The last vestiges of Christmas stuff have disappeared from stores, only to be replaced by hearts and cherubs! The Silverstone Gallery with its array of hand-made treasures offers up the opportunity to give a truly unique gift for your valentine.

Valentine’s Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

“Duffins Creek” by Bob Hinves.  Download My Durham Desktop to have other intriguing images of Durham Region delivered to your desktop. My Durham Desktop is a computer desktop calendar that serves up the beauty of Durham Region visual art and photography every week.  Each new wallpaper is accompanied by a pop-up window that informs you of local events and happenings.

“Tangles” by Sharon Steinhaus.  Sharon is one of the Durham artists whose work you’ll find at this new gallery close to the lake on Liverpool Road.  The creative force behind this space is the PineRidge Arts Council; their aim is to showcase Durham visual artists active in painting, photography, sculpture, pottery & carving.

Download My Durham Desktop to have other intriguing images of Durham Region delivered to your desktop.