A few weeks ago, sat in a subterranean carriage as it wound my way home, I was privileged to witness a young, besuited, ‘average Joe,’ engrossed as he jotted this down on a notepad:
"I'm on my way back to see you.
I'm excited, and smiling like a loon on the Tube.
Smiles are so rare these days, yet I feel like I've been in a London bar that sells passion,
and I'm greedy for more..."
It totally made my day.
I felt a little guilty spying on his scribblings, but he made no effort to hide them so I do hope he didn’t mind.
I’d love to see what Brooklyn-based artist Sophie Blackhall would do with this. Her ’Missed Connections’ prints transform ‘message-in-a bottle’ classifieds messages into whimsically beautiful illustrations.
This is just one sweet example – check out her blog for more (or Etsy to purchase):
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
-m4w (L train to Manhattan)
You were reading Catch-22 on the subway this morning. I have never seen such a beautiful profile. I wanted to say hi, but then you’d turn towards me and I wouldn’t be able to look at your profile anymore. You were so into your book, I don’t think you noticed me falling in love with you. But I thought I’d ask, just in case.
Blackhall told the New York Times that her illustrations have “recurring themes of love, loss, regret and hope. Even the most grim postings have this little kernel of unflagging hope which is just so lovely and optimistic. I think that is what appeals to other people, too.”
Have you ever found a note, or stolen a snippet of a conversation, that turned your mood around, even for just a moment in time?
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I find this is my most common source of song titles. I am costantly collecting lyric ideas from overheard conversations, interviews with creative people or media headlines and captions. The song La Vie Anglaise actually came from a clever Observer sub-editors' work. This week's stolen inspirations:
ReplyDelete1. The Bad Mojitos - great band name
2. "Fame is not enough" - a James Bond theme if ever there was one...
3. "Never forgotten or re-written "- perhaps this is the secret to immortality?
4. "The sound of your dreams" - are dreams part of our past?
5. "Still young enough not to know the difference between infatuation and love" - goodness, I hope I never grow up then!
oh i love glancing over peoples shoulders and having a nosy at what they've written. Sometimes you can find the most beautiful things that way.
ReplyDeleteI love that whole Sophie Blackhall 'missed connections' idea - definately going to have to check out her work!
Great blog!
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http://tantrummagazine.blogspot.com/
I love this artwork...so original.
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