Memories of Murano Mary Ann Zynsky  1951–

There are people who think you can have more than one life, that you can be reborn over and over again. Even I have this sensation of having taken this path several times. And each time I do, I do not deny my past lives; rather I integrate them into my current experience.

The last time I remember having this sensation was several years ago and it was like a big explosion introducing me to completely new feelings. I don’t know whether to call it freedom or something related to an even bigger consciousness. I often find myself in foreign lands, just like Corto Maltese, the traveller from Hugo Pratt–a figure I have always admired. He has been, among other things, the inspiration of the names and forms of my works. Like, for example, the sinuous canoes that look like birds and the birds that resemble boats–objects that I define as “flying shapes.” Just like Corto Maltese, whatever situation I am in, I try to remain myself–a little bit Byzantine and a little bit modern–tied to the tradition of the past but with an eye, day after day, towards the future. And if I could, I would do just like Corto: I would cut the palm of my hand so this could not be predestined.

Still alive in me is the spirit of the young apprentice: full of enthusiasm with the desire to try a new path but always with Him–the glass–my biggest friend. This is the one that helps me in the most difficult moments, the one that inspires me and will always be able to show me the path to follow.