Distorted Hearts
As a special Valentine’s post, I thought I’d share images from my freshly made Original Distorted Hearts™, as mentioned here. I spent many hours constructing, glazing and finishing about 50 of these in random patterns and color combinations. Then I culled the doggedy ones (“cleaning prizes” for my nieces!), chose which were destined to be magnets, pins and pendants, and finished accordingly.
I also decided that I didn’t want these hearts to exist apart from their intentions, so I separated them into seven categories of distortion and wrote “Suggested Uses” on the backs of the cards. I scrambled to finish them for the Local Love Bazaar yesterday, and I’m happy to report a very positive response. 🙂 I sold lots ($8-$20) and people seemed to appreciate the intentions as much as the objects themselves.
Hearts have never interested me until now, until I could make them something more than sentimental tokens of happiness, fantasy, and romance, as the Valentine’s Day holiday has sort of hijacked them into. I think more people can relate to the wounded and broken than to the happy and whole. Just look at the profusion of stabbed, bethorned, flaming, transformed, and otherwise suffering & sacred hearts in Catholic imagery alone.
While we’re on the subject of hearts, did you know that the heart is now considered to be the “fifth brain” (joining the Frontal, Parietal, Temporal, and Occipital Lobes)? Yes, there is now hard scientific evidence that the heart, with its 40,000 neurons, independent nervous system, biochemical connections to the rest of the brain, the heart that starts beating in an embryo even before the brain has formed… is intelligent. You can learn more from this interesting article about heart intelligence in ancient cultures, religious traditions, Chinese medicine, Yoga, and now, medical science. And look! You could even spend a whole weekend in Paris with fancy doctors at the Heart & Brain Conference learning about the medical aspect of the heart-brain relationship.
Anyway, here’s wishing you a heart-filled February 14 with a few of my favorite Original Distorted Hearts™ from each of the seven categories, with Suggested Uses below. I’ll be listing the remaining hearts in my Etsy store later this week.
{re}Generative
{re}Generative is an exceptionally perfect heart for expectant mothers! Also appropriate for people in new romantic relationships or best-friendships; people who have finally quit their dead-end jobs and are now doing something they love; or those who have recently undergone heart transplant surgery.
- Torn & Mending
Torn & Mending supports healing of recently broken hearts whether by death, abandonment, loss, or isolation. Also effective for people who are working hard in therapy to dispatch old habits and create new, healthy versions of themselves.
- Tread Upon (Athletic)
Tread Upon (Athletic) is appropriate for those who have been run out on. Also suitable for people who have experienced conflict in personal or professional relationships, and parents of teenagers.
- Tread Upon (Vehicle)
Did you (or someone you love) end a relationship that left you feeling as if you’d been run over? Did you recently discover that the “love” you thought you experienced was actually a personality disorder? Tread Upon (Vehicle) is the perfect heart for you!
- Cut Away
Are you (or someone you love) missing a friend or loved one? The Cut-Away is a gentle reminder of love lost to death, distance, or emotional indifference. A hopeful, yet realistic talisman for those experiencing loss or longing.
- Warts & All
Warts & All is appropriate for those who have recognized that every person and every relationship is limited.
If you receive this heart: rejoice and be glad that you are loved despite your obvious shortcomings!
If you are giving this heart: congratulations for learning to accept people as they are apart from your controlling and manipulative wishes!
- Tread Upon (Stiletto)
Tread Upon (Stiletto) helps bring healing to those who have experienced difficulty in relationships with women, cross-dressers, or drama addicts.
- Curling In On Itself
Curling In On Itself is well suited for those who are contemplating giving up on love, or even life, forever. A gentle reminder to look for the bright [under]side and remain hopeful in the face of despair.
update Ok, a friend just sent me this after reading the post and I thought it was so funny I just had to include it. Thanks Michael!
Live Clay 
Laura, this is so good, and funny. Fantastic.
Thanks Marilyn, I’m glad you enjoyed!
Brilliant! An inspired, beautiful and funny response to Valentine’s Day nonsense. Your hearts will go on (sorry!)
Thinking of you, Roggie…. much appreciated!
OMG, this post screams “talent” in so many different ways I don’t know where to start. I’m adding you to my blogroll, so get ready for millions of readers/romantics/wanna-bes/heart-loving consumers to crash your site.
That’s so funny, thanks Stacie! I still haven’t gotten the blogroll thing down yet, nor have I completed the award thank-you post (have you?), but trying to keep up with the holidays, anyway. Happy hearts to you!
Are you saying my heart will be torn, trod upon, rent, and broken by you? Sign me up!
Love these, Laura. Brilliant idea and perfectly executed in every way. Look how creative you are. Nice one, well done.
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Oh my gosh! I had so much fun sitting accross from you tonight and finally getting to know you while eating corn and artichokes, and drinking Hurricanes! I am in love with your blog! Great stuff! When I saw this post of yours about the hearts, I thought you might want to know about an organization that many beadmakers love and to which they contribute – Beads of Courage! I don’t think there are clay artists who participate right now but I am sure they would be thrilled with clay donations! http://www.beadsofcourage.org/
Thanks for the link, Eleanore! I’ll definitely check it out. Yeah, great to chat with you over dead crawdad carcasses and potatoes! I’m looking forward to checking out your blog as well. A little catching up to do first…