Today is always a special day for me, turning one year older is a real gift and celebrating it with those who are somehow close to me is wonderful. I wanted to write this post on my blog and share it through my social networks to give my heartfelt thanks for all the positive energy that comes to me from people I don't even know personally, but who make me feel close to them by enjoying what I transmit in my works, who share my motto "Art to live" and who always encourage me to keep going, creating and searching for the essence of the emotions that unite us as human beings. I think I get more than I deserve and I feel really lucky for all the people who are part of my life, for those who were there and for those who will come. I learn a lot from each one of them and it is always a new opportunity to keep growing and getting to know myself. Thank you!

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Today, when I left home at eight o'clock in the morning, I found a beautiful sky, the first unexpected gift of the day. I was born on 28 September 1969, at eight o 'clock in the morning... it was clear that I was already thinking I would be a tireless worker. Who gets up at eight o'clock in the morning on their first day! Well, that's the way it was, it's just the way it has to be. I love watching the sunrise, waiting for what the day has in store for me, which normally respects a couple of things in my schedule, but which forces me to constantly adapt to whatever comes up? Every day is an adventure, even when I don't leave the studio or it looks like it's going to be an easy day, something unexpected can come up. I prefer positive unforeseen events, but we don't choose what happens and any experience is a challenge, a lesson, a learning, a discovery, an inspiration... even if I don't know it at the time, it remains there for when I need to remember it.

Today is a day when I like to give myself a little present, maybe a new pencil or a little notebook, but today I sat down to have something nice and beautiful for breakfast. Yes, taking a quiet moment and enjoying the beauty of those simple things is also important for me on my birthday, walking through the usual streets or new ones... without looking at the clock, well just once in a while so as not to lose the reference but without rushing. On my birthday I let everything flow in some way, in the only possible way: living every moment as something valuable, 365 days full of opportunities begin and I think that this "zero" day helps me to be aware of it.

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It is a day when I feel deeply grateful for life in general and for everything in particular, for the good and the bad that has happened to me in the past year, for the people I met and for those who somehow moved away, for those I lost, for the smiles I was able to provoke with a smile to a child or a kind gesture to a stranger, for the times when someone gave me their time or their indication while I was looking for a place, for the chats with friends and for the shared silences, for the new projects, for the new connections of a lifetime, for knowing that I can always give a little more, for letting myself be defeated and getting back up again. In a way, I review what I have experienced in the previous year, how projects evolve, how the decision to follow my course takes shape, how to learn to take the helm in the face of storms and how to rest in those truces that life also offers us... Lucky to live to share what I am and what I feel through ART.

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Anyway, it' s a day when I respond to everyone who congratulates me and today I have had to do it many, many times, and I will continue to do it for a few more days. Friendship is something incredible, almost magical, and I celebrate it not only on this day, but every day... the present moment is what matters. When you read this I will have already written it some time ago, but it will be present again and I want to thank you for dedicating yours to me, it will also be a gift for me that you wanted to read these more personal lines that perhaps tell you a little more about me. Soon I will be back to work hard in the studio, creating new works that are in my mind and in my notes. I start a new year with the studio remodelled, clean and shiny, almost brand new (that's my impression) and I know it will give me great moments that I will be grateful for again next year.

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I don't know when your next birthday will be, but I want to congratulate you and wish you to discover the great opportunity that a new year of life offers us to keep growing, learning, feeling, crying, laughing, walking, sleeping, loving, dreaming, working, travelling, reading, creating, sharing, keeping quiet, watching, enjoying, discovering... creating. Happy birthday to you too!

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