These Happy Golden Years

Welcome to Two Hearts Art! We are Jim and Verna Horvath, venturing into new territory as we near retirement. We are both artisans who love to dabble in a variety of art media. This is our first foray into the Blogsphere, encouraged by our very web-savvy daughter. We've decided to create this blog to provide both an outlet for our thoughts about retirement, our grandkids and our creativity, and to display some of our creations for sale at our Etsy store. But first, an introduction:

Jim loves rare and unique woods, carving (particularly miniatures, Asian-inspired designs, boxes and display vases), and creating replicas of anything that inspires him. He is skilled at pen-and-ink drawings and photography as well. Jim is fascinated by history, science, sci-fi, family genealogy and sleeper movies. His hero is Inspector Clouseau of Pink Panther fame, and he is currently learning to draw caricatures.

Verna loves Shabby Chic and Victorian Country decor. She is skilled with watercolor, oils, acrylics, and practically anything else that comes in colors, including fingerpaints and Play-Doh. She has created graphic art in a wide variety of formats, from book illustration to web pages to wall murals. She enjoys sewing curtains, clothes and doll clothes, and loves growing and arranging flowers; she has provided arrangements for several weddings. Other favorite pastimes include singing to the grandchildren, playing word games, and canning vegetables.

We have three grown children (two girls and a boy), one wonderful son-in-law, five beautiful grandchildren, one very spoiled Sheltie dog and three teenage chickens to keep us company. We live in a beautiful old farmhouse in rural Ohio, just on the edge of Amish country, and are currently experiencing the joys and trials of caring for two aging mothers. Our family is very dear to us, and our creative pursuits are a joy.

Between us, we have noticed an incredible variety of interests and (we are told) talents, and have found these to be marginally lucrative over the years. Recently our children suggested that we find an outlet for our creativity on the Web, and that is why we're here. We hope that you will join us as we head towards retirement and will share your thoughts along the way.

Welcome to our happy golden years!