The Stranimali
Pantani Arte
San Gimignano
Vi San Martino 32, San Gimignano (SI)
Info@glistranimali.com
+39 3497743726
©
My story
Hello, my name is Paola and I live in a beautiful town in the heart of Tuscany called San Gimignano.
Ever since I was a child, I breathed the air of the workshop, among paintings, frames, and many other objects that seemed to magically come to life from my dad's hands, and it was he who passed on to me the value of handmade things. My father started what would later become our business by working his way up, first as a workshop boy in a local carpentry shop, then by starting his own business.
In the early 60s, he started with the production of furniture, then moved on to frames and canvases for painting, and at the end of the 70s he decided to open a gallery with an attached workshop in San Gimignano.
After our studies, my siblings and I decided to continue this wonderful work together with him, they as artists, with their paintings and all their artistic works, and I by managing the administrative, social, and commercial side, as well as everything related to public relations.
I approached the technique of needle felting during the lockdown period. I have always been fascinated by this art but had never had the time to really understand what it was about, but now I had all the time I wanted and so I bought my first felting kit online and started working.
From that moment a wonderful world opened up to me and it was beautiful because I was able to channel all my negative energy into this activity. At first, it's not easy at all to learn, you need a lot of patience and attention, because with the needle you can hurt yourself very easily. It was incredible to discover that so many wonders could come out of a ball of wool... and all with zero waste, since the leftover wool is never wasted, but is always reused.
I started by creating fantastic characters, always linked to the animal world: mice, cats... and since I had to give a name to my project, that's where Gli Stranimali. were born.
But my works are varied, I also really like making realistic animals such as dogs, cats, and woodland animals; the Fox, for example, is my favorite.
When I work with wool I feel like I'm entering another dimension, a dimension where tensions and bad thoughts disappear and where I can finally dream and become a child again for a while.
All my works are created entirely by hand, each of my creations is unique, I do not use models or patterns, everything comes from my imagination and from the ideas that are proposed to me.
The art workshop
In our gallery you will find only handmade items: frames, paintings, sculptures...
Ours is a craft tradition that has lasted for over eighty years.
All my works are available for purchase in my online shop or, if you like, come visit us in San Gimignano
The Stranimali
Pantani Arte
San Gimignano
Vi San Martino 32, San Gimignano (SI)
Info@glistranimali.com
+39 3497743726
©