Portrait of an Artist: Soul & Sentiments Behind the Art
Friday June 26, 2026
My Sicilian-American Family & Rococo Roses
What is a traditional artist? I define myself as such since I love to draw and paint using the standard ways of pencil/charcoal on paper and oils on canvas, similarly to the old European masters. I studied art at a local university and learned from a local master artist of an Old World Flemish painting technique creating light, delicate layers in oil to achieve a luminous realism in my compositions. I call myself a traditional artist because I love to portray the beauty in the world around us through representing the human figure, plants, flowers, and landscapes with flourishing embellishments.
A few of my oil paintings over the last few decades
It starts with a story about both of my parents emigrated to the United States from Sicily (although at different times), married in 1966, and settled in Ohio. (Monastra was my maiden name.) My brother and I were born a few years later and once we became school age, they wanted to partake in the American dream, their way, while working physically hard blue collar jobs: building their own home out in the suburbs.
Mom & Dad- Sicilian Wedding 1966
My brother Frank and I, @1969 (in just a few years I'll become very fluent in "Sicilian-glish")
Although Mom and her agriculturally raised family were poor small village peasants picking olives in the hills outside of Messina (she had to quit school at the age of thirteen to work the fields with her sisters and Nonna, her mother), somehow she acquired or was gifted the most elegant housewares—with most of them passed down to her from Nonna. Mom cherished them very much simply because they helped her reminisce and stay bonded with her close family and former culture, which was now half a world away. She loved America and the immense opportunities of prosperity here, learned to speak English, worked at a hospital cleaning rooms, and proudly became a citizen. Yet, it was not the same as her native country and village of course, where she spoke the local dialect, everyone knew everyone and joyfully greeted others with animated hugs and kisses, where homegrown and homemade food—notably pasta—is their love language and you must eat when you visit, where you could easily go both to the sea and the mountains in a day, where the most delicious and unique fruits like figs and prickly pears grew wild and abundantly in the fields to just pick and enjoy, and most especially where Nonna and several siblings were still residing in her hometown village. So these lovely imported sentimental houseware items that welcomed our visitors, satiated their bellies, and hopefully warmed their hearts, kept Mom united to her roots, and she gratefully treasured them.
Mom & Zio Vittorio visiting Nonna & Zio Nino in Sicily, early 1980's
When the elongated formal Amish-made dining table that could easily seat a dozen guests finally came, it elated Mom to be able to proudly display her magnificent linens which she embellished years ago before she was married with meticulous embroidery, along with (usually) twelve matching napkins. Although Mom could expertly sew by hand and machine, her creative outlet was hand embroidery. You could get as unique as you wanted with it, and coming from the poverty mindset that everything made should be functional, beautifully embroidered tablecloths also served a purpose. I find it endearing that Mom never wanted to be boastful with her talents. She made and presented exquisite things and decor never for showiness, but always for sharing. It always revolved around hosting and hospitality, never haughtiness. It related to giving of all things she could offer: generous helpings of prepared meals, veggies from our massive garden, biscotti, cannolis and coffee. She along with my dad wished genuine happiness to all who came, and that visitors have the most enjoyable experience—including seeing pretty things—and leave with stomachs full and gratifyingly content.
Mom’s interest in textiles was ingrained in her at a young age, and was culturally the norm for most European girls. Many people are aware that much of Europe is renowned not only for magnificent textiles, but also in passing down to the next generation the creativity in the fiber arts such as weaving, embroidery, sewing, etc. It gives me a wonderful feeling to know that although Mom’s poor family made fabrics out of necessity that was very time consuming as well, they created the most extraordinary high quality textiles with the addition of dainty embroidered designs, fringe and tassels. When her mother had the money, she would buy linen thread for weaving, but otherwise Nonna grew the flax for the linen, took it to a local individual who would hand process the flax into the finer linen fibers—very labor intensive. Then she would hand spin those fibers and finally weave the linen through a small loom, arranging the loom settings a certain way to create beautiful woven patterns. Mom and her sisters would then either hand tie the loose ends into fringe or create more elaborate tassels separately with a smaller tassel loom to hand stitch onto both ends of the fabric. Once in a while Nonna would purchase embroidery patterns from a local seller from which Mom and her sisters would make a carbon print on the fabric to then use as a guide for hand embroidering the prettiest designs of flowers and foliage. Painstaking work, marvelous creations, artisanal craftsmanship.
Infamous 1970s rock wall, sledgehammered & built by Dad; Long formal dining room displaying Mom's hand-embroidered tablecloth
Years later after I married and bought a home, Mom was delighted to pass on to me all of those beloved handmade textiles, additional fine Italian bed linens and table covers given to her by relatives abroad, along with another one very dear to her heart: three separate panels about 2 feet wide of fine hand-woven white linen cloth with the most lovely small checkered pattern created on a loom by Nonna, and an ornate four-inch tassel trim around 7 yards in length handmade from a small tassel loom by Mom. They were made decades ago with the idea of creating a bedspread by stitching the panels together and then sewing the trim around three sides. But time slipped away as Mom worked full time with two kids, tended the garden with dad, entertained family and friends on weekends with big meals, all while keeping the house immaculate. So it remained undone as she handed this precious bedding project to me, and I was so grateful to receive such beautiful memorabilia that began two generations ago.
I was so appreciative to continue creating this wonderful bedding cover that began long before I was born and was a little timid at first, but I—who ironically just recently learned how to sew well—was the one who finally hand sewed all the pieces together, along with the beautiful tassel trim on the edges. And so the bedspread that started over 70 years ago finally came to life through my hands. Yet my thoughts ruminated…is it really done? It felt immensely gratifying to have attached the pieces of this delicate heirloom, but wondered if I should contribute to it an additional element of beauty, such as design a large central elegant floral bouquet pattern and perhaps invite my daughter to offer her creative handiwork by embroidering that design—giving each of our artisanal talents to the next generation, and on it goes. I will most likely follow through on that creative concept one day, but for the present time I want to honor—in a more public way—the extraordinarily hard working yet detail oriented lives of Mom and Nonna through this most beloved nostalgic bedspread.
So through observation, I drew Nonna’s hand-woven loom pattern, Mom’s tassel trim, put my own creative spin on it and converted them into digital renderings of framed art prints and repeat patterns which I have titled my Olde World Weaves Collection.
Nonna's hand woven bedspread; Mom's hand woven tassel trim from a tassel loom; my drawing renditions
To me, it seemed heartwarmingly fitting to showcase the artisanal skills of Mom and Nonna in a way which could be appreciated by many through the use of modern digital print technology, and so the idea was borne to offer my version of their beauty-meets-function creativity in color customizable hospitality decor.
Although this dedicated print collection has a surface or superficial “trompe l’oeil” textural appearance of woven vintage fabric, each of these sentimental designs represents a familial affection united with a cultural appreciation which runs deep into my soul: the unshakable and enduring bonds of generational love between mothers and daughters—most especially, a love that strengthened and intensified despite distances spanning across thousands of miles with Mom living half of a world away—and the love infused with gratitude that I have for my dual cultural family and unique heritage.
My Rococo Roses preliminary drawing
Rococo Roses--tri-rose detail
Rococo Roses was the first pattern design I created which initiated the entire Olde World Weaves Collection. I have always been entranced by the extraordinarily ornate and elaborate Rococo art period of centuries ago, which was part of the late Baroque movement. Another artistic style that has influenced and mesmerized me is the dynamic sinuous lines and beautiful botanical illustrations of the late nineteenth century decorative arts era called Art Nouveau. This completely hand-drawn illustration combines many sentimental aspects dear to my heart, along with my fascination of the natural world and its organic shapes. Inspired by the mentioned elegant, flourishing, and flowing Rococo and Art Nouveau motifs, I have also designed it incorporating my Nonna's woven cloth pattern in the background and my mother's handmade tassel trims.
The composition's central portion has three lovely blooming English garden roses, entwined and embraced by their stems and leaves, and set atop a circular weave design. Looping around this configuration are the Baroque leaves burgeoning, growing, and whirling from an oval-formed stem, which is flanked by two asymmetrically placed dangling "love-lies-bleeding" Amaranthus caudatus flowers. Framing the entirety are diagonal tassel trims guiding your eyes in a soft diamond-shaped arrangement, with a "bouquet" of tassels at the top and bottom gathered by swirling and twirling ribbons.
Rococo Roses framed metal art print with "trompe-l'oeil" (hand drawn faux double matted top frame & hand drawn faux plaque) gold & black frame design
Rococo Roses color customized
The lavish and sumptuous Rococo Roses is an ode to the most unabashedly opulent, extravagant, and resplendent art movements in history and gives homage to the artisanal textile craftsmanship of my ancestral heritage.
Photo-book cover from my family's Sicilian vacation visiting relatives, 2014
Mom & Dad's backyard where our grandiose garden once presided & prospered
Dad passed away 21 years ago, and a few months ago mom passed at the age of 93, still living in their same home that was built more than a half a century earlier. As my brother and I are in the process of selling their house, I pray, after the final closing of the doors, what are now my possessions of the living room furniture, large family gatherings dining room table & chairs, fine china and all the hospitality items that brought joy, laughter, and poignant memories will live inside of them, be fostered and grow for new generations springing forth eager invitations to offer the Lord's Will: enrich Godly relationships and continue the love to flourish genuine soul-to-soul bonds to all who come through our front doors.
Ciao, Monastra casa-- thank you for all your blessings 1975-2026.