Where the Hell is Matt?

I have a thing for projects that embrace a community, or the world. I feel like art can do so much for different countries by bringing them together to make people realize how all of us truly are the same. We all seek happiness, we all seek truth, and we all seek a purpose in this life. Why we don’t get along seems so simple to be honest. We are scared of change and we are terrified of what we dont understand.

Matt Harding is an 35 year old from Connecticut  who travelled the world vido taping himself dancing (it started when his friend suggested he do his “bad” dance when he was touring Asia). The video went viral and Stride gum asked him if he was interested in taking another trip around the world and recording it again. This all happened in 2006. In 2007, Matt went back to Stride gum suggesting letting people around the world dance (people had sent him videos of themselves dancing), and thus this video was produced.

Where The Hell is Matt stirs so many emotions in me that seem unexplainable. It is such a happy video, but makes me feel sad, and happy at the same time. Here we see people from all paths of life dancing for the joy of it. Here we see everyone come together for the joy of dance and it makes me wonder why we don’t see more of these projects traveling the world. Why isn’t there funding and support from people to try to bring different cultures together? We need more projects like this that have so many different layers to it. We need more people like Matt.

Are there other projects out there that do this kind of thing? I know of a few, but not many. I really do hope my project, Traveling Thoughts, can create such a stir in people and bring them all together.

PostSecret on TED

Many of you know how I love PostSecret. How I can talk about it for hours on end, and how every Sunday I rush to my laptop and get on its website to check out the new posted secrets. Many of you know how this simple project has made me fall in love with interactive art, and has inspired me to create my own project, Traveling Thoughts.

I came across the TED talk by Frank Warren, the founder of PostSecret, and watching it reassured me why I love this project so much that I needed to share it. A project that allows people across the globe to not only share their secrets, free their souls, reach out to humanity, but to also create something unique on something as small as a postcard.

Simple. Empowering. Creative. Changes lives. My kind of project!

Bad News

I have some bad news. One of the sketchbooks, the one in Texas, has been officially lost. I e-mailed the person asking if they were prepared to receive it in which they said yes, but had forgotten to give me their new address. It was supposedly sent to the new address by whoever signed for it at the old, but was never received. Thus lost.

I want to sincerely apologize to everyone who participated in this particular sketchbook. I’m extremely upset and I feel terrible that peoples work, incredible work, and their time has been wasted. We knew there was a risk of it getting lost, or someone never sending it out, but when it happens, it stings.

I want to be able to figure out another way where peoples work is guaranteed to get to me safely, and have decided that if anyone is interested in doing a piece and sending it directly to me, where I glue it into a sketchbook, then they are more then welcome to. You can still receive the sketchbook if you like, but I urge you to be extremely careful with it.

Please realize that purchasing the sketchbook is from what little money I have, and it traveling the world is only possible by the people involved by sending it with their money. Not mentioning all the time and effort people have put in to their pieces. Please be considerate of their time, and their trust in believing that people will continue to be careful with the sketchbook and sending it out.

If you are wanting to be involved, or have sent me your addresses, please make sure to continue to check your e-mails, and to stay in contact with me when I send out an e-mail. I need to be able to reach you, incase you are the next person in line, or contact you to know if it reached you and when you will be sending it out and to who. I truly hope people will take this seriously and be responsible with everyones pieces. If by chance you lose it, you are responsible for purchasing a sketchbook of equal or more value. I can not urge this enough. I simply can’t afford to be sending out sketchbooks each time they get lost.

I will be sending out, yet again, another two sketchbooks since the person is not responding to my e-mails. One wil hopefully go back to the first person who started the sketchbook, and the other to California, since they have the most people in line waiting for it.

If you are interested in starting right away, and would like to send me your piece, please e-mail me at: travelingthoughtsproject@gmail.com and I will send you my address.

I will be contacting the people whose work was involved, in hopes they would like to redo a piece. Again, I am truly sorry.

Update!

Sorry its taken me so long to update the project. Its been insane trying to keep track of all the sketchbooks that are going around and make sure everyone has it for 3 days and doesnt take longer. Has there been any bumps in the road? Of course, as any project would have. I am proud to say that people have really been very excited in the whole concept, and are willing to do what it takes to keep the sketchbooks moving and alive.

Im happy to say that two sketchbooks are in the States right now. One just got passed to someone in Illinois, and the other is traveling to reach a girl who has been waiting patiently by for it. The one in Amman just got passed to a man whose daughters are super excited to be part of the project, while others wait in line for it to move to them. I am sorry its been taking a while, but the whole idea of the project is to get it from someone who has had it, it makes the sketchbook feel like it has a soul.

I have been contacted by a sweet girl in Dubai who wants to work on one right away! She offered to purchase a sketchbook, get others involved, get it filled and to send it back! Im so excited that people are really getting into it! If you would like to start right away, then by all means contact me at travelingthoughtsproject@gmail.com and I can send you the information. When its finished, just mail it to me!

Below are some images of people who have been involved in the project! Please send me pictures of you guys with the sketchbook, I would love to show the world where the sketchbook is and where its going! Thank you!

I know its taking forever to reach some of you guys, but please have some patience, Im still trying to figure out a way to get it to people quicker! If you would like to start, feel free to contact me and we can discuss a way of getting you working on one soon! The project is coming along, slowly, but it is traveling!

Sketchbook is in the US of A

 

Traveling Thoughts is finally in the US of A! It has been delivered to the 3rd person in Oxford, Mississippi, who will work on it for 3 days, hand it to his girlfriend and a few friends and then ship it to some friends of mine in Starville, Mississippi. I have uploaded a map on the Facebook Fan Page (www.travelingthoughts.org) so people can track the sketchbook and see how long it will take to get to them!

The sketchbook is on its way to people who have been friends of mine for years, family members, and even strangers and I feel so connected to each one of them. I can only imagine the feeling I will have going through the sketchbook and seeing such amazing work in every page! If you are still interested in being part of the project, then please contact me! There will be another sketchbook shipped out from Amman, Jordan next week and will start in Hawaii and move to Florida, Arizona, California and through Canada!

Looking forward to this! Thank you all for your amazing support! <3
Click the link below =)

Traveling Thoughts Project

 

Its on its way!

Traveling Thoughts sketchbook is on its way! I handed it to one of my good friends, a brilliant artist and such an inspiring person tonight! Please check out his blog at: http://ahmadqatato.com/

Its on its way people and I couldn’t be more excited (trust me, people are telling me to calm down!), nervous, and terrified! So much is racing through my mind and there is so much to do! I truly believe people will take this as a personal way of expressing themselves and understand that a lot of people around the world are depending on them and trusting them with this sketchbook. I know how it feels to poor your heart and soul into something and being extremely proud of what you create, so I am hoping everyone will take care of this sketchbook and of each others work. With so many people excited about this project and interested in being a part of it, im positive it will turn into such a huge inspiration for others.

All my life I have felt the need to inspire others through my art and this seemed like a perfect way to get others to inspire the world as well. When I used to teach art, I insisted on my students understanding that inside each and every one of us is an artist and is a creative person. We simply need to dig deep and let that person out. This project was started in the hopes that people can contribute to something they never thought they had in them and in the process begin to understand themselves a little more and believe in themselves as creative people.

Its simple. You get one page (just the front of the page), and you create. Create what you ask? Thats up to you. Simply show me how you are feeling and  or, what you are thinking the days you have the sketchbook. I want to emphasize you do NOT need to be an artist, or able to draw, paint, and whatnot. This is a project for everyone. You can write  a story, write a poem that means something to you, use pictures to express your feelings, truly anything goes. The only thing I ask is for you to take care of the sketchbook and to not vandalize anybody’s work. Do not take offense by their pieces, and lets be accepting of everyone’s masterpieces.

Then you package it up and send it to the next person! Make sure to track the package and send it back to me so we all are guaranteed that our work is getting to the right place. If the person lives near you and you would rather meet them the pay to ship it, then let me know and I will ask the person if they feel comfortable with that. If not then you must ship it.

In the next few days I will post a contract that must be signed and returned stating you understand the rules and agree to them. They are simple rules already posted on the information page of the Facebook Fan Page: http://www.travelingthoughts.org

Below are pictures taken of when I handed the sketchbook to Ahmad! Enjoy!

Again, thank you all for such wonderful support! Please continue to talk about this, share it, tweet it, subscribe and like the page! Tell others about it so we can keep this going and send out more sketchbooks!

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Ready to be launched!

Traveling Thoughts is officially ready to be launched! The first page is almost done, and by this time Monday it will have been handed over to the next person, and then it shall be on its way across the world! If you are still interested, send me your name, email address, and shipping address through my contact page. I promise all names and addresses will be kept confidential until its your turn to receive the sketch book! Also, make sure to look for the contract that needs to be signed and sent back to me before you receive the sketch book!

I am super excited that so many people have already sent me their information and are ecstatic about starting this journey with me! I hope its turns into something big where people truly feel comfortable in sharing their emotions and thoughts with the world. This is a way to connect what you are feeling with others. So, please, dont feel shy, just put it all down on your page, and feel proud!

Good luck!