This is a series of 3 paintings with handblown glass hearts as focal points. Each painting has lyrics of songs as a base layer.  It took me nearly a year to even begin to paint something for Nick.  I guess it was just too painful. I wanted to paint something to remember him, to celebrate him.  The glass heart was my first attempt at glass blowing and I made it in March of 2012 and gave it to Nick.  He was already in hospice at that time and he kept this heart next to his bedside.  The imprint on the heart is an acorn.  I wasn’t sure why I chose that at the time (in the class they gave us about 5 minutes to chose something), but I think it makes sense to me now.  From a small acorn grows a grand tree.  In our front yard after a great storm during winter 1998 downed our huge old modesto ash, we relandscaped and Nick and I researched hundreds of trees.  We wanted the right tree that would grow tall and shade our little cottage.  We chose the great scarlet oak which is now growing tall in our front yard.  My daughter refers to it as “daddy’s tree” and how fitting a strong and beautiful oak tree, standing majes