How to Help

The Penny Project is one of my most ambitious works of art. This is the second in a series of site-specific installations about perceived value and the mass observation of a mundane every day act. The piece is built from an undervalued symbol of our economy and multiple observations on its loss. A penny costs more to make than it is worth. As I see it, the ones left on the ground have lost all importance and that changes when someone cares enough to save it from obscurity. I want to capture that moment and ordinary act of seeing and picking up a penny.
I need 2000 pennies and volunteers to document this simple aspect of everyday life. You can help by saving the next penny you find and writing an observation about the moment. Anything you care to say about the occasion has great value. Attached is a zip-lock baggie and inside the packet is a very small transparent piece of film. Write your thoughts on the matte side of the film (a dark color medium tip ball point pens work the best). Put your story and penny in the bag and send it to me.
The packets become part of a life size street composition and making a concrete sidewalk, asphalt street, red painted curb, manhole cover, and brilliant yellow marked cross walk into a 6' x 9' quilt. Copies of the original stories are compiled into a book turning the mass observation of this insignificant act into a larger value statement. The contributors names are indexed to the grid of the quilt so when it's finished, you can locate your penny and story in the quilt.
Thank you for your time and contributions. Please share my project with your friends and let me know if you need more packets.