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| cartoon by Bill Slavin |
I married a romantic and a risk taker. On our first Valentine's Day, Bill gave me a hand-drawn card. To give a handmade card to someone whose family are all artists, that's bravery. He also gave me the nickname Gus (but that's another story). Later Bill asked me to marry him on a different Valentine's Day while we sat in a crowded Italian restaurant on Tahoe's North Shore after a tiring day of skiing.
When we moved to San Francisco, we discovered large hearts decorating different parts of the City. We found large hearts at the corners of Union Square, we found hearts in bank lobbies, outside apartment buildings, and inside of hospitals.
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| Heart at corner of Union Square |
We knew about the San Francisco General Hospital fundraising campaign, but never realized how many hearts still can be found in the City. The fundraising annual event began in 2004, when artists were encouraged to paint large scale hearts. The hearts are auctioned off each year and have found their way to other parts of the Bay Area. Danville, our old hometown, created a similar event in 2020 and exhibited sixteen hearts on the main street, Hartz Avenue. We walk to Giants ballgames and pass by the army green heart outside of Momo's Restaurant. At the end of a winning game, we listen as the song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," echoes through out the stands. Hearts, then, have been a big part of our lives.
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| Heart in Salesforce Park |
At the end of January we walked by the front door of the Ferry Building and discovered two large hearts, one called Japanese Tea Garden by Isabelle Hung, and the other by Dev Heyrana called Sol. We wandered through the busy Ferry Building and found a collection of smaller hearts at the back of the building.
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| Japanese Tea Garden by Isabelle Hung |
Cities around the world have adopted the practice of creating sculptures for fundraising. Not only do the specific organizations such as San Francisco General Hospital benefit from the fundraising, but so do artists who have a chance to exhibit their talents in a public space. We first saw artwork painted onto cows instead of hearts all over Prague many years ago. They had chosen to participate in The CowParade which highlights the artwork of artists who select from three different cow shapes to use as their base. These cities have recognized how important the work of artists can be to bring joy and fun to their communities while raising money for good purposes.
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