International Artist Tito Mangiola

Living in Wellington and Painting with a Purpose

Story by Krista Martinelli

Behind every Tito Mangiola painting or piece of art, there is a story. “His paintings have a lyrical quality to them,” says his wife Leonarda, who teaches art at the Dillon Country Day School. One of the paintings that captured the most attention is named, “An Italian Comedy: Il Bracco Italiano.” The painting is a humorous, in-the-moment criticism of the politics of Italy, where Tito comes from originally. From left to right, he included the players in their roles as “judge,” “politician,” “religious leader,” “dog,” “fly” and “Mafia.” He boldly called out the corrupt forces that were in power, putting a face on each one.

Tito Maan-Mangiola had entered the painting into a national exhibition and competition, not knowing if the judges would appreciate his playful portrait of corruption in Italy. Meanwhile, he had attempted to become a U.S. citizen, but was denied his citizenship.

“I had too many children to be granted my citizenship,” says Tito. He explains that his four children at the time were considered a liability (even though they were all living in Europe), when immigration officials were aiming to keep numbers as low as possible. Meanwhile, Tito won first place for “An Italian Comedy” in the 60^th Annual National Exhibition of Contemporary American Paintings in 1999. “As soon as I won that award for that painting, my citizenship was no longer a problem,” says Tito. He was granted citizenship later that same year after winning the award. “I owe my citizenship to this painting,” he says.

Tito lives, breathes, talks and creates art. He is passionate about

 many things, including opera, watching polo, entertaining and teaching; however, his drive to create art transcends all else. He decided to become an artist when he was just eight years old. In his Italian school, he found himself getting in trouble with the teachers for being color blind. In fact, in an era when students would get slapped on the hand for things like being left-handed or, in Tito’s case, for being color blind, it was more critical to overcome. Instead of turning him away from art, the punishments he endured made him determined to become an artist.

Learning colors by numbers of calibration and constantly looking them up, Tito worked on his art with painstaking effort. As he began to excel in it, he took more and more classes. “I drove my mother crazy,” says Tito. “I kept switching my major every two years.” He studied oil painting, tapestry, jewelry, wood sculpture and many other arts. This kind of dabbling was not how things were done in Italy at the time, explains Tito. You were expected to choose your major, stick with it and get on with your career. However, Tito’s hunger for more art classes seemed insatiable.

As a child, he lived in Calabria, located in the “tip of the boot” in Southern Italy, a town with “not a lot of money,” according to Tito. While expensive paints and art supplies were hard to come by, it was easy to get a hold of spare chalk, a household item. So Tito began drawing in chalk and selling his chalk drawings for very small amounts or sometimes in even exchange for ice cream. He was inspired by several artists, in particular, Caravaggio and Bruegel.

Today in his home in Wellington, Florida, Tito displays many of his own paintings, as well as his homages to various artists like Bruegel, Chagall, Toulouse Lautrec and others. In fact, every inch of Tito and Leonarda’s home is filled with art. They have a deep appreciation for beauty, as well as a sense of humor which contributes some whimsical ceramic items into the mix.

The Village of Wellington proudly displays one of Tito’s trademark mosaic-style paintings. It’s a polo-themed tribute to Wellington and hangs on the wall in the lobby of the Wellington Community Center.

This “faux mosaic” style is an unusual way of oil painting. From afar, it looks like a real mosaic. Tito explains that he generally does a painting in three versions, getting to know his subject quite well by the time he is finished.

A limited edition painting (Epreuve d’Artiste) can be seen at the Palm Beach Airport on the second level. It’s permanently exhibited there, as it was a donation from Tito Mangiola to the community.

In 2007, Tito Mangiola and his family met the former President Jimmy Carter and his wife in Plains, Georgia. For this occasion, he donated a Limited Edition painting entitled, “Excluded World II.” Mangiola was impressed with the accomplishments of President Carter, even after serving as President and delighted with his hospitality. Of course, not all of Mangiola’s paintings take a political stance, but when they do, he has no problem with telling the story exactly as he sees it, often adding a bit of his humor too.

One of his paintings that is loaded with symbolism and possible interpretations is called “In the Name of God.”  Sometimes Tito and Leonarda refer to it as the “9/11 painting.”  In his own words, Tito explains, “’In the Name of God’ has been for centuries used to justify our means aggressively, resulting in countless acts of destruction and genocide.” He continues, “At the center of this artwork, an Orthodox Serb is aggressively pointing a weapon to try to justify all of the atrocity committed by him or against him. Around him different

religious symbols mixed with atrocious scenes form a garland of war scenes: Christians, Jews, Muslims’ battles and invasion crusades, as well as the African tribal fight like the Uganda tragedy.” At the bottom of the painting is a depiction of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers from September 11^th. It is a thought-provoking piece that brings to mind the many atrocities that have been committed over the ages, all “in the name of God.”

Tito has lived all over the world and brings an informed and eclectic viewpoint to his art. He grew up in Italy and stayed until the age of 18. He then moved onto Switzerland and lived there for 23 years. He also has lived for shorter periods of time in Austria, Germany, France, Holland and Australia. In 1992, Tito and his wife Leonarda moved to Wellington, Florida. After searching Florida for the right place, they were attracted to Wellington because of the polo and the beauty of the village. They bought two houses, one to live in and one to rent out in the polo season. Tito devotes a good portion of his artworks to the subject of polo and some of these works can be seen on his website under “Equestrian Art.” Tito says that he is fond of inserting horses and dogs into his paintings, whenever possible, as he is fond of both of them.

Both Tito and Leonarda teach art. Tito teaches adult education classes in the evenings at Royal Palm Beach High School, as well as tutoring young students in art in after-school lessons at his own kitchen table. Both are very warm and inviting. They challenge their young students to work on difficult projects, and the students seem to thrive on this. 

When asked how an artist makes a living in today’s world, Tito laughed and explained, “It’s always a struggle.” He’s always found a way to make ends meet, doing things related to art. In Switzerland, he had a frame factory, as well as two art galleries. Here in the United States, it’s a combination of teaching, managing property and art that keeps the couple busy, and always employed. Tito longs for the days when European churches frequently commissioned art, and art was taken more seriously.

Both Tito and Leonarda enjoy having an open, welcoming house, where friends can come and go freely. When I asked Leonarda if she ever worries about the many fragile pieces of art getting broken during their parties, she simply responds, “You have to enjoy life!” Along with my family, I had the pleasure of joining them on the day after our interview for a birthday party for their 13-year-old daughter Nina. It was an unexpected treat to see a local pianist (who has accompanied Pavarotti in the past) playing songs, while Tito sang along vigorously, inviting everyone to join in. While you might not necessarily catch this from his art (which sometimes has dark undertones), those who know Tito can see that he is one of the friendliest people you will ever meet. He has a true zest for life, which comes through whether he is painting, dancing, singing, drinking wine or just telling a story.

In the next year or so, Tito plans on showing his artwork at a museum in Calabria, Italy (where he originates from). He does have a few commissioned pieces in the works too. His international awards and past exhibits are too numerous to mention, although this link (CJRFineArts.com) gives a good summary. As a professional artist, he does portraits and illustrations, working in a variety of media, but mostly in oil. He can be reached in Wellington at (561) 791-0699. Or visit www.TitoMangiola.com for more information.

A Horse (Ride) of a Different Color

By Deborah Sharp

You can’t throw a horseshoe in Wellington, the show jumping capital of the USA, without hitting evidence of equestrian influence. From a street dubbed Paddock Drive, to the polo grounds, to some 50 miles of riding trails, the community is horse-crazy. And the horse community returns the love, turning out annually for Wellington’s famed Winter Equestrian Festival. In 2009 alone, competitors earned more than $5 million in prize money at the international event.

But this isn’t a story about dressage, or hunter-jumpers, or horse barns that cost more than my house. It’s about a different event, though it does take place in the saddle. Only a couple of hours north of Wellington, but culturally a world apart, the Florida Cracker Trail Ride winds its way across the state in February each year. It starts on the Gulf Coast near Bradenton, Fla., and ends six days later with a parade through downtown Fort Pierce. Unlike at the Equestrian Festival, there were no Olympic contenders or million-dollar purses the year I did the ride to research the setting of my latest funny mystery, MAMA RIDES SHOTGUN (Midnight Ink, 2009, $14.95).  There were some 200 participants on horses and mules, and riding in wagons.

We did have a raffle for a new saddle. I didn’t win.

Even before I set out on a borrowed mount for the 120-mile ride, I realized I was a long way from the teenager who once galloped through orange groves on what’s now asphalt west of my hometown of Fort Lauderdale. The saddle feels a lot harder at age 50-plus than it did when I was 15. Still, I worried less about riding than camping. Ronald Reagan was president the last time I roughed it on the ground in a tent. But my plot unfolds on the trail, and I was prepared to suffer for my art.

I just didn’t realize how much.

The night before heading out, we camped in a cow pasture. A howling wind collapsed my poorly pitched tent. A couple of cowpokes chased it as it went tumbling through camp, spooking all the horses. Rain came down sideways, soaking me from wool cap to wool socks.

”This is really hard,” I sobbed into the cell phone in the morning. ”I wanna come home.’’

”Buck up!” said my tough-love husband. “It’s bound to get better.”

That night, the temperature plummeted to 28 degrees. I’m a south Florida girl, born and bred. I turn up the heat when the mercury dips below 70. In the morning, I thought a caterpillar had camped on the bristles of my toothbrush. Turned out to be what the Northerners call “ice.’’

As freezing temperatures returned for a second night, a fellow rider took pity, and let me sleep in her horse trailer. It didn’t smell too bad, once we’d shoveled out the paddies and sopped up the puddles. I did, however, pluck hay from my private parts for the remainder of the ride.

In its 23rd year, the Cracker Trail ride commemorates cattle drives that once took place across Florida. Some say the word “cracker’’ comes from the ear-splitting cracks of cow whips the pioneers used to move their herds. For my father’s generation and before, the label was a badge of honor.

My own cracker credibility, however, is suspect.

One afternoon, I was setting up camp in a pasture when a big black cow wandered close to my loaner tent. I didn’t want the tent trampled, or cow-pattied upon, so I started yelling.

”Shoo!’’ I flapped my sleeping bag. “Go on, cow. Git!’’

Lowering its head, the cow stared. I flapped. As it turned, coming closer, I caught a view from a different angle. Two dealies dangled, revealing the ”cow’’ was a bull. And that sleeping bag I’d been shaking like a matador with a cape? It was bright red.
 
Somehow, I don’t see the show crowd at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center fleeing a bull by jumping into the bed of a pickup truck.  Maybe they don’t know some other lessons I learned on the Florida Cracker Trail, either: Pack your saddlebags full of Aleve. Always check the rear view before trying to scare the cattle. And, keep your riding boots UPHILL when using the, uh, facilities, in the great outdoors.

Deborah Sharp, a former reporter for USA Today, is the author of the funny, Florida-set ”Mace Bauer Mystery” series. The third book in the series, MAMA GETS HITCHED, comes out next fall.  For more infomation, see: http://www.deborahsharp.com/ or contact Deborah Sharp at [email protected].

Interruptions at Work – 5 Ways to Manage Them Proactively

By Claudine Motto

Whether you run your business from a home office, or you work in a corporate environment, interruptions at work are a fact of life.  In fact, they’re a central element in many jobs, and as a result, there’s a need to adjust and work with very short periods of concentration.

That doesn’t mean you should sit back and blindly accept all interruptions.  These tips will show you how to minimize those that are unnecessary as well as give you ideas to make the most out whatever focus time you have in between.

·         Get to the real issue, eliminate the interruption.  Keep a simple “interruption log” for a week – every time you’re interrupted (or you interrupt yourself) note it down, how long it took, who it involved, and why.

At the end of the week, look for patterns – if interruptions are coming from the same sources/people, perhaps they need more training, you need to sharpen your delegation skills, or you need to learn to say “not now.”  If clients are having to follow up on things you promised by a certain date, perhaps you need to implement better systems so that things don’t fall through the cracks.

·         Break the “react immediately” habit.  If you’ve fallen into the habit of dealing with each and every interruption as they come up, you’re at least partially responsible for the never-ending cycle. 

Start assessing interruptions before you give in to them – unless truly urgent, or helpful (like a passing comment by a colleague that sparks an idea you hadn’t thought of before, or an email with the information you need to complete a task on your to-do list), if it’ll take you away from something more important, write it down and deal with it later.

·         Curve the email “high.”  Dr. Tom Stafford, co-author of the book Mind Hacks, believes that email is addictive for the same reason gambling is: you lose most of the time, but sometimes you win.  So we’re always checking email in the hopes of finding a little “win” – a bit of juicy news, an interesting link, or maybe a friend inviting us over for dinner.

Which is why turning email alerts off and processing email in batches is so hard for most people to adhere to, even though it makes a lot of sense.  I encourage you to incorporate those strategies, because they do work – but if you have given them an honest and consistent shot, and can’t seem to stick with it, at least aim for focus when working on key projects or tasks.  Identify the reward you’ll get from making a real dent on that important project and make that reward the focus. 

And don’t be shy – whenever you sit down to work on that project, put a note as big as necessary to remind you why that project is worth your 100%.  I often have clients simply write “100%” in big bold letters or on bright colored paper – and they’re always amazed at how it helps them pull through focus time.

·         Know what you can do in your average bursts of uninterrupted time. For example, 10 minutes is enough to brainstorm a simple project into steps, make a phone call, file a couple or papers or put some stuff on your desk away.  

Be ready with a few of these tasks so that you can use those 10 minutes productively.

·         Consider instant messaging. Surprisingly, recent (2008) studies at Ohio State University and University of California, Irvine show instant messaging to be less disruptive than an email, telephone call, or face-to-face visit.  Because no one is expecting you to solve a complicated issue via instant messaging, it’s almost guaranteed that the communication will be brief, and a good medium for getting quick answers or scheduling a time to meet.

And because it’s more “acceptable” to ignore an instant message, you won’t feel guilty for setting an away message letting others know you’re busy or away from your desk.  So consider using it to communicate with co-workers, freelancers, or people that you manage.

When you learn to manage interruptions and distractions in a proactive way, you get the most out of your workday, while still accommodating unexpected situations.  This is all part of our ability to be flexible and is even more important now in our age of technology.

© 2009 Claudine Motto

Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer Claudine Motto helps home office geniuses, entrepreneurs, and independent professionals get organized and in control of their workload so they can reach their goals with less struggle and less stress.  She offers one-on-one coaching and group training programs – please visit http://www.vistalnorte.com or call 561-641-9500 for more information, to sign up for her monthly newsletter, or to schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation.