen

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?

Those who know how to escape the surface noise to follow their vocation and talent, armed above all with the tools of poetry

Which movie would I recommend to see once in a lifetime?

Elephant man by David Lynch. It remained indelible …

What role do stories play in my life and in my work?

I am aware that everything is the result of stories, hypotheses, interpretations. All. History itself and religions are sometimes absurd, or fantastic, bizarre, sometimes ferocious tales. Science is also partly a story. So I think it is necessary to develop a story for oneself to be pursued to fall in love with

What do the words “You are the narrator of your own life” tell me?

In part I am, in part I agree with those philosophers who claim that we are thrown into life, without being questioned. Nonetheless, I try every day to be the author of my narrative

Which people or companies would I like to work with in 2021?

I would like my works to be exhibited in international galleries and museums, or purchased by collectors who are passionate about my work. It may seem strange, but I don’t have precise names in mind …

What people in my profession who can really make a difference in my creative career would I like to meet in 2021?

I think of Kate Bush, I would like to make images of her to accompany her music, and to introduce her to my paintings, as well as for Lisa Gerrard and for Bjork.

What project, in 2021, am I looking forward to working on?

I have just started an important project and I work on it with great dedication, I hope it will get attention and follow up

Where can you see me or my work in 2021?

For now only on my website: http://www.octaviamonaco.com, or on my facebook page where I publish only posts related to my works, reporting their symbolic meanings or proposing cultural ideas

What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me?

They mean that the internal fire is a resource that cannot be extinguished as it gives meaning to our life, it motivates our actions and thinking and telling

Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story?

I rely on Peter, he who created this collection of people, he will be able to identify the most appropriate ones …

How can you contact me?

I prefer contacts via e-mail or facebook:

octavia@octaviamonaco.com