We have all heard of "pay it forward" It was popularized by the movie that bares it's title. For me, abandoning a little piece of myself around the world is my way of paying it forward. I am fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to earn my education, the income to buy my supplies, and the fortitude to pursue my dreams. Besides being a teacher and sharing my gifts with my students, I hope to make the world a better place with my art work.
Life can be challenging for the everyday artist. Amusingly coined 'a dime a dozen', it can be challenging to continue in the calling; dreams and careers often feel like uphill battles. There has long since been debates about what the purpose of art is. Some believe art for art itself or for the purpose of making something beautiful, others think it should make meaning of the world or act as a stamp in the human time record, or that art should be used for design in products, architecture, and topography; and then there is a group that don't believe art has a place in the world at all.
I believe art changes the world. Art has the capability to impact the individual and the masses. Art can be a therapy used to help people to better understand themselves and how they think and feel. It can be a tool to educate and communicate ideas with others. It can also be a combination of all things, good, bad and ugly.
I am telling you this because I got some feedback recently and I think it goes to show how small a act of kindness can change someones day and shift their perspective. A piece of artwork can embody this for eternally, when the viewer gazes upon it they recall how it made them feel. I like to think of it as a golden egg found in tall grass, every time the finder sees the egg they are once again transported back to that moment of glee and wonder in which they found it.
I like to leave little pieces of art work where I visit frequently. This is a picture of one of the pieces I have left at Starbucks, along with many others, over the past few months.
This is the note that I revived in my inbox when I came home after abandoning another piece.
“Thank you! My boyfriend and I stopped for a snack at Starbucks on the way to our lawyers office to sign closing papers for our new house! The universe knows what an important day today is for us and our family and this piece of art will always remind us of this exact moment in our lives!”
I abandoned this piece when I was on a girls weekend in Long Island.
A few days latter this turned up in my Facebook messenger.
It's obvious by the joy and gratefulness that these finders express that what I did mattered to them. Maybe they will hang the piece in their brand new home to commemorate the day, or add it to an already established collection, or give it away as a gift.
Whenever I doubt myself and my purpose, or when I'm faced with a challenge or problem and become discouraged, all I have to do is pull up one of these messages and remind myself that I am changing the world, creating positive little ripples through out the pond of life.
In the end isn't that the job of an artist, to make the world a better place by doing what we love?
I think so.