← back to life

the world is so big, yet wonderfully small

a theme that’s followed me for the past year, through travels abroad and quiet moments at home, is how the most delightful things tend to be unplanned. an unexpected run-in, a face from a past chapter of life appearing out of nowhere. the world is so big, and yet so wonderfully small. i wanted to make art about that feeling.

four completed postcards arranged in a grid on a wooden table, each covered in layered drawings from different hands

i took 12 blank postcards, each already stamped, and drew a little on some. the idea was simple and perhaps a little dreamy. pass it to someone you enjoy spending time with, they add their mark and pass it onwards, this continues for a month. at the end, you’d have this little artifact of connections who unknowingly made something beautiful together.

the idea was everything i wanted it to be. the execution? well… humbling.

i hoped to get back 50% of the cards i set free. i got 2 of 12. it turns out, people lose things, forget things, put things through the wash 😅. maybe more will find their way home over the next year. a month was simply too short for a lost artifact to wander effectively.

one postcard mailed back, outdoor scene drawn by hand with sun, birds, tree, and small figures in ink and crayon
another postcard that made it home, covered in collaborative doodles, purple shapes, green vines, pink branches, and small patterned details

i had 2 cards left, so i tried inviting strangers in busier public places. first i went somewhere with shared tables and people coming and going. it was a beautiful, chaotic slice of humanity. friends deep in conversation, others focused on their own thing, someone else mailing a note of their own. reactions to a “drawing task” were all over the map. not every setting makes it easy to say yes.

i also spent time in a neighborhood park where dogs pull their humans outside to linger. that was the jackpot.

i’d hand a card off to a stranger, leave them with it for a bit, and come back to collect it. the connection chain looked nothing like i’d originally planned, and it was beautiful in a way i didn’t expect. i got to know the people who live in the area. caught little glimpses into their lives. everyone seemed genuinely delighted to add something, grateful for the small excuse to pause their routine and make a mark. my heart was so full by the time i left.

postcard filled after inviting contributions in a busy indoor spot and a neighborhood park, with portraits, handwritten lines, hearts, flowers, and colorful layered marks
second postcard from the same public round, a dense collaborative collage with figures, swirls, a small house, flowers, and fish in a pond

a short clip of how those two cards grew across those two stops, layer by layer.

while i didn’t see the trail of serendipitous connections i’d been hoping for, i think i planted a few seeds for future ones. i’m looking forward to the next iteration!