BUDS! Project

BUDS! Is a gift-giving community art project, meant to represent hope like the first plants in the spring. This is our second winter during the pandemic, and what better way to celebrate community than to give each other small gifts?

Eight BUDS! Sculptures, were hosted by community members on their lawns throughout Centre County, PA. Each individual BUD! is a mosaic sculpture with a removable lid, for giving and sharing gifts with neighbors - from money, nonperishables, packaged masks, poems, drawings. These vessels created an ecosystem of giving across the city, as passersby could open them up and leave or take a gift inside of them. They were strategically installed right before Spring began, at the time of year when this area is still quite rainy and cold, and many wish for bright new growth.

The BUDS! were then “harvested” after 2 weeks by the hosts, and brought to the installation Common Place. The BUDS! lids were then turned upside down so they were in “bloom.” Sculptures were returned to the hosts at the end of the exhibit, for them to keep and use for their community how they saw fit.