This is a gift for my mother. My youngest brother is getting ready to leave for college, so we decided to do a theme about "leaving the nest". Both of my younger brothers did companion pieces to this. It's hard to explain my part, but...

As the oldest, I left home first to get married and start my own family, yet I didn't go far. Hence, "close to home". We can't have kids, but my mom calls my dogs (who are very much like children) her Grandpuppies... This is my sweetest baby Izabelle's anthropomorphized form, sitting beneath the tree and holding my heart where it belongs. The nest represents "home", where my mother stays, and the two hearts represent my brothers... and well... I hope that makes sense. This was a last minute piece so it came out a bit rushed. Lots of mistakes, but I like it! (Dec 2012)