My Sunday Making Hearts With Page Hodel

Page selecting sushi pieces for the last touches on the group created heart.

This past Sunday, I had the amazing experience of taking part in Page Hodel’s weekly ritual of making hearts in San Francisco. More than 8 years ago, Page Hodel moved into a new apartment in San Francisco when she met Madalene Rodriguez, her neighbor, and fell madly in love. First, she met Madalene’s brother while walking down the street. During the course of casual banter, he mentioned that his sister, Madalene, wanted to meet Page. Curious, Page knocked on Madalene’s door, and it was love at first sight. Tragically, less than a year later, Madalene died of ovarian cancer.

During their early days together, Page began expressing her love by making hearts – a new one every week for Madalene.  She’d create a new design and place it at Madalene’s doorstep as a gift as she left for work each Monday.

Page getting ready to photograph the sushi heart of the week.

While Madalene may have physically departed, her memory lives on in the heart of Page Hodel as she continues every week to create a new heart in her loving memory. With a passion to spread the positive force of her love, over the years she has created more than 400 (and counting) of the most beautiful hearts, each of which she has photographed. Viewing them is breathtaking, each one more beautiful and creative than the last. Soon she began to email her new creation out each week to a growing list as “Monday Hearts for Madelene.”

“If you want to know how much you love someone, take her or him away forever.” Page Hodel

This past Sunday I took part in a heart-making party along with a small group of Page’s friends who joined in to create this week’s heart, one that’s made of sushi, no less. Priscilla Rice, a friend and a wonderful real estate agent, donated both her home and the sushi for the heart making experience. What better way to spend Sunday than to be creative with a room of people who enjoy giving and are, as I refer to, as high on feeling.

Last minute fun with chopsticks.

In spending a day with Page, it’s evident that her process of making hearts is indeed in loving memory but also one of a religious experience for her — a religious experience of another order. I personally believe it’s the new order by which our concept of death moves to another level, one of sharing, expressing love and spreading a memory as we openly talk about death in a frank and loving way.  I saw this take place Sunday by those few who were surprised by the open discussions about death. The joy of the day was overwhelming and shall I say forever memorable.

I share with you images of the heart we made together yesterday. If you’d like to receive Page’s new heart creation each week, subscribe at the bottom of her home page to be on her “Monday Hearts for Madelene” email list.

* To read more about Page’s love hearts check out her website.

* To read about Page’s last heart making party, a giant heart of people holding hands on a beach each with a flame. View her aerial view here.

* To donate in memory Page asks that you give to Women’s Cancer Resource Center in Oakland, California.

A special thanks to everyone whom I met & who came to help Page with her sushi heart!

The final heart design courtesy of Page Hodel.