Picking Up Where I Left Off. Kind Of.

About a year ago I dropped off my last heart and then things got busy because kids and teaching art, and summer stuff and school stuff and all those other things that make up life.

Then I got to thinking one day a few weeks ago about getting back to the project. Te more I thought of it the more it became clear that carrying on a project that has been a year in hiatus was not the route I wanted to take. Then I thought about what I could turn the project into. Then I remembered seeing a group on Facebook that was specifically about the abandonment of art in random places and then I stared to make a few pieces of art in small cards with a plan to focus my area of art drops to a single place, Confederation Park in Burnaby.

We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust. - Rumi
Left to be found on a park bench by the children's water park and the track at Confederation Park in Burnaby BC.

So, (to make use of the term used by the Facebook group I've joined) I abandoned my first two art works in my new guerrilla series. A Breath of Fresh Air is the title I'm giving the project. Like the found paper hearts it has an element of text involve but the media and the subject of each art piece will have nothing in common beyond that the quotes will all be positive, affirming and in some cases encouraging messages.

I often find that I find the right words to help when the times are tough; right when I need them. Sometimes a small turn of phrase or quotation comes right out of nowhere and hits the nail right on the head. My hope is that the art I abandon with the quotes I've chosen to illustrate will do the same for the people who find them.

All A Bloom.
Left to be found on the first picnic table to the left from the sidewalk behind McGill Library entering onto the field.

These are the first in many more drops to come. The goal being to set one down on each bench and picnic table in the park.

Away Too Long

Summer activities have kept me busy. Here's a heart themed short to let you know that my heart is still in this.
simply candy :) _ five cecond project_ candy hearts from farzin khandan on Vimeo.
five second project for greyscalegorilla .
http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/2013/02/five-second-projects-candy-hearts/
this theme is ``candy hearts``.
software: cinema4d / after Effects.
i am really sorry for the quality . i did not have enough time to render hiRes.
with love to greyscalegorilla.

First Love

Blik from Polder Animation on Vimeo.

You Can't Close Your Heart...

As time goes on I find I'm getting braver and more overt with my drops.

This morning for instance, I left a heart with only a minute and a half to spare before catching a bus home. The drop was left near by the last drop, in a planter outside of a chocolatier with two ladies sitting in the window enjoying coffee and croissants right in front of where I placed the envelope.

You can't close your heart to the things you don't want to feel
-Johnny Depp

Whether these ladies noticed the drop is really something I didn't pay attention to beyond noticing they were there. If nothing else they may have noticed the Bean (my youngest sprout) in my arms as I placed the heart beneath the topiary. She (the Bean) has got cheeks that don't end and they tend to attract attention. I placed the heart, took a few photos and walked quickly away to catch the bus home. All directly in front of the two customers and without heart pounding anxiety.

On the one hand I like the idea of anonymity in the interaction of finding the heart. On the other, I wonder if seeing someone doing something a little out of the ordinary; like carefully placing an envelope in a planter, on a bench or inside a dairy case before taking a few photographs and walking away; will invite a closer look at that envelope?

After the April 16 drop and the near witness of a finding, Being a little more obtrusive in the act of a drop feels easier to do. While the motivation for this project is to leave these positive messages and hearts behind to be found I can't deny that a little feedback, even as small as the idea that someone has seen the act is reinforcement to continue on.

So the project is evolving.

Feeling like a voyeur

Dropped at the bus stop on Hastings

So the last time I posted was just before the last drop. I try to post images on the facebook page as soon as possible after a drop so that if the heart is found there will be some evidence for the finder. If I can't get to a blog posting right away the facebook page is an easy and quick way to check in.

I did this drop with my daughters in tow. The two year old was oblivious to what we were up to, but the six year old was beside herself with excitement. What if someone found it while we were there? what if someone saw us "hide" the envelope? What if they asked us if it was ours? All the things that run through my mind when I do a drop spoken out loud and with the barely suppressed excitement of an excited child let in on a big secret.

We placed our envelope in the slats of the bus shelter and took some photographs. Then we moved a little ways away to give the drop some distance while we waited for our bus to arrive. We had a bit of a wait for our bus and I didn't want to crowd the drop in case someone did come along.

Someone did come along soon after, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I tried to get the six year old to act casual as a woman walked out of the bakery and over to the bench. She sat next to the drop and we were able to watch as she read, but did not pick up the dropped heart. Our bus came and we left for home.

I've lingered around after a drop a few times hoping to catch a finding in the act but this was the first time that I've been so close to witnessing a find. Our heart was not there the next day which could mean any number of things could have happened all of which I've listed in other posts here.

If you've found your way here from a found heart let me know. Follow this blog and or the facebook page, comment or just come back for another read sometime to see what where I've dropped another heart.

An Act of Faith

I've been on hiatus as you may have noticed from my lack of posting. Not everyone in my life is privy to this project other than a tiny handful who I've told because I thought it would interest them. Other than that, it's a little secret that I'm keeping.

The last few weeks have been super busy with life things. Family coming out to visit, my niece getting married and the havoc that follows all those things. On top of those some pretty personal and tumultuous drama that I won't go into, other than to say that all is sitting on marginally calm seas with more calm on the horizon. We are just finally getting back into day to day rhythms so back to the project.

We are on the two month mark of the project with on average about a heart a week being dropped somewhere with no feedback from finders.

The thought that I may be wasting time, waxed paper and pen ink has yet to seriously cross my mind. I say that, because it's a natural thing to talk ourselves out of putting ourselves out there. Yes the thoughts cross my mind but those thoughts are swiftly followed by other thoughts. Thoughts that tell me that putting my hearts out there with their small messages is an act of faith. Faith that someone out there will find them, read them, and have that mean something for them.

It may very well be that all the envelopes I've left out there have been picked up and immediately deposited into a recycling bin. With each drop I know that is a possibility. Just like starting a new friendship, or continuing well cultivated ones, there is always the possibility that what you put out there will be rejected, ignored or ripped up. We keep at it because those connections mean something, are worth something.

With Love

To you With Love from CMD JDE D05 on Vimeo.