1928 - 1956

Carla Lavatelli was born in Rome, Italy on August 21, 1928. Her father was from Piedmont, a man blessed with a serene and enlightening radiance. Her brother Alberto, a poet, was born in 1939. The Lavatelli's are a family of artists, inventors and engineers. Carla's childhood was difficult and lonely. She grew up and went to a Catholic school in Rome during the second world war. Then she studied foreign languages and literature at Ca'Foscari, Venice. She also spent part of her childhood in Africa and had vivid memories of the aviary in the garden of her home. Her playmates were a gazelle, a monkey, and a donkey. She did not attend art school, but rather learned about sculpture from working in the foundries with marble cutters, carpenters and steel welders. She was married in 1947.

Carla had one child, Carlo, who was born on April 9th, 1949. She lived in Los Angeles with periods abroad. She began painting and weaving, and also creating some graphics. She had several group exhibitions, but became very discouraged by her lack of success. She began to paint less and less, making her way by doing odd jobs. None of which were connected to the art world. In 1956, she became an American citizen.