I started my journey to create Sandra’s Heart Art with a quest to help others keep their memories alive and present in their everyday lives. My journey was a long one. Putting my dreams on hold to care for my handicapped daughter and then my elderly parents I never thought much about “memories”. I was too busy being a caregiver - always thinking there would be a tomorrow.
After my mom passed, I was sitting in what was her living room and I was overcome by “the missing”. I never look at death of a loved one as a loss – more a missing. I know I will see her again, but at that moment, I felt so sad and missed her so much. I looked around her living room and saw a shadow-box mirror that had many of her “trinkets” on displayed. I knew that soon I would have to pack away those treasures of hers and tuck those memories away. That made me even sadder.
I gathered some of her treasures and added them to a heart box I had-thinking I would tuck it away and be able to look at it from time to time. Then I thought why couldn’t I pick out some of her very special treasures and display them. So I decorated the box and displayed my mom’s treasures in a vignette that reminded me of her. By placing some of her favorite things in a display, I was able to put that heart box on a shelf at work or home and remember my mom with a smile instead of tears. Looking at it just made me happy – the memories made the missing easier.
Many people asked me about the heart box and wanted one of their own. Not just for a parent who had died but for a baby’s birth, weddings, anniversaries, and memorials (I even had the pleasure of creating a memorial for a wonderful woman who had lost both her dogs). It is not always about loss – having “Heart Art” around is more of a way to keep any memory alive and present in our everyday life.