"Love Me" was created as an entry for a local exhibition. The only requirement for this exhibition was for it to be on paper or made of paper. From the moment I heard about this I had ideas of what I wanted to create. As I have stated in previous posts, when I get a vision for a project it is easy for me to turn it into a physical piece of work.

My main objective for this piece was to create beauty out of paper. The red rose symbolizes the "love" that one may have for another. Love can be a beautiful thing. The string of pearls in this piece are strung tight together, showing their bond is strong. The placement of the pearls is very delicate and flows from one side to the other.

Some might say the pearls seem to be hung on the neck of a woman. The rose may represent her heart, delicate and fragile but also bold and beautiful. And the strength in the string of pearls could be the bond between the man and woman, wrapped tight around the woman's heart to keep it from falling apart.

"Love Me Not" was also created for this local exhibition. However, I did not intend to make it from the beginning. The idea came to me one night as I was looking at "Love Me" and I thought it would be interesting to make a pair. "Love Me", of course, is about the strength and beauty in love, and this piece is about the heartbreak that could come from love.

There is a great deal of destruction in this piece. The black rose in this case is representing a broken heart, burnt and peeling apart. This rose is actually made of a thicker tag board, unlike the rose in "Love Me" which is made of thin colored paper. Even though this "heart" has a stronger foundation, it is still falling apart. The pearls are coming loose and no longer holding the rose together. If there isn't a strong bond hold the two together, they both will fall apart.

This piece was on display at EFFJAY PROJEKTS (Now - Frank Juarez Gallery) in Sheboygan, WI from August 4 - 31, 2011.