Seeds: Pass it On–an invitation

Welcome to the “Seed” Site! Hopefully, this means you’ve found one of the “Seeds”  hidden around town. If this is so, if you could please leave some information about where you found it and what you made or did in response, that would be great. If you’ve stumbled upon this through the internet and would like to take part, that would also work!

Here’s a little info about what “Seeds” are:

“Seeds”  are gifts made for the neighborhood. The “Seed” you found has two parts: the clay apple, and the  writing inside it. The apples are  made from liquid clay called “slip”, which is poured into a mold made of plaster. After the plaster mold absorbs the extra water from the slip, the maker takes it out, cleans it up, and adds details to it. Then it’s put in a special oven and baked so the clay becomes hard, like a brick. The “Seed” clay hasn’t been baked, though! If you wanted to carve it, break it, or change the shape of it by getting it wet, you could! It breaks easily, so if it’s something you want to keep, put it in a safe place.

The stuff the writing is on is called parchment. Parchment is what people used for important written documents before there was paper–it’s thin goatskin! I’ve included a link so you can find out more about it. Parchment is pretty indestructible, unlike the clay apple. The quote is from the singer/songwriter,  Joan Baez:

You are amazing grace.

You are a precious jewel.

You—special, miraculous, unrepeatable, fragile, fearful, tender, lost, sparkling ruby emerald jewel rainbow splendor person.

Written on the other side is the request:

“Please make or do something beautiful and give it to the world—we need it! We need YOU!”  (seedsatbiginch.com)

To me, the words are what I want the Finder to remember, just as they are. The apple is an experiment, or a toy. It’s supposed to change.

So, “Seed” Finder, if you need encouragement to make or do something, you can use the clay “Seed”! Do something to it and then pick your own spot to hide it. Or, you can keep it and do your own thing, anything: music, drawing, photos, cleaning garbage off the street, planting flowers…whatever precious gift YOU  own and can share with no strings attached.  I believe if we leave enough “Seeds” around, and encourage other people to invent and leave their “Seeds” too, Communities can grow.

Like the apple, you can keep the original writing if you want. The only thing I ask, is you include a note with your own “Seed” that has a positive thought on it and a request for that Finder to make something. So we can share each other’s activities, please include the blog address: seedsatbiginch.com.

For me, the action of making and giving,  then the response of the “Seed” Finder, is art. For a “Seed” Finder to create something beautiful in response to the written request marks completion of the piece. I believe if enough “Seeds” are planted by lots of different people, then art isn’t just possible, it’s inevitable.

What Is Community art?

Community art is not public art. It is an expression of a particular neighborhood’s culture. Graffiti, yard art, roadside shrines, municipal parades, and Christmas decorations are all examples of Community art. It arises from an individual or group need for expression or celebration, and it’s a way of forming and affirming group identity. Community art is not alien to its surroundings; it’s a natural, organic result of a group of people who live near each other.