I've always been drawn to objects that hold emotion quietly—things that don’t shout “love,” but whisper it instead. A worn locket. A painted miniature. A pressed flower between book pages. These small tokens of affection—secret, symbolic, tactile—carry a sense of intimacy that goes beyond time and convention.
In this blog post, I want to explore some of the historical love tokens that inspire my own work—particularly as someone who creates art centered on emotion, subtlety, and coded tenderness. And I want to reflect on how these artifacts resonate in sapphic and queer aesthetics today.
Hair Lockets: Memory You Can Touch
In the 18th and 19th centuries, lovers exchanged lockets containing hair—actual strands of their beloved, carefully curled behind glass. These weren’t morbid. They were intimate, physical keepsakes. Hair doesn’t decay, so the gesture was about permanence—carrying someone’s essence close to your heart.
I think about this idea often when I create personal or symbolic pieces. Even though I don’t work with materials like hair, I love the layering of personal meaning—the desire to hold memory and presence in something small and beautiful.
Miniature Portraits: A Gaze for One Person
Miniatures—tiny painted portraits on ivory or vellum—were another way to give a piece of yourself. Worn inside pockets or lockets, they weren’t for display. They were for privacy. For longing. For remembrance.
What’s powerful to me is how these portraits weren’t about status. They were about intimacy. The way someone paints your face for you, and only you, to carry.
In my own abstract portraits—like “ME, MYSELF & I” or “HER” — I reflect on these emotional inner selves. They’re not literal likenesses, but they hold something private and real. Identity, vulnerability, connection.
Floriography: Secret Codes in Bloom
The language of flowers—known as floriography—was a 19th-century way to communicate forbidden or unspeakable feelings. Especially in same-gender love or situations where public declaration wasn’t safe.
Some of my favorite examples:
Violets → sapphic love, devotion, hidden passion
Rosemary → remembrance, fidelity
Ivy → attachment, enduring bond
Forget-me-nots → memory, loyalty, eternal love
When I include certain plants or colors, I often think about these hidden messages—and how art can become a quiet communication of identity and love.
See my botanical art poster "FLOW"
💌 Letters, Locks, and Symbols of Secrecy
Love letters sealed with wax. Ribbons tied in code. Rings engraved with initials inside the band. Queer and non-heteronormative love throughout history often relied on hidden languages—ways of expressing affection that could pass as innocent but carried deep personal meaning.
Even today, this resonates. When I design art that leans into ambiguity—whether through color choices, abstract faces, or symbolic shapes—I’m playing with this same tradition. A visual whisper. A coded nod. A gesture that might mean nothing to one viewer, but everything to another.
Sapphic Aesthetics & Emotional Resonance
Much of this history sits close to my own heart as a queer artist. Sapphic relationships throughout history have often been documented through absence—through symbols, subtext, and coded intimacy.
From 19th-century love letters signed "Yours devotedly" to images of women reading books together or arranging flowers—what seems soft and domestic often was a declaration of affection, safety, and companionship.
In my work, I explore this through composition and color. Through shared gestures between figures. Through symbolism that invites interpretation.
Explore my symbolic art poster "Virginia & Vita"
“VITA & VIRGINIA” remains one of the clearest nods to this history in my portfolio—honoring queer legacy not by recreating it literally, but by emotionally resonating with it.
Modern Tokens of Love
So how do we carry this into today?
I think art is one of the most meaningful modern tokens. Not just because it’s beautiful, but because it’s intentional. Personal. Quietly radical. Choosing a print for someone you love—because it speaks to their softness, their power, their tenderness—is like sending a miniature, a flower, a secret note.
Whether it’s for Valentine’s, a birthday, a quiet "thinking of you," or a sapphic partner or friend—let it be something that lasts. That speaks. That carries a memory.
