This pear started life as a lemon.
The Covid-19 pandemic was the July theme of my artist trading card group, and for a while, I thought I would just slap the House With Heart I designed in April on a card and write “Stay Well.” But I found the idea boring, and I hesitated to make the card.
One morning, The expression “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” popped into my head. It seemed as though life had been providing the world with plenty of lemons.
Outside my window, my husband was in our garden harvesting garlic, and I began to think about vampires (if you thought lemons were bad …), and how they are repelled by garlic. All of a sudden, I had a somewhat convoluted idea for my card: Protecting Yourself From Vampire Lemons. I’d already designed a head of garlic, so I just needed to design a lemon. And why not fit the house into the narrative? I did say convoluted.
Here is how the card turned out:
Later, I looked at a leftover Lemon and wondered if it might make a good pear, and after a few folds, the Pear was born.
By adjusting the color and shaping, you can create any number of tree fruits, but the Pear is my favorite. I hope you enjoy folding it!