Project: Lemon

The Lonely Pear

2009-09-08T18:40:00.005-06:00

"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

2009-06-25T11:52:00.006-06:00

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

2009-06-12T19:35:00.005-06:00

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

2009-06-08T11:00:00.002-06:00

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...

2009-06-06T11:37:00.007-06:00

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

2009-06-04T12:05:00.010-06:00

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

2009-06-04T09:10:00.004-06:00

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!

The Sound of Music in Antwerp Central Station

2009-06-02T11:52:00.005-06:00

While I get things up and running, and wait for several beautiful people to send in the very first exciting submissions to Project Lemon, I shall share with you something that fills me with the sort of giddy excitement that I hope PL will eventually fill you with:

This is EXACTLY what we're all about here.

What Is Project Lemon?

2009-06-02T11:28:00.004-06:00

Project Lemon is not for any ordinary random acts of kindness. It's for whimsical, strange, and unexpected acts of kindness. We want to fill strangers not just with joy, but a curious childlike wonder. It's about inspiring each other, sharing our ideas, and having a blog you can visit whenever you want to be filled with glee.

Project Lemon began one day when I had every reason in the world to be miserable but dearly didn't want to be. Instead of moping, I took my inspired-feeling self out to explore a local thrift store. There, I found a big bag of ceramic lemons.

Somehow I got the idea to leave these lemons, with optimistic messages written upon them and secret notes tucked inside, all around the city for strangers to find.

That first little adventure was amazing. My partner in crime and I would leave a lemon in a peculiar place, and then lurk around watching strangers get curious, bewildered, and delighted. It was one of the giddiest evenings ever.

PL exists because I want you to get that same giddy feeling. I want you to know the rush of glee when you spy from afar some whimsical good deed of yours coming to fruition. I want you to see the way strangers look when you've done some thing to draw them out of their every day doldrums. And I want you to share your tale with others so that we can all get really happy and excited and inspired.

For the full story of the first Project: Lemon, click on the links at the top of the right sidebar.

How to take part in Project Lemon

2009-05-27T18:59:00.008-06:00

So you want to be featured on Project Lemon. Wonderful! Hooray! We are dancing with glee at the mere thoughts that are bubbling in your brain!

First of all, we want to make sure you realize that this is a place for no ordinary acts of kindness. We want you to things that have some aspect of creativity and whimsy to them. We want to fill strangers with a childlike wonder and awe while brightening their day. It's for the unexpected. We want to delight AND bewilder unsuspecting people. To draw them out of their day-to-day routine with something beautiful and odd.

Here's what you do:

1. Come up with an idea. It doesn't have to be lemons! It can be performance art, street art, leaving secret notes - anything! As long as it brightens someone's day.
2. Go out, make some strangers happy, open some minds, cause some smiles, and take lots of pictures!
3. Send us an email with your story and all your pictures. Let us know how it went! How did people react? How did you feel before and after? What was the best part?
4. Have your story shared on PL for all to see, inspiring people all over the world.

Until we get an email address for Project Lemon things exclusively, send all queries, comments, stories, photos, hugs, videos and chocolates to heatherfuture@gmail.com

Good luck Lemoning!