a week to valentine's day

These are some of the etegami I painted for this year's Valentine's Day. The topmost one was inspired by, and quotes from, the poem "Valentine" by Carol Ann Duffy. These etegami represent many different kinds of love -- romantic, familial, friendship, and God's love. They, and many others from previous years, are available as printed postcards on my RedBubble gallery if you're interested. : )

tomato hearts

Many fruits and vegetables, when cut in half, display an inner heart-shape. This has always fascinated me. A bag of small tomatoes was delivered from my food co-op yesterday, so I painted them as Valentine etegami. Romantic love is well and good. I'm all for it. But that is not all there is to love. The etegami posted above is accompanied by a quote from The Sparrow's Nest, a poem by William Wordsworth (1770-1850), and speaks of family love between brother and sister.



Let us Consider refers to another kind of love expressed in a community of brothers and sisters in the faith, while Love is Not Blind, and Love is Not All were inspired by two poems by Edna St.Vincent Millay (1892-1950), about romantic love that has
matured beyond mere infatuation.