Red II Painting

‪I am Sandra Maria Cagol. I was born on the 8th of March 1974 in Caxias do Sul, southern Brazil.‬ ‪My great grandparents migrated from northern Italy to Brazil at the end of the eighteenth century and found themselves surrounded by jungle. They began to develop the area, they worked and earned little money from the land. They built houses, produced food and made clothes. ‪My father used to make wine and I remember the colours and smells of the grape juices, also not forgetting the rain and the wet leaves on the ground. I was often found playing with my sisters in wineries and on the farm, surrounded by plants and jungle.‬ ‪Life in the countryside was delightfully delicious, so many vegetables and varieties of fruits including grapes, oranges, peaches and many many others.‬ ‪My desire for art started at early age, I enjoyed drawing at primary school and when I was 15 my father took me to a short course in fashion design. I quickly fell in love with drawing fashion. It was multi-sensual with many different styles. A new world for me. Later I went to university and took a degree in fashion design, after which I got a job with a local textile company creating fabrics, jacquard patterns and fashion drawings.‬ ‪In 1998 I was studying Italian and decided to visit Italy. An organisation called Rotary Club helped me and other young people visit these places and get know their origins. It was my first time out of Brazil and it was lovely to see the old villages where my ancestors came from. We stayed with local Italian families who were warm, welcoming and were happy to show us around.‬ ‪In 1999 I arrived in London. After few months I decided to stay and take my post Graduate Course in fashion in the city. London quickly became my home as I found it to be so cosmopolitan and cultural. I’m always surrounded by such inspiring fashion, art and architecture.‬ ‪I had some work experiences in fashion design, for some designers as Vivienne Westwood after that, I decided to engage in career in fashion retail. During my free time at home and at school of Art in Putney I practised screen printing, painting with oil and acrylics and became more interested in Art.‬ ‪I want to express myself, something inside my mind wants to take shape. Becoming an artist has been a such great experience. The moment I decided to have an art studio I understood that I had always wanted to communicate with people through Art.‬ ‪Art completes me.