Free Art - Art Is For Everyone Movement
The Free Art Movement
In cities and towns all over the country, artists of all mediums are hiding their creations in parks, setting them in window sills downtown, tucking them in nooks in buildings and trees and setting them on benches at bus stops. Painted rocks, detailed paintings, crocheted hats, handmade jewelry and sculptures, found with tags giving the finder notice that the item is free for the taking, are becoming a regular sight. What’s got artists willing to let go of their work, for free and sometimes anonymously?
Here are a few of the things we’ve found around town.
The free art movement in Joplin, MO has been gaining momentum over the last few years. Groups like Free Art 417 and Joplin Area Rocks are encouraging the creation and sharing of art in the community.
What Is Art?
When you think of art, do you think of Vincent van Gogh and his Starry Night? Or maybe Auguste Rodin and The Thinker?
Everyone has their own thoughts on the subject, but Jae Swimm, founder of Free Art 417, has a pretty good idea about what art is.
“You glue a couple sticks together to make a person, that’s art. You paint a rock. That’s art. Even the way you live is art. Art is EVERYTHING! Just open your eyes and your minds and jump in!”
~Jae Swimm
Are You an Artist?
According to Jae, and Free Art 417’s moderator, Nicole Lee-Sye, you are an artist.
“I just can’t stress enough that art isn’t some fancy thing only artists do. EVERYONE CAN DO ART!”
~ Jae Swimm
You don’t believe it?
Maybe you don’t believe you’re an artist because when you think of art, you think of the Greats that I mentioned above. You’ve got to come to an understanding that “anything can be art!”
“I’m not creative. I can’t paint. I can’t draw. I think people’s understanding of the concept that anything can be art is growing. That understanding is so important. Art is for everyone.”
~ Nicole Lee-Sye
I Love Free Art!
I’ve dabbled a little bit in Free Art 417. I’ve mostly just observed. This morning I had some errands to run, so I packed up a bag of my art to take with and ‘hide’ around town.
Dropped off the pixy hat at the library along with a couple books. When we stopped for lunch, I clipped the 3-D glasses hairclip on a parking sign. On the way through downtown, the Ewok and the Wookie were left near a tree. And between the post office and home, I stopped by the Ronald McDonald house and left Bob Bunny. You might recognize Bob from yesterday’s #makeitmonday post.
Why Should You Start or Join a Group Like This?
Putting yourself, or your work out there can be intimidating, or even scary. But when you’re a part of a supportive group of people, all doing the same thing, it becomes easier. You’ll feel more confident. It’s the reason I won’t sing karaoke with out my 17 best friends!
”Standing in front of a group of people, in person or on a social media group, and saying, “I made a thing. Do you like my thing?” can be a very vulnerable position to be in,” explains Lee-Sye. We’re so very fortunate to have amazing people on Free Art 417 who not only stand up and say ‘I made a thing.’ They release that thing into the world. Their openess and bravery becomes a catalyst for happiness.”
“We don’t accept ‘I’m not artistic’ in our group. If you say you are afraid to make art, you will be showered with positivity and encouragement. That’s just how it goes!”
~ Swimm
“You never know who you could make friends with or what you could learn.”
~Swimm
Back to the Original Question
What’s got artists willing to let go of their work, for free and sometimes anonymously?
No one does anything for nothing. So what’s the payoff? What benefit is there for the artist?
Maybe it’s the feeling you get when you do something for someone in secret. The feeling you get when you pay for the guy behind you in the drive through. Only maybe art is more personal. It’s a little piece of you, after all.
“Free Art 417 is about, to me, bringing kindness into the world. Setting something of yourself free into the world just to make a stranger’s day. Getting people out in our city and into nature. To explore and see there are wonderful, unique people in this community.”
~ Cassie Estes, group moderator
Everytime a piece of art is hidden, it’s done with the intention reaching out and making someone’s day a little brighter. When someone finds a piece of art on the way into work, or while they’re out shopping or running errands, perhaps their day is made a little brighter.
“Someone finds it, and maybe that person is inspired to do something for someone else.”
~ Lee-Sye
Discovering the feeling of giving just for the giving is a brilliant experience. For me it’s a giddy feeling. It’s love and mischief and excitement all mixed up.
“I love that it teaches people to give without expectation of anything in return.”
~Swimm
What might be the most important benefit is what children can learn through giving.
“I think it’s a great lesson in reciprocity for the kids. It shows them that getting a good feeling from doing something for someone else can be better than getting a THING in return.”
~ Lee-Sye
My Payoff From Today’s Hides
I don’t know if anyone found the hair clip, but I actually got to see who found the pixy hat. I’m not sure if he kept it or left it for someone else, but it was cool to see someone check it out.
But this is the real payoff:
![E7EE3CE8-52C3-4C75-A05B-DA27CB087EE0.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1518589416/cd7ffbnjpkpb9kg39xqm.jpg)
![2F963426-5DC8-44AB-902D-9117DC66BEFD.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1518589426/nhac6cq44r8udtpiqaip.jpg)
What’s better than knowing that I’m (at least partially) responsible for those smiles!
Final Thoughts
If there is a free art group in your area, I encourage you to take part, at least give it a try. There’s so much to gain and nothing to lose.
I encourage you to get out in your community, go to the locally owned businesses, coffee shops, markets and shops, bars theaters, restraunts, parks. Take a walk into nature or downtown. There, you will always find art.
~ Estes
If you don’t have one, consider creating one. There are so many out there, look at how they’re organized and get some free art goin’ in your town. It may take some time and some work. But, as all Steemians know, nothing worth doing is easy!
“For at LEAST a year, I turned out art left and right to hide with very minimal response. Maybe two or three “found” posts on the page. I got discouraged. Until I realized it’s not about who responds. It’s not about feeding my ego and seeing where my art went. I wasn’t failing, I was being challenged. So i stepped it up a level, or seven, and just started saturating the area with free art. I decided I just wasn’t giving up and my project would succeed, so it did! But not by my own stubborn efforts alone. Without all of our amazing members, none of this would be possible.”
~Swimm
New Tag and Tips!!
Every week, I’ll be putting free art out into my community, and I’ll be posting it on Steemit on Tuesdays. I’ll use the tag #freearttuesday. If you’d like to join in, DO IT! When you do, be sure to use the tag #freearttuesday, then come back here and comment a link to your post. And frankly, I don’t even care if it’s on a Tuesday! The first five #freearttuesday posts that show up in the comments below will recieve a tip from me!
![CE68935B-351D-4D94-8E7C-99134878701B.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1518591350/xfy4ghspg6sjkltzzjs3.png)
![E7B373C8-39E3-4FB7-8C0A-DF5622C19F2A.jpeg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1518591390/hrkncnghecn4mwzymmeg.jpg)
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmarWRv4wXiqPZbmtDCDRTwE5jewDQrG1ATrXcFrTThxht/Gifbanner.gif)
I used to be of the opinion that not everyone, myself inclusive, has artistic abilities.
This #freearttuesday initiative has restructured my thinking and I'll start brainstorming and trying my hands out :-)
Besides, what better time to do this than this season of love and sharing?
Thank you @powellx5
I’m so excited to see what you come up with! Get it posted and leave a link here!
I love this idea so much. Just checking out your blog. I like your posts. :)
I just finished posting this week’s Free Art Tuesday post. Once I started creating and hiding free art around town, I just couldn’t stop! I’m hoping it catches on. :)
K, I'll go over and look at it. Idk if you're familiar with the concept, but this sort of thing fits in with the idea of "gift economy". Short version definition is: spreading of love, creativity, work, craft, anything - simply to do so - as a gift. Converse to how we traditionally trade and sell things for the self-interested purpose of profit. The purpose of trade in a gift economy is outwardly focused. Can be seen as analogous to the giving maternalistic spirit of mothering. I think there's definitely open room for this sort of thing in communities. I'd love to see more of it.
I’ll have to look more into gift economy. It sounds like something right up my alley! If more people knew the how much they would recieve, in terms of satisfaction and joy, for giving with no expectation of recieving, everyone would be giving all the time! I especially love leaving something somewhere and not writing my name on it. When I walk away, I know that no one will ever know that I left it there, and I probably won’t ever know who recieved it, but knowing it may have made someone smile, or improved their day makes me so happy! I’m excited about the participation in the #freearttuesday tag so far. In the last 2 weeks, 5 people have posted under the tag. I know that’s not a lot, but it’s a start, and I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested at all. But I know that if there’s one community that is generous and active enough to take free art to the next level, it’s this one!!!
You hit the nail on the head before I even got to it. It's a no brainer, isn't it? Giving creates abundance, that's the point. There's no end to it when everyone participates. The problem is that we don't (myself included). I want to participate more and your post reminded me of that. I wish I had a more creative mind and more to give. I'm sure I can think up some things.
Awww it was so heartwarming to see the delight on the faces of the girls who ended up with the bunny and the wookie! So cute! This is a really great post, I loved some of the quotes emphasizing that art is something that anyone can do. It is such a fun and therapeutic thing, to create something for the sake of creation and art - I hope anyone who thinks they can't be an artist because of some doubt or insecurity reads this post and gets over the hurdle! Let's make some art! And share it :)
Much love - Carl
Knowing that when you put something out there, you could put a smile like that on someone’s face makes you want to do it again and again. I’m so glad that Ms. Schroeder posted the pictures of her kids and their finds, and that she allowed me to use the photos, so we can all see what can come from a something as small as this.
this is a bad-ass idea! now i've just got to brainstorm some water-resistant ideas & find some safe hiding spaces. rocks are definitely a good start, and i bet i could find some clay-like stuff to bake in the oven. OOOHH or shrinky dinks?! LOL
I can hear your cogs turning! Please post what you come up with. I was hoping it wouldn’t start raining before someone found these!
the cogs are so turning, i'm almost dizzy! :)
i will definitely post when i get something done
Everyone can do art, and stumbling upon such an unexpected random gift from the universe could really brighten someones day! This is such a selfless hobby that really has potential to spread your contagious happiness! What an angel! Instead of throwing down trash and syringes, you leave handmade toys and good luck tokens sitting around. Such a brilliant idea!
It’s really is so much fun, and rewarding too. My hope is that it does spread, and that with the #freearttuesday tag, I’ll get to watch it grow here on Steemit. This is the perfect community to get something like this started, Steemit is about giving and spreading the love!
The art for me is everything around us, we need to open our eyes.
I agree. I think people look at impossibly beautiful, realistic paintings and such and then can’t see the art in the simple, everyday things. But when we choose to see it, it makes life a little bit better!
What a wonderful post! I love the photos of the kids who found your art (which is also wonderful, by the way!)
I actually do this from time to time with my handmade pebble pendants and mandala stones, but I had no idea there was a movement dedicated to the idea! I'll be following and cheering you on for sure!
With love,
Jay x
(Here's the kind of thing I randomly leave laying around on park benches, dry stone walls and windowsills):
Wow! These are so pretty!! ♥
Thank you <3 I LOVE painting them!!! :D xx
Thank you <3 I LOVE painting them!!! :D P.S. I'm a homeschooler, too (well, unschooler!) xx
LOVE! I’d like to see some of your pentants. Is there a free art group in your area?
Thank you - that makes me happy :) I have never heard of the idea before, so I don't know whether we have free art groups. I doubt it, this being rural England, but I'll look into it :) You can see more of my stones (including pendants) on their Said In Stones Instagram and also in my store on Etsy. Hugs! Jay x
Wow! I love your color combinations! Your work is wonderful. Anyone would love to find one of those! Thanks for sharing. :)
Thank you! I've given stuff away free for years and years, since WAY before I decided to start selling my art, and I'm also basically incapable of sending out anything purchased from me without including a surprise freebie extra - like you, I just get a huge kick out of it :o) xx
this is truly inspiring! I can only emphasize on being brave and trying out art especially with different materials. There are no rules to art!
Yes, be brave! Once someone gets out there and sees that what they create is appriciated, excitement takes over and brave turns into confidence.
Hi! Nice blog!
Hey, @koto-art. Thanks for stopping by. I took a look at some of your stuff. You’re really talented. Do you plan on doing #freearttuesday? You could really make someone’s day with that beautiful stuff!
A little off the subject, but @markrmorris has an excellect series of posts. #dolphinschool has some great tips on gaining followers and getting your payouts up. Just some FYI!
I’ll be seeing you around!
@powellx5, thank you for your awesome advice! I am still new so your comment is very helpful. I enjoyed reading your blog! I will try to use #freearttuesday soon!
See you soon!
Hey, I just checked it out and @dolphinschool has it’s own page now. At least fgo check it out.
You’re so welcome. I’m new here too, and I’ve had so many people help me out!! We’ll all be more successful if we help each other out. I can’t expect anyone to support me if I’m not offering support.
Thanks a lot! I love this wonderful community. I tried many kinds of events in Japan as an English teacher for students before with my husband. Now we are in Canada so I have a new life here. I am so glad to have your type of people!
@powellx5 OMG love that Bob has a new home... just look at that smile! :) and what a brilliant initiative!
I thought you’d enjoying seeing where he wound up!