IN Fox Chapel Area Winter 2018 | Page 40

s g n i th ART ALL Artissima Studio offers unique opportunities for all ages as a center for culture and creativity in Fox Chapel. BY NICOLE TAFE C ara Livorio is sharing her passion—bringing art of all kinds to Fox Chapel with Artissima Studio, an art school, event venue, art gallery and center for culture and creativity as well as a craft boutique that promotes local artists. A native of New Kensington, Livorio, 33, obtained her BFA in drawing and painting from the Pennsylvania State University at University Park with a minor in art history and Italian. After her undergraduate studies at PSU, she moved to Milan, Italy, to pursue graduate studies in visual art and curatorship at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti. While there, Livorio organized several art projects where she painted 38 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE ❘ icmags.com murals in hospitals and in clinical settings in the city. Her largest mural commission was for the Children’s Hospital “Vittore Buzzi” north of Milan, where she organized a group of talented fellow art students to reimagine the neurology wing that was under construction in the hospital. This collaborative project included whimsical murals, wall colors, graphic panels, photography and lighting design suggestions. “It was an amazing and rewarding challenge to pursue this project in my adopted country, and it was a great opportunity for me to paint my designs on expansive walls,” says Livorio. She soon landed a job as an art and art history instructor at a private school north of Milan, teaching art and art history to middle school and high school