While I was looking at our walls to prepare for this feature, I realized the art in our space can be broken down into basically two categories (both which have a lot of black and white...). Simple, graphic art (which I'll share more on tomorrow) and "art as love letters." That might sound like a strange category, but really, both in our purchased art and our DIY stuff, there is a clear theme.
my own script art + a photo print from 20x200.
a self-portrait I took for a final project my senior year of college + DIY art.
unframed poster via Jill McDonald on etsy.
The stuff that hangs in my office (the three photos above) could be considered "creative love letters." My space is filled with mantras (many of my own) and artwork that I love for the color, patterns and messages. And in OUR space, our bedroom, living room and hallways, we have a lot of more traditional love letters. Some are VERY obvious.
Ahem. A wood cut out LOVE? That's probably as obvious as it gets.
But some stuff is a smidge more subtle. I've mentioned this before, but the ampersands are everywhere. I fell in love with ampersands around the time I was working on our wedding invitations. To me, they represent love & togetherness, plus, they just look rad. I made the big nail art piece first and then set about collecting them so we have one in every room.
There are three love "poems" hanging in our house.
Two are by my friend & artist Kal Barteski, and one is by artist Austin Kleon for 20x200. All three refer to couples a little bit and love a little bit (and a lot).
photo by Driver Photo.
When I am trying to figure out text for DIY pieces, I often go with song lyrics. Two of these hang over our couches.
One is just simple painted script (I took Kal Barteski's online script school) on computer paper that I framed in a West Elm frame.
And the second is a canvas printed by CanvasPop that has a photo from Palm Springs with text on top. If we had a family crest, we'd probably put, "Let's settle down where palm trees grow." on it. It's been our goal since we first started dating (and already knew if we stayed together we'd face many, many moves).
And then there is the giant canvas that is the biggest love letter I have ever written. This was an actual love letter on canvas to Paul using the lyrics of our favorite song and the song we danced to at our wedding. (He was deployed when I made it, but I sent him a photo.)
In addition to the love themed art, I chose to frame a few actual love letters.
These are some of our favorite cards that I sent to Paul while he was deployed. They are just mounted (with double stick tape) on white poster board (which is my favorite inexpensive method to frame anything). Right now, this large frame is leaning on Paul's desk upstairs. It would be fun to do one of these card collages from each deployment. You can read more about this project, including my favorite places to buy cards here.
