happy birthday, Nonno!

 

We love you Nonno. We hope you have a Happy Birthday today ~ and can't wait to give you birthday hugs and kisses tomorrow!!!

Nonno's Retrospective

Jackson and Cade,

Your grandfather has been an artist and art professor all his life, and the weekend before last we got to Connecticut to see his Retrospective at Higgins Gallery at Western Connecticut State University.

The show included work from over 50 years. We saw paintings from the 60's! Can you imagine? I wasn't even born yet. You weren't even an idea yet!

Alberetti started his career at Massachusetts College of Art and Design where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts. He continued to the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with a master’s degree before moving on to Arizona State University where he achieved a Master of Fine Arts. His work has been shown nationally and internationally through solo and group exhibitions. Alberetti’s work also has been featured in museums such as the Panama Museum of Art, the De Young Museum, The Pentagon, the Mattatuck Museum and the Aldrich Museum.

These pictures don't do the work justice - the paintings are deeply saturated, layered, sometimes soft, sometimes angular, always atmospheric, and always, to me, something you can just sit and look at for a long time, always noticing new things, new lines, new colors, and new textures.

What a pair of lucky boys you are to have such a creative and talented Nonno. It is one of the greatest gifts Nonno has given me - a love and appreciation, a need and propensity - to be creative. I hope that gene is passed on to you both, in whatever form. Maybe you will paint like him, maybe you will do sculpture like your grandmother, maybe you will do printmaking like your uncle. Maybe your creativity will take other forms, in building, for example, or helping others.

Nonno, I'm so glad we got to spend the afternoon with you last Saturday. I'm so proud and thankful to be your daughter. I'm glad the boys got to see the show, even if they don't remember it, and even if they  only remember riding their bikes and scooters around inside. Congratulations on a beautiful show. We love you.

Love, Mama

a very special message

Yesterday was Nonno's heart surgery. I'm so happy and relieved to say that everything went so well! He passed with flying colors and is already up and walking. I was so worried and now I am so thankful - truly a Thanksgiving week!

At one point, the nurse even said, "Just to tell you now good your dad is doing, I'm bored! He's not giving me any trouble at all." The doctors said he was doing "phenomenal."

Thank you Mimi for being so strong and taking such good care of Nonno so that he was in really good shape, healthy and strong. Thank you Jon for helping me with Jackson and Cade and logistics and juggling and getting them to school and picking me up, and ice cream at the end of it all. Thank you to all my friends and family who called and texted and sent their love and good wishes and prayers. Thank you.

Dad we love you and hurry up and finish recovering so we can see you soon!

Love, CHIARA