Recent events in the news have really gotten to me lately. The fiscal cliff, Sandy Hook, and last week the biggest drug bust in the Vermont happened in my town. It's so discouraging, I want to live in a fun, vibrant, safe, and healthy community, but that is obviously not entirely the case. Forty drug dealers were arrested in a town wide sweep through our snowy town. Not users. Dealers. I'm not talking small amounts, for personal use, and I'm not talking about weed. Forty people arrested for dealing in Heroin and Crack . We know there is a problem is here, but the scope of the problem was amazing to most people.
Anyway. It's caused me to really think about community, what it means to me, and the important role each person plays in creating that sense of community...for better or worse. It's made me wonder about next steps. These events have made me more determined to be a stronger positive influence in my town. They have set me searching for a way to give something back to my town, to help it to regain it's esteem and to become the kind of place I want to live in. And to support the many positive things that are happening here.
After giving the matter some thought, I decided that I would like to initiate
a community art project called Free Art Friday. Have you heard of it? It's an world wide art scavenger hunt that happens of Fridays. Here’s how it
works.
Each week an artist (me) will make
a piece of art. On Friday I will leave
it in the community for you to find. I
will place photo clues on http://www.facebook.com/FreeArtFridayVermont
. Visit the site for clues that will help you help you determine the
location. If you find the art it’s yours to keep, I only ask that you post a photo of the art back to http://www.facebook.com/FreeArtFridayVermont
, so that I know it found a good home.
The first work I will drop is a watercolor from my latest series. The watercolor is matted, and sized to fit into
a standard 8” X 10” frame. It will look great on your wall. I will be dropping it on Friday February 1
at a yet to be determined location.
That’s it. Free Art
Friday.
Of course, it's a community art event and anyone may participate as a hider or a seeker. Community members who would like to participate as an artist and hide a drawing, collage,
original photograph, painting, object of choice can visit the facebook page and post a photo for the seekers.
The Free Art Friday Facebook page has been up for just three days, but has already gotten the attention from other Free Art Friday movements around the country. I'm hoping this will encourage local artists to participate as a means of promoting and supporting their work in and outside our community.
Please support Free Art Friday by visiting and liking us on Facebook
How about you? What challenges do you face in your town and how do you work to overcome those challenges?
Cool idea! How do you get the information out in your community so people know what to do. When they come across a piece of your artwork? Are other artists in our community participating?
ReplyDeleteHi Phyl, good question. Participating artists will include a note with a request to post to our facebook page. I'm getting the word out via my own Facebook page, through e mail, and am hoping for a shout out through the local paper. I started out on my own and have recruited three others. Not bad for a week's work.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too worried about publicity...word travels fast in a small town, LoL. I'll hit the colleges up for artists if need be.