The Great Windchime
Free Summer Public Art Project 2006

The Great Windchime was the playful result of a summer-long public art project. Throughout the season, Garden visitors created personal chimes which dangled in The Great Windchime @ AMG. New life was given to old jar lids as visitors painted and decorated them with string and beads. A grand total of 2675 chimes hung on over 1800 feet of paint-dappled rope. Toddlers, parents, grandparents, local artists, and even a few elementary school teachers and their students helped make The Great Windchime @ AMG exceed the current world record of 2500 chimes spanning a distance of 1640 feet. Does that mean this is the world's largest windchime display? While the application to formally beat the world record is still being processed, we'd like to think so!

http://www.annmariegarden.org/annmarie2/windchime

For this project, recycled bottles were used to build PILLARS: Wishes for a Better World. Visitors were encouraged to write a wish, prayer, or sage advice for the world and its inhabitants in hopes of making the world a better place to live.   While famous quotes and song lyrics provided some of the inspiration, many chose to use their own voices to profess their thoughts. Advice from the participants spanned a broad range of topics; from environmental awareness (Recycle, Plant a tree, Save the Rainforests), to the importance of family (Hug your children, Love your daddy, Call your mother!), to wishes for world peace (Make love not war, Promote peace, Don’t fight with each other). Sometimes messages contradicted each other, but were equally important (Work hard, Take time to play, Follow Directions, Don’t be afraid to break the rules!). Small children even offered their advice which, although simple, was profound nonetheless (Share your toys, Listen to your mommy and daddy, Always say thank you). All in all, over 1100 wishes were made.

 As visitors walked through the pillars and read the advice, they had the opportunity to ponder their own wishes for the world, and to find encouragement and inspiration in the messages of their peers. 

http://www.annmariegarden.org/annmarie2/pillars


http://weburbanist.com/2010/03/18/big-screens-big-fun-2-simply-silly-public-art-projects/?ref=search