August Bead Journal Project Completed

A Daughter's Valentine

Today, I completed my August Bead Journal piece. Though, for many BJP participants, completing August is symbolic of completing the entire year of bead journals, I still have three months to go, having skipped forward to August so that I could work on it during the month.

If you've been following my progress here, you will know that I began stitching this piece in memory of my Mother who passed away in March of last year. It was inspired by the Sailors' Valentines that she and I admired so much and had always wanted to make. I have included many elements which are special to my memories of my Mom -- including the Alstroemeria flowers I wrote about in my last post,

Aquamarines which were her favorite gemstones and matched her eyes, all the shades of aqua and blue that were her favorite colors,

And plenty of shells. Shells which she admired and loved to collect, placing them in the same categories as precious jewels...


I had a very difficult time starting this piece and a very difficult time finishing it as well. I'm still trying to figure out why but I do plan to make a few more pieces of similar style.


Having said all that, there is one thing of which I am absolutely certain...

My Mother would have absolutely loved this piece.

And I absolutely loved making it for her.

Sailors' Valentines: The Eighth Wonder?

Every year when I went to visit my parents' home in Naples, Florida, I would look forward to spending time with this book, Sailors' Valentines by John Fondas, which my mother always had sitting out on the table. And we would look through this beautiful, octagon-shaped book and marvel at all of the beautiful sailors' valentines it contained and talk about trying to make one of these valentines ourselves.


So, this past March while visiting my Dad, I noticed that the book was no longer sitting out. I went in search of it and found it tucked in a cabinet under the bookshelf. I pulled it out and looked at it again, thinking how Mom and I never got the chance to make one of these valentines...and that's when the idea of A Daughter's Valentine was born. I wanted to make a piece of embroidery, using shells and pearls and jewels, with the spirit of a sailor's valentine and I decided to make it my bead journal piece for August in honor of my Mom's birthday.


Sailors' Valentines were popular in the mid-nineteenth century when sailors would leave home to voyage on glorious sailing ships to seek trade and treasures in far off worlds. Folklore says that these valentines were originally made by the sailors themselves and brought back for loved ones at home. Original sailors' valentines are highly prized by collectors today and many of them can be traced back to merchants on the island of Barbados between 1830 and 1880 -- a port of call for American, English and Dutch trading ships.

Here are two examples by Grace Madeira who also co-authored another great book on the subject: Sailors' Valentines Their Journey Through Time which contains many contemporary examples being created and sold by modern artists.


Interestingly enough, these early examples were always in the shape of an octagon and, for the life of me, I can't find out why. The octagon is the quintessential sailor's valentine shape and so I have used that shape as the beginning of my interpretation.


The octagon often has the symbolic meaning of rebirth, regeneration and transition -- and the symbolism of the number eight is eternal life. One source I read says that the circle is symbolic of the heavens (also eternity/infinity) and the angularity of the square is symbolic of earthly presence. So, the octagon, which borrows from both shapes, symbolizes the transitional dance between heaven and earth. How cool is that? It's coincidences such as this one that lead me to believe that my hands really do receive divine guidance in my work.

I like the significance that the octagon shape gives to my work...and I love the metaphor of the valentine connecting loved ones who are separated by vast oceans.

I was also very pleased with how my shading turned out...a beautiful aqua ocean for the rest of my work.


And one more thing. The only time I have ever seen an antique sailor's valentine in person was on a visit to The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum on Sanibel island (it's fabulous!) which, I'm not kidding, is in the shape of an octagon!
Coincidence? I just don't know...