Description: "While the story will forever be fiercely hers, Getting Dressed in the Dark opens a mirror or portal between D'Italia and her reader, inviting in all those attempting vulnerable journeys of discovery and creative birthings of their own. In each faceted chapter, D'Italia varyingly weaves or unweaves tendrils of her life's attempts at unbound meaning making. She writes from a commitment to bearing witness to our memorial identities housed in the keepsakes, wall coverings, table scratches, sent and unsent letters, kitchen utensils, fuzzy sweaters, worn paths and meals of our lives. Her narrative is sometimes devastating, but always important: a series of blazes along a path of truth and beauty. Even for those who tend not to notice resonances of their embedment in their surrounding worlds, this memoir will spark moments of recognition of our role in weaving narratives into and through our environments. For those already sensitive to these interweavings, the book will feel like a fortuitous lightning strike, providentially awakening new commitments within one's own journey of creativity and living well within life's complexities."--
Brief description: Gabriella D'Italia (she/her) is an interdisciplinary, award-winning fine artist. Her work explores home, nature, female identity and the contributions of these environments to our human wisdom and sustenance. She is best known for her highly inquisitive, pro-craft, feminist fiber works and multimedia collage. Her work has been exhibited at biennials, salons, embassies, and galleries internationally.Gabriella grew up in Morristown, NJ. After receiving her BA in Philosophy and the History of Science and Mathematics through the Great Books program at St. John's College, she moved to Boston and then Maine, where for two decades she immersed herself in costume design, quilting, leadership roles in nationally recognized fine craft organizations, and teaching courses on creativity. She holds an MFA in Intermedia from the University of Maine, Orono. Gabriella lives and works outside of New York City with her family.
Review Quotes:
- "We only see through things. They show us invisible worlds." In a memoir as poetic as it is refreshingly unconventional, Gabriella invites us on a journey through the complexities of her life, guided by her deep connection to the homes that shaped it. With thoughtful reflection, she explores how curiosity, conversation, and candescence infuse meaning into both our spaces and our stories, even amid the upheaval of shifting places, partnerships, and identities. Through her reexamination of what truly matters, Gabriella unearths fresh roots and reveals the everyday moments as invitations to rediscover her own (as well as our) wisdom and wholeness. Amanda Gibby Peters, Founder of Simple Shui and House Therapy
- "In this strikingly intimate and beautifully layered memoir, Gabriella D'Italia traces the dissolution of a 20-year marriage and polyamorous relationship, unraveling the intricate connections between love, betrayal, and creative devotion. Moving fluidly through past and present, she explores how the act of making art is inseparable from the act of living-and how a life in art is shaped by the people we create with, collide with, and sometimes lose. At its heart, this is also a story of inheritance, both literal and intangible: the objects, histories, and wounds we carry forward, and the unexpected beauty that can emerge even in the darkest times. A bold, luminous meditation on what it means to forge one's own path." Lana Wilson, Emmy-Winning Director
- What I'm reminded of over and over again while reading Getting Dressed in the Dark is our ability to form our lives and how, at the same time, our lives form us: our families and friends, our surroundings, the landscape, what we are inexplicably drawn to. I am reminded of the conscious and continuous commitment required to live in accordance to our beliefs. It is never smooth. We must keep coming back to what is important even when, especially when, it doesn't make sense to others...There is an admirable tenacity to how Gabriella insists on living her life. She constantly reflects and continues to find ways through meditation, therapies, contemplation and reflection. Her ability to take a raw exposed look at her life in its entirety provides an understanding of where she lives in the moment. It is the acceptance of constant change and fluctuation that moves us all to the next place. Linda K. Mead, Visual Artist and Printmaker
- "Part candid memoir, part philosophical meditation, Getting Dressed in the Dark is both a daringly intimate exploration of one woman's life, love, body, and art while also grappling profoundly with how we collectively make, resist, and bend meaning in our larger cultural landscape. A book to be savored and re-read, especially now." Gina Frangello, author of Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism, and Treason and Elena Ferrante: The Neapolitan Novels