True, unrequieted love, stays pure and delicious because it never becomes sullied by reality

“To be deeply loved, means a willingness to cut yourself wide open, exposing your vulnerabilities... hopes, hurts, fears and flaws. Hiding behind the highlight reel of who you are, is the real you and that person is just as worthy of love. There is nothing more terrifying or fulfilling, than complete love, it's worth the risk... reach for it.”
― Jaeda DeWalt

“I'm looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love.”
― Candace Bushnell, Summer and the City

“Let no one who loves be called altogether unhappy. Even love unreturned has its rainbow.”
― J.M. Barrie, The Little Minister

“Love is a word that is overused these days, due to other lesser feelings often being mistaken for it. Infatuation, admiration, and attraction can pose as love, and can sometimes overwhelm us and fool us into thinking that we have found the real thing when we haven't. Those other feelings may be pleasant for a time, but they are not real love. Real love is rare. It's something that, quite honestly, I believe very few people ever truly experience.”
― Marian Vere, Once Upon A Second Chance

“Real love is always chaotic. You lose control; you lose perspective. You lose the ability to protect yourself. The greater the love, the greater the chaos. It’s a given and that’s the secret.”
― Jonathan Carroll, White Apples

Happy Valentines Day

 

On Friday afternoons art class we made hearts out of exterior grade plywood to give to people on Valentines Day which is February 14th. 

I made three double sided hearts for my article in Saturdays Daily Post.
 They are on the lines of  the conversation heart lollies we used to buy as kids. 
These spiral in the wind and they are hung in a tree outside my studio. 
When I see them I will always feel loved and they will greet visitors and pupils and hopefully make them feel happy. 
They are sort of trite and definitely retro and they make you smile with nostalgia. 

 

 

 

I like them so much I'm going to make some more

 

For my Valentines present Graham bought me a Fitbit Flex three weeks ago
 I am in love with it, so it's a pretty good present. 

 

I bought him a small coffee plunger so he can have a nice tasting cup of coffee every morning in it, he really liked it

My friend Mirna from El Salvador bought me this gorgeous little hand made book from the TRADE AID shop. 

It has blank pages and I'm going to do a small illustration in it about love every day. 

I bought myself this cup because it has beautiful birds on it and a neat message which is "The world is but canvas to our imagination".

It came in this cute box and also with ts own little coaster.

Graham took me out to Skyline Skyrides restaurant  Stratosfare for dinner.

It was more for the ride up in the gondola than the food. 
I'm not usually a fan of smorgasbords. 

I rang and booked and asked for a window seat but they said you couldn't book for this.
 So we were in amongst noisy people with a kid playing on a smart phone, surrounded by people all on their cell phones. 
 It drives me nuts people being out and checking their cell phones all the time I think it's rude and if I'm with someone who does it I feel like screaming at them, put that thing away when you are in my company. 
You are being so rude. 
The food was ok, not brilliant. 
The decor is nice. 
The view is superb. 
The waiters and waitresses are lovely. 
The seafood chowder was great.
I broke my fitbit diet and had some dessert which was a merange, icecream, black jellibeans, a brandy snap and some chocolate mousse. 
It was nice but I was so aware of all the fat and sugar. 
So you can imagine my fitbit calorie intake was way over what I had expended. 
But I thought,  I've written it down and not to worry about it and just have a nice time. 

Well I wanted to shift to a window seat but Graham didn't so I  was a bit grumpy to tell you the truth.
 It was not the most romantic dinner I have ever had.
 But I was grateful for having an experience and that he actually suggested it.
 You need to let men have some suggestions about romantic dates because it encourages them to plan more. 
The ride back down on the gondola was very lovely and silent. 
 

Creative Quotes of the Day

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.

Jane Austen

Kiss me and you will see how important I am.
Sylvia Plath


When you look at me, when you think of me, I am in paradise.

William Makepeace Thackeray

So Happy Valentines Day everyone and remember it's never too late to book an art of being lovely mosaic class with me. 
Email jkeen@clear.net.nz for  details.

Romance at the Rotorua Lakefront

While waiting for my friend Jing to arrive for an early morning shoot at the Rotorua Lakefront 

I saw this beautiful young woman

 

and her man taking photos of each other.

 They looked so happy and so in love that I asked them if I could take their photos. 

 

They were very happy and obliging 

And it turned out that they were from India and were on their honeymoon

Her feet and hands had henna pictures hand drawn on a day before the wedding.

 They showed me their wedding pictures and the dress was beautiful and so was his costume.

 I love the Indian culture for their flamboyance and  artistic expression

 

How absolutely adorable I  thought, you could just see and feel their love for each other shining through

They were gorgeous inside and out

I asked them if it was an arranged marriage and they said yes.

They had met a number of weeks before and the parents had organised it. 
They had their stars read to see if they would be compatible, a lot of thought and planing  had gone into it and they liked the look of each other immediately.
 So they agreed and it was organised. 

The wedding went on for four days and then they came out with a group for a tour of New Zealand.

So how wonderful I thought and how efficient. 

These people were so well suited and I started to think about our system in the Western world.

Does it make for happier longer marriages where people choose each other because they fall in love?
What about all the women in the Western world who want to get married and have children but can't find a husband because the men are  happy with staying uncommitted and having everything they want without any obligation?
What would happen if women started valuing themselves more and treating themselves like prizes and saying no to men?
In an ideal world I  would advocate this.
Say no more often to men, don't be so willing to cater to their needs and don't put up with their abuse, whether it be mental, emotional or spiritual. 

Creative Quotes of the day 

Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

 

Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.

George Eliot

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu

We loved with a love that was more than love.

Edgar Allan Poe