It's official! I finally took the leap back into bronze and ended up making more of a splash than I had anticipated. My last video of me sculpting a little dude out of sticks was viewed by more than 20 million people! *head explodes* *proceeds to sob*
Needless to say, I didn't see this coming at all. I've been a jeweler for 10 years, and although I always wanted to make sculptures again, I didn't think anyone would care. Holy crap, was I wrong. And I'm so so happy that I was wrong because I am overjoyed at the prospect of being able to create sculptures again.. and dare I say, make a living doing so?! Unreal.
Anyways, let me get to the point. The recent outpouring of love I've gotten from total strangers about my art has been totally mind-blowing. Many of you have left comments along the lines of, "you should hide these for kids and/or people to find!" And for weeks, every time I saw one of these comments, I answered, "I would love to do that!" Then one day I was thinking, why the heck not? I should do that.
Can you imagine being a kid, walking on a nature trail or in a park, and you spot a little creature high up in a tree, shimmering in the sunshine. I would just DIE, I'd be so excited. I don't know about you, but my imagination was insane as a kid, (it still is, let's be real), and I was always on the lookout for fairy houses or little caves that magical creatures might dwell in. The thought of bringing that kind of joy to some unsuspecting little kid, just warms my damn heart.
Forget about the kids for a sec, adults need this shit too. Life is hard, and we all have stress we carry around with us all day, everyday. (Being an adult is a massive buzzkill, am I right?) You can't tell me you wouldn't forget your worries, even if just for a second, if you saw a friggen fairy sitting in a tree.
AND SO, with this thought process I realized I could actually do this. But I'm going to need your help. My process for creating my characters in bronze, in a nutshell, is massively time consuming. On top of that, the materials it takes to mold them and cast them aren't cheap either. If you're thinking, "don't cast them then, just leave them sticks," the problem there is longevity, as well as labor.
Molding my pieces allows for me to make multiples, which helps offset the time spent on the original piece, which sometimes takes 10+ hours. If I can make 10 of each sculpture, they can be made more affordably than just one. Not to mention that my stick sculptures are super fragile as is, and they probably wouldn't survive outdoors long enough for anyone to find them, and that would just be heartbreaking, wouldn't it?
So, back to business. I've set up a virtual "tip jar" called the Public Art Project (currently taking suggestions for a better name), where you can donate any amount you chose.. a buck, ten bucks, fifty bucks, whatever you'd like. When my tips add up to the cost of a magical bronze creature, I will make one and hide it in a public space for anyone to stumble upon. For added fun, I will announce on social media the general whereabouts, so if you happen to live nearby, you can go on an adventure and try to spot my art out in the world! In the coming months I will be in NYC and I would LOVE to leave my first fairy in Central Park. Doesn't that sound fun?!
I plan to leave a tiny note which each piece, asking the finder to either leave the sculpture where it is so others can enjoy it, or take it on a trip to a NEW public location, again, where others can enjoy it. I do like the idea of my artwork doing a little traveling.. who knows where they might end up! Kind of exciting, isn't it?
I know a lot of people love my sculptures but maybe don't have it in their budget to buy one for themselves, which is another reason I set up this tip jar. Maybe you can't afford one right now, but you can afford a $5 tip that helps me make art for others to enjoy. And maybe, if enough people chip in, I could start taking requests for places to hide them!
My sincerest hope (as an overgrown child), is that soon, every time I travel anywhere, I'll bring a little stash of creatures and sprinkle some magic everywhere I go!
If you want to throw a little somethin' into the tip jar, you can find it here at xannefran.com, or in my Linktree: https://linktr.ee/xannefran
Thank you so much for your support, from the deep, dark depths of my soul. *resumes sobbing*