Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Anti Valentinism

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above: 1920s anti valentine card from prairie peacock

And I thought that the Anti Valentine was a recent concept. Obviously not. Some of the AV items on Etsy are lots of fun. I suppose people dislike the day for a variety of reasons. Some people have never recovered from a broken heart. Some don’t believe in the notion of romantic love. Others feel that Valentine’s Day has become overly commercial. Although I’m sure you don’t have to spend money to celebrate the day I must confess that I’m not a fan. To put so much emphasis on one day as a time for declaring our love seems strange to me. Much better to let those we love know that they’re cherished every day don’t you think?

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1. photo from patrick's house photography 2. journal from brown books 3. cross stitch card from ceg handmade 4. tote from shebbo designs 5. matches from dippy lulu 6. tshirt from nude and loitering tees 7. print from sandra eterovic 8. drawing from the sketchy life

You may not have heard or read this poem from Leonard Cohen (those who know me know that I'm a real fan). I didn't discover it till recently when I found a secondhand book of his earlier poems. I may not be keen on Valentine's Day but tokens of love are always appreciated. This is the poem that I'd love somebody to read to me...any day...any time.

When I think of 'love' I don't just think of people, but of birds and animals and other creatures. When I hear the birds around my home here I often have an involuntary intake of breath; an instantaneous smile. And just for a moment, I'm up there, soaring.

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above: aceo from lemachi designs
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print from moi, artdecadence (here in honor of Melange on Etsy Team 'Freedom' Challenge

11 comments:

Shebbodesign said...

Wonderful Anti-Valentine finds!! Love your blogpost! And thanks so much for featuring my whimsy tote bag :)
xo
Sebnem
http://www.shebbodesign.etsy.com

NaNa said...

Haha some of these are too funny. Especially the 'Love is in the air...try not to breathe' one!

Love from the NaNa girls x

Sandra Eterovic said...

Cynics unite!! Thanks so much Chrisy for including my little card in this great post! I had a good giggle.
Lovely to meet you. :)

The Forage said...

Yeah, i'm not a fan of Valentines Day either. For the same reason as you i guess, focusing on one day just seems stupid. Also yeah, the commercial tackiness and predictability of cards with hearts, dinner and stuffed toys just grosses me out!:)

Joanna Jenkins said...

Hi Christy, I hadn't heard of anti-Valentines but LOVE that first one.

As always all your images are fabulous. I don't know how you always manage to knock it out of the ball part, but I love your taste.

xo jj

Couture Carrie said...

Beautiful print, darling!
Also ~ I received my lovely prize prints in the mail yesterday and they are absolutely gorgeous... I am planning to frame them and put them in my new walk-in closet :)
Thank you so much!

xoxox,
CC

Unknown said...

Aww. Anti-Valentinism? I love that old one you posted up top! But yeah, by and large I'm all set. :)

Artsnark said...

fun post - you always have such great finds!

Colleen said...

I love Valentines, it's a nice bright spot in an otherwise, cold and dreary winter, but I understand why some don't like it.

Funny finds though and I like the print! :)

chrissy said...

Chrisy...thanks for visiting. Funny we have the same name. I don't run across very many Chrissy's like me. WOW! I had NO idea there was an AV campaign going on..but now that I think about it...of course there are people who HATE the holiday of LOVE.
I happen to love this season because of my love of hearts, but i agree with you..we should spread love to those around us ALL year long, not just one day in february.

Unknown said...

Thank you for including my t-shirt in this collection!