Image by Chris Brown from Nelson Gallery
By Melinda Johnston

Well, folks, it’s that time of year. Even though we’ve had to suffer through tacky red hearts and ribbons since Santa was tucked away, how many of you still haven’t bought your someone something? You have too, you know. Even if he or she has proclaimed that all that commercial, overpriced sentimental slop is just that, you still have to do something. Believe me on this one. And just because you are single, that doesn’t let you off the hook. Send something to your mom. If not your mom, I bet there is an elderly single person living alone near you who could use a Valentine. (There, now, don’t you feel better about yourself?)

We all know that you are supposed to buy chocolate, flowers and diamonds, but you don’t have to go that far. Even if all you get your someone is a beautiful Valentine’s card, you’ll win some points. The problem with cards, though, is that most of them are overpriced crap. My mom still sends me cards for Christmas, birthdays, Easter and whatever else you are supposed to send cards for, but I have steadily refused to buy them for any purpose for many years now. Cards are starting to be five bucks a pop. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather get a more expensive present than an overpriced piece of paper with some sappy slop on it. Even if your present budget is only five bucks, you can get a lovely organic chocolate bar with that. So, in short, I just don’t buy cards. Until now.

A good friend of mine, who goes by the nom de artiste of cameraman, has produced a series of Valentine’s Day cards that I can support. The cards feature photos of crows. There are crows on a telephone wire, crows in winter-bare branches, crows on an unlit neon sign, and all of them, to indulge in a little anthropomorphic assumption, wildly in love. One picture, of one crow snuggled into the feathered chest of another, is so poignant it almost brings tears to my eyes. Cameraman has embellished the black and white photos with red lithographed hearts. The cards are photographed, printed, lithographed and signed by cameraman, and the beautiful envelopes are lithographed, cut and folded into a neat origami-esque shape by Meggs.

These cards are art. Each one is worthy of framing, which is much more than you can say for anything Hallmark produces. Write a few sincere words inside, and give it to your love with a nice black or silver frame, and it will be a beautiful memento for years. Or until it gets smashed in an ugly scene, whichever come first.

They are perfect for everyone. Gothic types, of course, will enjoy the crows and chilly winter sky. The dark imagery is perfect for singles. They can turn on some Morrissey and enjoy a good wallow in the futility of a world that lets crow be happy and leaves them miserable. Art lovers can appreciate the stark beauty. Even your mom will like them—they feature birdies snuggling, after all. They are handmade by a local artist, which will please socially conscious types, and give you a few bonus karma points. In addition, cameraman is just a really nice guy. That’s a factor that’s a little hard to measure on the GDP, but surely it ought to count in a feel-good item like a Valentine’s Day card.

The cards are $6 each, and are available at The Flower Factor on Main St., Bean Around the World on Main St., The Union Market in Strathcona, Budgies Burritos at Kingsway and 8th, Prado on Commercial Drive and Bump and Grind on Commercial Drive. The cards are blank, so you’ll have to come up with a sentiment of your own. If that is impossible, there’s always the option of a little truth, and a little Shakespeare: “Madame, you have bereft me of all words” (Merchant of Venice, III.ii)

And do send something to your mom.