Free Art Friday

Local artists in my city of Augusta, Georgia have teamed up to create a great activity to get local people excited about the local art scene. It's called Free Art Friday. Following other cities that have started their own chapters, and through social networking, FAF is bringing together locals to create a new kind of scavenger hunt. This past Friday, I took part and created my piece of art to hide for someone to find.

So here's what happens on Free Art Friday here in Augusta. Head on over to a local gallery that has wood cutouts for artists to "art" on. Paint, draw, collage, whatever your medium may be. I embroidered a needle and thread with a little spool of thread on an old dress sleeve and then used elastic to create a type of cover on the wood. If you look closely, it has my signiture in the thread, an "S" and "A" for Sally Ann.

Once you create and hide your art, you, the artist, posts a picture of your work, with a suggestion to where it's hidden, and locals can come and find it! I hid my piece in a tree that lines Broad Street on the 1100 block. Since these trees line many blocks of Broad, I posted a nonspecific picture, letting followers know it was in one of these types of trees.

On the back of your work, be sure to include artist's twitter name, Facebook page, website, etc, so the finder can look you up and see your work. Include "Free Art Friday" and their website. Don't live locally? Start a FAF in your town! 

Not only was it a good excuse for me to exercise my own creativity, and work on some embroidery amongst all the sewing and renovations I've been doing lately, but it let me have my own little adventure. Got my wheels turning, brain working, and then allowed Zeus and I to have an afternoon date before dress rehearsal on Friday. And there's nothing he loves more than smelling each and every tree on Broad Street!

Participating in FAF is something I plan on doing every Friday here in Augusta. I had such a blast!

Does your city/town have a similar event to get locals involved in the art scene? I'd love to hear about it.