Valentine Shrines

Someday My Prince Will Come

In our family, because we believe that silliness is a sublime state, we like to inject a little of the ridiculous into every situation, especially our celebrations. My husband is prone to writing absurd poetry for all manner of holidays, and my sons have been known to pay musical or film tribute to commemorate those special family occasions. They know they can count on me for the visual arts, and, since, they have always accused me of being a bag lady and junk collector of the highest order, I decided to use some of my junk to show my love this Valentine's Day by making shrines for my three precious men. I made the one you see above for my husband by starting with a wooden cigar box and an upside down wall bracket. I rummaged through my supply closet and found the Prince Albert can, and suddenly the piece had a name. I used a magnet to attach this piece, so it could be removed from the construction. Inside the tin, I put a message made from magnetic word poetry, a silver key and a heart from an old necklace. Arms were gadgets pilfered from my husband's tool box; the background was cut from a vintage tin Chinese checker set, and the head is a metal candleholder with a stamped paper face. My sister, another scavenge artist, supplied a Budweiser Clamato (!) can that she gleaned on her walk over to my house, and my prince was complete with a crown.


A Knight's Tale
This assemblage was made for my youngest son using his old chess board as a base. We found it together when I used to drag him around on my junking expeditions almost every weekend. I made the sacred heart and rose out of clay, and the frame is another flea market find. Turquoise beads were left over from a Dia de los Muertos project, and the silver outer frame is made from an old belt.

I didn't have the chance to photograph my oldest son's shrine before he took it home, but I hope to get a shot of that one up soon, He shares my love of red and skulls, so you can imagine his shrine.

I hope your day is filled with love and sweetness and, above all, laughter. Remember the words of Mike Myers,“Silly is you in a natural state, and serious is something you have to do until you can get silly again.” Happy Valentine's Day!

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