I can’t remember ever not liking February. Probably because it is so short. February has the best birthstone (amethyst) and of course there’s Valentine’s Day, with the pink and red and lace and chocolate and hearts!
This year I made some of my own valentines to give out:
FInished valentines made with Portfolio Oil Pastels on a base of painted, silkscreened and stenciled oaktag. The drawings were made with India ink.
A detail of what the blank cards looked like. You can really see the detail of the silkscreen in this shot. One of these days I will figure out how to make an image of the wonderful paint scribblings left on my art table.
A whole batch of the cards awaiting decorating.
Many of my favorite people were born in February as well. (With lots of birthday parties and cake! Cake and chocolate, yay!). My most favorite February person is my Grandpa, who was born today (February 14). He was a designer at General Motors, and would bring home lunchboxes full of the Prismacolor pencils he used at his job for us to play with.
He also had a good sense of humor. When he retired, he decided to let his beard grow, and told me he was going to let it grow long enough to tie around his head.
He also loved his dogs. Here he is at our house in Michigan, reading the paper with Shep on the sofa next to him and our dog Laddie at his feet.
And my Grandpa loved me so much that when I fell in love with the treasure chest he’d made for himself, he made me one as well.
I took this photo when I was 19 and in my “arty photo” phase. :) My Grandpa gave me his love of art and his fun sense of humor, and yes, occasionally his gruff demeanor. Today would’ve been his 110th birthday.
Sometimes the best gifts are the intangible ones, though I wouldn’t trade anything for my treasure chest. What gifts have your loved ones given you?
I never knew either of my grandfathers -- I especially love the photo of yours with the snoozing doggie. That is the kind of grandfather I would have liked. Thank you for sharing your memories!
ReplyDelete(My loved ones and I don't really observe v-day, but yes, the intangibles can be as memorable as the material -- my husband has twice surprised me with opera tickets, which I treasure all the more because he doesn't actually like or get opera at all.)