The Sanibel Shell Fair had a very special SAILORS VALENTINE exhibited this year. Hatsue Iimuro flew all the way from Japan with her husband Noriko and best friend Yasuyuki to enter her work at the Sanibel show.
Hatsue said she is the first one to introduce Sailors Valentines to the japanese people in her town near Mt Fuji. Good for Hatsue! What a treat for her japanese neighbors to see such intricate seashell masterpieces. Believe it or not, the airlines almost lost their precious cargo! Thank goodness they found it so we could enjoy this beautiful piece of art and she could be rewarded by a Blue Ribbon and the Best Miscellaneous Exhibit.
There were so many other winners and gorgeous Valentines using such creative designs with seashells. Really….they are unbelievable!
I think my favorite one was Rachel Fields’ Sailors Valentine. She was beaming from ear to ear and proud as a peacock (as she should be!) to enter her beautiful piece of art for the first time as a hobbyist.
Sanibel Has My Heart …
Hi Pam – this is Rachel – Thank you for the shout out!!
I was so nervous to meet you – you’re like a celebrity to me a little ;) – that I forgot to say how the piece was inspired by you a little – all the shells on the outside are collected from Sanibel (by the lighthouse and Seaside inn where I usually stay) and around the border there are jingle shells each proudly displaying one of the Sanibel Six (well most of them – i did my best with what I had – but that was the idea)
Again I <3 your blog and hopefully i'll see you at the show again next year!!
Rachel it was My pleasure to meet YOU! And now that you tell me I had anything to do with inspiring this beautiful piece…even a little… I’m now grinning from ear to ear and proud as a peacock! I love that you used the Sanibel Six! I only wish I had a better camera so I could have gotten more detail. The glare on the glass plays tricks on my little camera so lots of my photos didnt turn out. I’m saving up for a new fancy camera for next year so I hope to see you again too so I can get lots of detail on your next piece.
Me too, Rachel…I thought I was meeting a rock star and was so nervous when I met Pam. LOL
Your Valentine is lovely……Sanibel has my heart too!!!
heehee you are too funny!!!
Yes, Pam is a celebrity to many of us and we love her!! The Sailors Valentines are my favorite thing. I cannot imagine having the patience to sit and make one, but I love to drool over them. What gorgeous works of art!
WOW! Such incredible talent!
Rachel’s “Sanibel Has My Heart” is hand’s down my all-time entry into the shell fair. All real art from the heart. The same reason all of us shell aficiondos enjoy Pam’s blog so much – it is her art from her heart!
At the Sanibel Stoop on Bowman’s beach I was wearing a Columbia aqua t-shirt (Pam’s signature color). Myself being a tall blonde like Pam more than several people came up & asked if I was Pam. They were so disappointed to find out that I was not her. I felt so bad for them that I almost started saying I was Pam but no one can impersonate her sunny smile & genuine friendliness (although I feel I could have come close).
All beach lovers from Sanibel & beyond love shelling & love Pam!
I heart Sanibel, too, and I am truly amazed at the talented shell artists in our shelling world. Pam, you’re a rock star! :)
Rachel did great with her truly heart-felt piece! I always love it when sailors valentines use local shells.
Hatsue’s free-form one was very interesting and extremely pretty, and wow what a frame!
I was in Florida for the month of February (lucky me). I went to Sanibel several times. My daughter and son-in-law came to visit. We were at Lighthouse Point around Feb. 13th. My son-in-law bent over at the water’s edge and came up with a baby black-tipped shark!It was about a foot and a half long and struggling in the rough surf.We admired it for a short time and released it. It happily swam away. What a great experience. Last year around the same time, my other son-in-law saved a Pufferfish!!
Thank you once again, Pam, for the great photos. Those wonderful creations are so inspiring! Just wish I could lean in a little closer… . I must live vicariously through you a little longer but thank God you are there!
Thank you. They’re beautiful.
WOW! Each is amazing! I can’t tell, what are the blue shells around the mermaid? Do you think these are all shells these people found or are they purchased? And those frames are beautiful too. Thanks for sharing!
I think most of them are dyed shells (like the blue ones) that are purchased.
You guys! Awwww… Thank you so much for such sweet comments! Hey Kaybe, we can paint some freckles on you- that’s all it would take to be twins. No shell or shark’s tooth would have a chance on the west coast.
Pam – you have done an awesome job covering this beautiful show. My “Shelling Sisters” and I were at the show for many hours on Friday and Saturday. So sorry we didn’t see you there!!! We felt like we had done the Sanibel Stoop after several hours of bending over the beautiful exhibits. Didn’t find much on the beaches over the weekend, but the show was the “Main Event” Great job “Shelling Sista”!!!
Hi Pam – I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to meet you. This show was the first for me and I was amazed when I won first place and the best single valentine trophy in the hobbyist section. Mine is the one with the Lily of the Valley center. Maybe we will meet next year.
Congratulations Donna! I too hope we get to meet next year.
I was so sad that I couldn’t be at the Shell Fair celebration, but am so grateful for your wonderful blog and the daily updates. It is so inspiring to see the different events and brings fond memories of how much my parents enjoyed Sanibel and the Shell Fair in the 80’s and 90’s when they were both living. Thank you so much! We’re excited to return on March 17.