This is my new favorite thing ever.

I love creative graffiti. I don't think there's anything more thought-provoking and revealing about the city/neighborhood that you're in than what people do for art in the area. Gang tags are interesting, but I'm talking about the art for the sake of the stunning visuals. There's a great set of boobs when you're facing south on the Red Line in Chicago, on that straight stretch from Addison to Fullerton somewhere. A little on the gratuitous side, but still. Attention-getting, effective, and it always puts a little smile on my face in the morning, so I remember it. And when facing north, just at the Sheridan stop, there's an entire building wall that is adds for the business inside of it, and you can get a discount for mentioning the spray-painted art. This is all really cool marketing...or something close enough to marketing that we can call it that.

Then I start thinking about my roommate's stuff around the city. It's innovative, pretty, and just downright cool looking...but she's not trying to sell anything. At least, not anything but herself and her positive outlook on our chances of making our city a good-looking place. What's even cooler is that she's usually attracting attention to interesting sites, too. Loopy Yarns in downtown Chicago is a great example of a cool place that she's put stuff up outside of. And some places are just random, But they're still interesting and cool, and her non-destructive, interesting pieces help to accent how awesome community can become when enough people put their minds to it. (Despite the fact that some people chose to set her work on fire.)

But back to my original point: what is the point of building something that doesn't...gain you anything? I get art for art's sake, I do, but Kristin (roommate) would love to do the crocheting thing full time (or baking, or any other craft piece). She also makes jewelry, but, unlike me and my creations, does not tag them in the slightest (I add a little silver feather onto everything I knit). So how does she get people to pay attention to her (besides her on-hiatus podcast, her website, or other internet resources)? Word of mouth is the only thing that could possibly work for her outside of the internet.  Right?  At the heart of things, she is producing three products: crocheted street art, jewelry, and baked goods.  Now, how do I know about her street art?  I was there when she put one piece up, and she tells me when she puts up new stuff.  (I also look at her website and see her Flickr feed, but that's besides the point.)  Her jewelry, when I wear it, draws a lot of attention, and sometimes I wish I would just carry around her business cards with me so I can hand them out when people gush over it.  Seriously, it's cool like that.  Same thing with her cupcakes.  I want to get chocolate business cards and just stick them in all of her cupcakes so people stop asking me how she did it, what she uses, etc, etc.