The Relay for Life: Fantasy Faire 2012 is now over and everyone must wait a whole year for the fun to begin again! We managed to raise over $25,000 this year, which I believe is at least a couple thousand more than last year, and we certainly broke (and set!) a couple of new records this time around.

As many of you know, this year I did a public art piece called "Paper Boats in a Paper Sea" that was integrated into my shop's display. I collaborated with Meth Federal, a mind-blowing abstract movement artist to create one of the most beautiful features (in my humble opinion) of the Faire this year.

• The project was featured on the Fantasy Faire's website blog.

• Elysium Hynes, who is this fantastic person and wonderful blogger I've had the chance to meet and chat with over the course of the Faire has blogged my project several times at different stages. She really went above and beyond anything I've seen bloggers do for the Faire.
• Prazillo Lemon also did a fantastic job blogging the project.

• Even Jackie Mondalimare wrote a short story surrounding the little paper boats, to my absolute amusement! 

The response and feedback for the project was really astounding.  I didn't get nearly as many boats back for the display as I had sold, but I certainly got enough boats to fill the pond enough to the point where I was completely satisfied with how it turned out. The boats that did sell raised a good L$30,000 (about $110 USD) and combined with the beautiful abstract art that Meth sold, we raised a really decent amount of cold, hard, cancer-curing cash! Which is always impressive, especially when you're selling a combination of art and Faire-specific items.


Everyone who painted their paper boat to take part in the project did so with such admiration, love and care. We had drawings, memorials, and poems; even an advertisement and a public statement about the health of the earth and how to process your trash! I really wish more people had the time to customize their boats and have it take part in the display. I know that a couple of people had a really hard time writing or drawing anything out, as it was so incredibly emotional for them. I admire that they managed to submit anything back to be displayed. It really does take a sense of strength to put a piece of yourself out there for the world to see.


In the near future, I will have parts of the display for sale. It might take a bit longer for the hanging net (as I forgot to take it back into my inventory after I was done taking photos!), but I will also release along with it a skybox (yes, a skybox!) of the sandy display, itself! Unfortunately, it will lack Meth's "Eclipsing Ripple". However! You can certainly obtain it from his Second Life Marketplace.