Ten Thousand Flowers

The Ten Thousand Flowers Project

What is this about anyway?

I’m drawing ten thousand flowers on index cards and giving them away to people.

Why?

Because I derive enjoyment from senseless acts of beauty.

When did you start doing this?

June 12, 2011.

Why ten thousand?

When I got it in my head that I was going to draw flowers on index cards and give them away, I decided I needed a specific number to shoot for so it would be a quantifiable goal instead of a vague aspiration. The Google tells me that there’s a 13th century poem that refers to ‘ten thousand flowers’ by a Buddhist monk known as Wumen Huikai but I wasn’t aware of it until after I’d embarked on the project.

I want a flower! How can I get one?

Mail a SASE (a self-addressed, stamped envelope–you remember those, right?) to:

If you’re dialing in from outside the United States, enclose an International Reply Coupon with your self-addressed envelope.

Can I PayPal you money for postage instead?

Sure. Front me $1 (or $2, outside the US) to cover the costs of postage and an envelope and be sure to include a mailing address:

Do you ever hand them out in person?

I’ll sometimes pop up at art events and such and offer them to anyone interested. Keep an eye on my Twitter feed (@wonderbink) and on the hashtag #10KFlowers if you want to know where and when.

Flowers 391-400

Flowers Made: 608

Flowers Remaining: 9,392

Flowers Given: 262

Flowers Destroyed: 1