The Lonely Pear

"Now that you have found this pear, everything is going to be OK."

I'm not sure why I find the act of leaving fake fruit with optimistic messages written upon it so lovely and whimsical, but it is most certainly my favourite activity. One rainy summer day, my dear friend Chelsea and I went on an adventure to leave some fruit for strangers in a little indoor mall. This poor pear, in a perfect place for stealthy photography, went unnoticed for ages.

But at last, a couple of curious ladies investigated its little message! Hooray!


I am very eager to see what pretty acts of kindness you, my dear reader, can come up with. Make a beautiful day of it, and send me the pictures to share with the world!

A Message from a Coconut

Long have I loved the following image from the amazing David Shirgley:


It's such a simple message. It's not bossy (like BE HAPPY NOW! I DEMAND IT!), and it is peculiar enough to cause any passer-by a little smile. Its subtle and surreal and I love it.

A dear friend of mine sent me a picture a few days ago. It's another wonderful message found in a bathroom stall:


Putting positive messages like these out into the world does more good than you can possibly imagine. Every day we are bombarded with images and statements designed to make us feel bad about ourselves so that we'll go out and buy things we think will make us feel better. It's important that we fight back and cause some happy feelings in the hearts of strangers from time to time. Even just catching a sweet sentiment out of the corner of your eye can have a profound effect on your day.

So let's get out there and leave some positive messages for strangers!

James Zolynsky

I recieved a fantastic story from James Zolynsky, an art student at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He was getting fed up with the ugly and offensive graffiti on one of the University's walls, so he decided to show that you can make a statement and beautiful image at the same time.

He wanted to create sometime unoffensive and legal as a response to the nasty vandalism. He picked a high-traffic area, got himself a large quantity of sidewalk chalk, and started drawing.


Inspired by Mondrian's style paintings, he used an impressionistic way of mixing colours right on the pavement, and also wanted to add elements of commercialized graphics.

'so more or less i created a piece that was considered low art much like spray painted graffiti that was legal and fitting of campus rules that made a political message. the location of this piece was directly next to one of the largest buildings on camp in which many people stopped to look including the ex head of the art department and a police officer, both of which were very excited about what i was doing. weather or not the message was clear, i know many people were forced to interact with it on the first day of class of the semester.'

What a fantastic and unique way to show that you can get your message out in a public place without having to break the law or offend anyone. Way to go James!

Lemons and Lemurs

What a beautiful day for some sneaky deeds of goodness!

I had a few leftover lemons from making the banner above, so I decided it'd be a fun little excursion to stealthily leave them around sitting on cryptic little notes.


I have also had a bag full of plastic lemurs and other critters that has been lying around waiting for me to find it a purpose. I decided that the folks hurrying around downtown needed to find strange toys attached to a note telling them that life is a beautiful and peculiar thing that needn't be taken so seriously.


On to adventure!!


The only thing sadder than someone walking right by a lemon and not picking it up is someone sitting right beside a lemur and not even noticing it:


Alas! But my ever-improving stealth skills finally caught a few shots of lemon finders! This looks like a soccer team:


GO TEAM! They inspected the lemon for a few moments, commented on it's peculiarity, then left it there. A few moments later, this guy came with his rather large beverage, examined the lemon, then sat beside it looking around curiously.


Well that's all I managed to get this adventure. I can't wait until those with superior photography skills to my own start sending in their own stories... I have one in particular I'm excited about sharing with you... It's a Clown Invasion!

It really does make a difference...

I have a little link for you! I love that somethingas simple as a little note can give someone such a lift.

http://barph.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/you-are-beautiful/

She is such an eloquent writer, too! I love this:

Gestures like these are valuable in the midst of what can be an isolating and alienating urban atmosphere

Thank you Leanne!

Locker Room Notes

A while back I was blabbing on Etsy about the first Project Lemon, and a delightful thing happened. The wonderfully talented Carol Barclay (who made the stunning porcelain vase pictured above) came up with the idea to leave notes in the locker room of her local Y.

She woke up that morning to the remains of a rogue snowstorm, and this sight out her front porch:

But she was determined to swim a half mile anyway. In her words:

I try to swim each morning, but when I saw the snow, I really didn't feel like putting on the boots, going out there, scraping off the car, etc. etc. But then I remembered your Lemon Project and suddenly I was MOTIVATED. So I drew up the notes- figuring that each of us who went to exercise on a day like this really DO deserve extra credit.

So I did my stealth thing and deposited my notes in lockers in all areas of the dressing room. Once again, I found myself reluctant to swim. Not because of laziness this time, but out of excitement- I really really wanted to be around while my notes were discovered.

What a sweet idea it is to leave people notes in a locker room! You're a fantastic woman Carol! Thank you thank you and thank you again for being the very first Lemoneer!

Check out her Etsy shop, her pottery is so very lovely!

A Little Love in a Bathroom Stall

One of my favourite activities is to sneak happy messages into unexpected places. Its always a good idea to keep a Sharpie (or a huge Sharpie Magnum!) with you at all times, just in case you find some surface that's begging to tell everyone something nice.

My favourite spot to scrawl positivity upon is public washroom doors. Over top of all the cursing and various accusations of other ladies' sluttiness, I write in nice bold letters:


Taking photos in the loo is awkward, but I managed to get this one! I love the idea of giving someone a little boost of happiness in such a dank place as the public lavatory. A few months ago, I entered a stall that I'd graffitied with love a few weeks previously, and there, in Bic pen below my words, some other lady had written:

"Thanks, I really needed that."

And my heart pretty much danced with joy for the rest of the day.

Anyway, I challenge my readers to get some big ass sharpies and spread the washroom love!