Polipo Finds a Friend

Meet Polipo, a curious octopus. All summer long he watched the big boats come and go above him from his home under the reef. He wondered where they came from. He couldn't stop thinking about that. His decision to leave home was an easy one for him. But his Momma is not so sure about this. He finds an easy way to travel as a stow away on a cruise ship. Where will it take him? He didn't think about that past his lunchtime meal of clams and snails! Now he finds himself excited but alone. This is a very different experience. After the cruise ship stops, what adventures await Polipo?

Paul Miceli grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Even as a youngster he looked for ways to express himself creatively. An early claim to fame came when he was 10. Paul thought he was as clever as one of the syndicated cartoonists for the Cleveland Press daily newspaper. So, he sent him his comic strip ideas. It impressed the cartoonist enough to use one of them in a daily strip. He also set up an interview with Paul, and the newspaper published a short "local interest" column on him. Paul also enjoyed painting and writing, and he would make up alternate verses to poems like "Twas the Night Before Christmas."
In a significant life journey, Paul rode a motorcycle for three months through 29 states and traveled more than 12,000 miles. He has scuba dived with sharks and rappelled off a 90-foot cliff — twice. Today, he spends most of his time closer to the ground, trying to break another 90 barrier— on the golf course.

Fiorella Mestichelli Oliveti graduated from the Edgardo Mannucci Art Institute in Ancona, Italy. She obtained her prestigious teaching qualification by studying under master artists Trubbiani, Mannucci, Polenta and the art critic Vittorio Rubiu. Her works have been displayed in Milan, Lugano, Moscow, Greece, Croatia, Canada and the USA.
Fiorella has received international acclaim from venues like the Spoleto World Festival and the Carlton Gallery in Cannes. By participating in national and international events, she has garnered numerous awards and wide approval from critics.
She continues to pursue her career between expressive painting and passionate dedication to teaching her love of art.