The Art of the Heart

Last year I posted a piece about the childhood experience of exchanging Valentine’s in school. That post focused mainly on store bought cards. The other side of that experience was the times when we were allowed to make our own cards.

Art instruction was not a regular course in my grade school. It was more of a filler when time allowed. As best I remember, we had maybe one day a week when we could do art. That wasn’t often enough for me, but I took what I could get.

i drew this little “kid-made” heart on a whim, trying to mimic the free and fun style of a grade school aged artist. As noted last year, our Valentine’s were mostly store bought, but I’m sure we made some for our moms, grandmothers, and maybe the teacher. I seem to recall the routine where you fold the red or pink paper, cut out the half heart shape, and unfold the paper to reveal the symmetrical heart. Violå, a Valentine.

A Bird in the Hand

The other seasonal favorite was the Thanksgiving Turkey. Put you non-dominant hand flat on the paper, draw around it, carefully going in and out around the fingers. Add a beak and the thing hanging off the chin. Feet, a wing, and then color. The rainbow of colors on the tail feathers was mandatory. As I had never seen a real turkey outside of a roasting pan, I really thought turkeys had multi-colored tail feathers. When I did journey to the country, probably at around age 11 or 12, and finally saw a live specimen. I was sorely disappointed that the fowl was rather drab.

Again, I sought to replicate my standard six year old hand bird (see above).

What childhood art do you remember making? I’d love to hear all about your experiences. Please leave a comment, or contact me through this website. I’ll be sure to respond.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you! I’ll await your art memories!

Be Mine ©2017 Ed Koehler    Turkey in the Sun ©2017 Ed Koehler