Beginning June 3, a dynamic duo of mother and daughter artists will host a series of workshops centered around “The Kitchin” – a community-made, stop-motion short animation crafted on the enchanting grounds of Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.
Artist Karla Caprali and architectural designer Sophia Cabral will merge stop-motion animation and set design to provide the opportunity for people to create a short film in the South Miami Avenue jewel’s French-styled kitchen.
Karla Caprali, 52, began her path as a young painter. She grew up in Belém, Brazil, aka “the edge of the Amazon,” as her youngest daughter, Sophia, likes to call it.
As a child, her favorite thing to do was draw all day. She was never an outdoorsy child and liked to play alone most of the time.
“In my world, I was a discoverer, an anthropologist, an astronaut, a builder and a magician,” Caprali said. “At that time I could never imagine that all of my aspirations could be inserted in one role: Artist.”
In 2001, Caprali moved to Miami, where she started working on academic projects with universities, art institutions, art spaces, and galleries.
“My goal was to be involved in every good project,” Caprali said. “In 20 years of full-time dedication to art, I have created everything from large installations to paper art, textiles, illustrations and animation.”
She became fascinated with moving images and dove into the world of animation. Her work has been showcased in Brazil, the United States, Norway, Sweden and France.
Since the early 2000s, she has worked with various artists such as Complicated Animals, Baby B Strings, Oscar Fuentes and Jesse Katz.
Caprali animated and directed the award-winning animated short film, “Light,” in collaboration with the Biscayne Poet Oscar Fuentes and the Miami trio B.O.K. Suite.
Sophia is Caprali’s youngest daughter. Her artistic ability was apparent from an early age.
“When she was 12 years old she started drawing, and she said, ‘Momma, I want to be like you and be an artist,’” Caprali said. “As an educator, I saw a good opportunity to guide her and hope for the best.”
The now 25-year-old is a professor of architecture at Florida International University and a designer at ArquitectonicaGEO. She drew inspiration from her mother and decided to pursue her own path in architectural design.
“She used to be an oil painter, a carpenter, ceramic artist and then she became a jewelry maker,” Cabral said. “It was really my mother who influenced me to become an artist, and we have worked together ever since I was little.”
About two months ago, as part of Vizcaya’s Contemporary Art Program (CAP), Karla and Sophia entered a competition to win the opportunity to host a workshop at Vizcaya in response to the 2023-2024 CAP theme, “The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home.”
There were around 50 entrants in the competition. The mother-daughter team pitched the idea of producing a stop-motion animation short film called “The Kitchin.” Their proposal won.
Karla will serve as the workshop director and animator. Sophia will oversee the set and will work with all who register to be a part of this project.
Taking place every Saturday and Sunday from June 3 through June 25, these free workshops will focus on a single aspect of stop-motion film production, from storyboarding to post-production.
“I felt very connected to this project as the kitchen really is the heart of the home,” Caprali said. “I just know we’re going to give a little bit of life to Vizcaya’s kitchen with all those who come.”
This story was first published on the Coconut Grove Spotlight.
