If your true love's heart beats fast at the sight of red ric rac, candy hearts and shiny plaid, this may be the valentine for you. On the front is a 4x6" print of the photograph René took for her wedding invitations, and the red handmade paper on the inside of the card is also a gorgeous wedding invite leftover. (The paper also contains a little bit of Canadian art history in the form of Laura Vickerson's famous rose petals).
True to the spirit of those cryptic little messages on candy hearts, this card has a way of saying a lot of things with few words. Shiny toy letters spell the words YOU FIRST. Depending on how deep your relationship is, you may want to draw in a comma: YOU, FIRST. No envelope can properly contain a card as boisterous as this, so there isn't one.
René's zig-zaggy art journey: a three year crash course in love, painting, and D.I.Y. at Rosebud, Alberta; Yale University's Summer School of Art in Norfolk; four hothouse years at Alberta College of Art and Design; a year-long mentorship with Canadian painter Eleanor Bond, and another year working on Chautauqua Stars for a Northern City, a public commission for the E. A. Rawlinson Centre for the Arts.
The journey came to a juddering halt when René's son was diagnosed with autism. She recently returned to the studio after a six year absence, and is working on a show about healing, loss, and love that glows just hot enough to see by. She lives with her family in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and blogs in happy obscurity at fruityfantastica.
All proceeds from items sold on the To Haiti with Love auction go directly to the St. Joseph's Family in Haiti. To make a bid, simply leave a comment with the amount of your bid and your email address. The auction will wrap up on February 8, 2010, and winners will be contacted right away to arrange payment and shipping. Good luck!
Valentine by René Joshi Sims, 7x9" (origin: Saskatchewan, Canada)
Starting bid: $8.00