October, 2006 saw the death of my mother-in-law…a phenominal lady. She was a music teacher for 30 years in the West Chester, PA. area and had a huge heart of gold…I’ll miss her dearly. My daughter, Kacie and her would sit for hours and play the piano when she was little….I so loved to see both of them side by side, laughing, smiling, giggling…what great memories. My mother-in-laws favorite Bird was the Cardinal. She would sit for hours and watch them at the bird feeder. She had adorned parts of her home with Cardinals…be it cookie jars, table cloths etc…and she loved them so very much…When she was no longer able to live alone and we moved her to a retirement home, we made sure, her “cardinals” followed with her…..The summer of 2006 saw her in the early stages of Alzheimers and we knew, at some point, the end was closing in on her..she was 89 and had lived a wonderful , full life….The end came for her after a 35 day stint in the hospital…and the only time in the last 2 weeks that she opened her eyes was when my daughter Kacie came for a visit and spoke with her…Her eyes opened wide as if to say..”I love you Kacie and I’m going to a better place now”…She succumbed shortly thereafter. We all took it very hard…..especially my daughter. I had a “Special Rose” inked on my forearm in September of 2006 especially for my daughter….she drew the rose for me some time ago Today, 2.3.07, at the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention, I had the final piece of the Rose completed..that being a Cardinal..hovering above the rose…a special meaning, as my mother-in-law “ Claire”, is now watching over my daughter “Kacie” for the rest of her life….
There are a few pics of the Cardinal and “Revised Rose”...
Hope you have enjoyed the “special meaning” behind my latest piece……Thank You Shannon, once again for being a truly tremendous artist..You captured the essence of love!!!!!!
