Scrap Postcard and a Story: Love Poem

I have been trying, by spending increments of time, to go through all the stuff I have stashed in my studio. A lot of it was moved in bulk from the room on the second floor where my studio used to be, and then more was dumped on top as I continued to clear through that room slowly. Also, I have a habit of tossing things aside as I go through items while I am creating my art. Then when I have to stop, my energy is so low I walk off and leave it strewn all over my art table, and other flat surfaces. My desire is that I would develop better habits, and that means taking the time to put things back. And that means, sometimes I have to stop before I want to, so I can clean up!

So I am finding small treasures I forgot I had, and pieces of art that didn't work for whatever reason at the time, and were put aside till I had an "aha!" moment to finish them. One such piece was this postcard:

(click for details)

I had been experimenting with transferring images to art and this one did not work as I had hoped. So it was laid aside, and, subsequently buried. When I came across it, I immediately had some ideas to finish it and this is what came out:

(click for details)

I used scraps I had saved from other art creations, used a little acrylic paint, paper tape, Prima fabric flowers, brads and metal letters. It also includes pastel oil crayons and Stabilo pencil. Seems like I always forget to sign the pieces before I photograph them!

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LOVE POEM

46th in the Tuesday Story Series

This is not a story per se, so I will say that right up front. I have had a difficult week with sleep issues and also a very unpleasant reminder that this illness is not easily understood by others. As I reminded myself that my value is not based on how people view me, but in the love Christ showers on me, I also thought about a gift my husband gave me a two weeks ago on Valentine's Day.

My husband is a hard working man, diplomatic and fair by nature, and highly intelligent. He works hard in his field of environmental engineering issues and one reason he is so good at what he does is because of his linear mindset. He can shut out noises, distractions, and focus intently on his work. He has had several papers published in his field and I can admire them, but I cannot understand the content, because I am not an engineer. My mindset is global, I am easily distracted, and this illness makes it easier for me to be overwhelmed. So, we are very different, yet as the pastor said who married us many years ago, we "fill in the gaps" for each other. He is my best friend, and has been a constant companion in an illness that affects both of us. John is not given to "Hollywood Romance", rather his love language is to serve others. I love ordinary romance and so we try to balance it out. This year for Valentine's, he did a most romantic thing for me - he wrote a wonderful poem. I want to share it with my readers (with his permission).

THE WIFE I LOVE

To deepen mystery;

To explain the unexplainable;

To find harmony in the unattainable:

This is the wife I love!

To take the pedestrian object;

The many random papers crimpled;

To not overlook the small or simple:

This is the wife I love!

The unattached string of thread

Is woven into tapestry;

So that abstract becomes reality:

This is the wife I love!

A life of art and balance,

Of complexity spun in serenity,

Understood only in its purity:

This is the wife I love!

To her God she sews, paints,

Draws, sub-creates,

With prayer: "May I

Achieve more than I am able",

To be presented before the 

World's table:

This is the wife I love!

My love for you deepens with each passing year.

John    2/14/12

My art fascinates him, because it is done so differently from how he paints (yes, he paints - we have several of his paintings in our house). It means the world to me that he appreciates what I do, even though he doesn't understand the process. And that is what is so wonderful about being in love, appreciating and applauding what the other does, rather than expecting and demanding sameness. What a wonderful husband I have!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Art and A Story: Be My Valentine

For this Valentine's Day, I made my sweet husband a card. I had a stash of old 1950's Valentines like we used to exchange in school and since that's the era we were children, I wanted to make my Valentine for him look like something I would have given to a special boy in my classroom.

It's simple, but hey, if you're a kid, simple is great! I covered the cardstock with red foil, added a lace doily (you can't see the glitter I put on the doily) and then added the vintage Valentine's Day card and went around the edges with a Silver Leaf Pen. I wrote a poem and put it inside but I'm not going to share that with you - it's personal you know! And yes, he loved it!

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BE MY VALENTINE

44th in the Tuesday Story Series

Valentine's Day beginnings are shrouded in a semi-romantic fog. According to historical sources, there were several early Christian martyrs named Valentine, with two of them being the most well known. One was Valentine of Rome, who was a priest martyred about AD 269; his flower bedecked skull is in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.  The other well know martyr is Valentine of Terni; he was martyred during the reign of Emporer Aurelian. Neither one, nor any of the others, were connected to romance. It wasn't until the 14th century when Chaucer wrote the Parlement of Foules, when there was the first written line about St. Valentine's day and romance:

"For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."

From there, medieval authors have tucked into their writing occasional references to St. Valentines day such as this quote in 1601 from Hamlet by Ophelia in act IV, scene 5:

"To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine."

Then by 1784, an English nursery rhyme book was published and included the following, 

The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou'd be you.

In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man's Valentine Writer, containing pages of sentimental verses for the young man who could not compose his own. Paper Valentine's became popular in England and began its headlong rush into today's greeting card frenzy. In the 1980's, the diamond industry began to promote the holiday as a choice occasion for giving gifts. And the oft told story of a St. Valentine healing the jailer's blind daughter before he was martyred has no basis in history. Sorry!

So, here were are, having fun on Valentine's Day, even though we aren't really quite sure of how it all got to this point. Some may say greed, some may say sentiment. Commerce certainly looks forward to this date in February, as do many of the romantics at heart. My husband proposed to me on Valentine's Day 1981, and I have enjoyed my share of beautiful flowers, candy, and cards over the years. But as I get older, it isn't as important a date as say, our wedding anniversary, and since I became ill with the ME/CFS, going out to a fancy restaurant doesn't happen. Cards exchanged with hand written, heart felt words are what makes us the happiest and I am very thankful for the wonderful poem my husband wrote this year, about how he sees me and my art. I'm going to frame it!

So, whatever the reason we all celebrate St. Valentine's Day, I hope you had a happy one!! 

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!