Vol 1 / nr 67 / Edinburgh, Scotland

Yvonne wrote that her parents found a print from the first ever Random Prints project, A Tree Deserted (no.67/90), in Florence in 2010 and gave it to Yvonne as a gift on their return. Yvonne writes: I forgot all about it until I found it today. I am going to have it framed.

vol 1 / nr 35 / Preston, England

Helen came across the Random Prints vol. 1 envelope whilst her husband and she were spending their honeymoon in Italy in 2010: We were admiring the amazing view of Florence offered by Piazzale Michelangelo. I absolutely adore the romaticism of finding an envelope addressed to "you, whoever you are", but my husband was rather suspicious. Opposites attract!

Helen is a big fan of exploring new cities and always says that you can discover so much by just wandering around the streets and getting lost in the atmosphere and architecture. Just look what we discovered this time! Thanks so much for humouring this old romantic.

vol 1 / nr 33 / Auckland, New Zealand

Marcus wrote me about how he found the print in Florence, near Duomo while he waited his partner Kate to finish shoe shopping. The print became part of their roadtrip, as they were traveling through Italy in a Fiat500 on their way home to New Zealand from London. The story goes on: We temporarily lost the print in our packing and have today rediscovered this piece of art amongst other travel documents. It is now with the local picture framing shop and will hang in our living room so we can share your great story and idea with friends and family.

vol 1 / nr 28 / Applecross, Scotland

This was the only print that I gave away to a certain person! I was going to the Florence train station when I passed some bagpipe player outside. I didn't have any coins - so I dropped in one of the prints. As Ruairidh wrote the story: This print was dropped into my case as I was playing the bagpipes in front of Florence train station. It now hangs on my wall, in a small fishing village, in the west coast of Scotland. I also travelled around Europe last summer, playing the bagpipes to pay my way. [...] Shortly after you gave me the print I was escorted off the premises by the Italian police, an experience I have become used to.

vol 1 / nr 88 / Paris, France

Gaelle from Paris found the envelope in Lucca in September. She is keeping the print herself, but she has also told about it to all her friends and they have had a small "competition" on where the print should end to...

vol 1 / nr 5 / Budapest, Hungary

Orsolya from Hungary told me how she was sitting and feeling very lonely in Siena's Duomo, when she found the print on the bench. As I felt like a deserted tree myself, it touched me deeply, she wrote.

vol 1 / nr 76 / Portstewart, Northern Ireland

Robert wrote to me about the trip he took with his friend: they had already travelled from Belfast to Amsterdam, then to Berlin, Hannover, Munich, Innsbruck, Worgel, Venice and they had been in Florence for a day when they found the print at the Duomo.

He wrote that he really likes the print, ...as does my girlfriend, i told a bunch of people about it when i returned home. I'm keeping it for myself for now, and am planning on framing and mounting it in such a way that the frame displays not only the print, but the now crinkled envelope and letter also, in a sort of collage.

I think its interesting, this project, as it kinda makes the painting itself more personal, as one has a personal story about how the painting came into my possession which i'll have for the rest of my life!

Stories of the prints

I'll publish some stories that I've received. I first planned to publish them right after receiving the messages, but because the net connections were not so good, the project has been on standby. So, I'm about to do some forgering and change storydates to match the exact date and time when I received the email originally.

The stories will also be available on the map I will set up on the next week.

I only publish the letters and parts of the messages that the writers have given me permission to publish.

The stories are tagged found prints and they are all found listed in http://randomprints.blogspot.com/search/label/found%20prints

vol 1 / nr 52 / Roden, The Netherlands > Llantwit Major, Wales, UK

On September 24, 2010 I received a message from Liesbeth, who told that she likes the project very much and that she's planning to send this print to her daughter in Wales. Her 17 (but almost 18!) year old daughter Anna emailed me on October 17, 2010 that she had received the print but I am NOT the one who found the print, unfortunately.

Anna goes to an international United World College (UWC) of the Atlantic in south Wales. She tells that Random Prints project got her inspired of doing something like that herself: However, I am not an artist and so I can't leave art pieces anywhere. So I am still thinking of something else in that direction! The idea about putting something from yourself into the world and see where it ends up is great.

vol 1 / nr 72 / Korntal-Münchingen, Germany

Sandra and her companion found the envelope in Torre Guinigi in Lucca. First they were a bit sceptical about the project, but then finden wir diese Idee klasse und zudem hat uns das Bild sehr gut gefallen. In their home the picture will always remind them about their fine holiday in Lucca.

vol 1 / nr 39 / St Andrews, Scotland

Emma is from London, but right now she is a first year student of philosophy, psychology and art history at St Andrews University in Scotland. She found the envelope in Florence by Santa Maria del Fiore while traveling around Italy for 6 weeks as part of an art history course. She thinks that this is a wonderful idea, and that this is how art should be shared!

Emma plans to frame the image for her room at university or to take it back home to London.

vol 1 / nr 69 / Paris, France

Lydie found the image near Uffizi gallery in Florence during her vacation: Ce fut une très agréable surprise d'être une destinataire inconnue de votre projet.

vol 1 / nr 75 / Leiden, The Netherlands

Jelmer attended a Language School for one month, when one day he found the letter on the same street (Via Martelli, Florence) where the school is situated. He tells Ten minutes after I opened the enveloppe the rain was falling down.. Now the print is on his bookshelf in his home in Leiden.

vol 1 / nr 70 / Munich, Germany

Anne told me how she ended up finding the print: I found your print in the Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata while holding my little baby very close. It evoked a strange feeling being adressed like that, I quickly checked around, "was this a mistake?" Somehow I had been in a floating mood all this day (despite the fact that we had crashed my mother`s car the day before or because of this) and then in this beautiful church, this mysterious letter, this promising and trusting "to you,whoever you are" - it seemed like the start of a fairytale.

Our daughter has a little corner where she lies and kicks her little chubby legs around the air and we have put your tree there for her to see. It`ll be a little story to tell her when she is older, to enweb her in a little bit of magic.

vol 1 / nr 66 / Beveren-Leie, Belgium

Karel wrote a funny story about how they had perceived the letter first. He was taking a position for a photoshoot at Battistero di San Giovanni (behind the Duomo) in Siena, when Hilde looked for a close-up of me on these steps and she saw next to me your strange envelope. She found it a great idea to take a picture of me, with the envelope... I had seen the envelope as well, but first I couldn't read the words Random art quite well and I made an interpretation like : Randsham ashi... -- "This must be something from an Indian religious group...

But after the picture was taken, Karel opened the envelope and was quite surprised of its content. He has the print on his desk now, and I do enjoy it when I'm writing and the tree doesn't feel so deserted any more, I hope.

Envelope seen on the stairs - still unopened

"During the time I was opening your envelop, Hilde took a picture of the statue of San Giovanni"

After the envelope was opened...

vol 1 / nr 26 / Briarcliff Manor, New York, USA

Artist and professional photographer Don Penny sent me a long email with lots of warm words about the project. He wrote about how he found the print: "Walking the alleys of Florence I looked down to see this crisp, white envelope, in stark contrast o its dusty surroundings, leaning up against a centuries old foundation. Instinctively I reached down to see what it was and upon opening it was engaged and excited to find a beautiful print, intimate and soothing in subject, size and color."

"To create a thing of beauty and then, to offer it, without condition or expectation to any random stranger willing to stop and interact with the non discript envelope is an act of inspired generosity."

"I am a firm believer that it is not what we can get, what we can take in life, but rather what we leave behind."

All the prints are now travelling...

...and some of them have already found a new home. This was a very strange day: it was the first one when I didn't have any letters left to leave anywhere and it felt a bit odd.

To this day I have received 15 replies, that is, at least 1/6 of all the prints have found a good home already :) I'm not expecting all founders to leave message for me, but I'm happy that there are already so many who have done so!

I'm getting soon back home (to Jyväskylä, Finland) and I'll make a map and collect some stories together as soon as I've settled in and got my bags unpacked.

vol 1 / nr 62 / Clodig, Italy

18 year old Stefania wrote me a long email where she tells how his father had found the letter in front of the Santa Maria Novella church in Florence and he brought it home to a small village of 60 people, called Clodig. The village is situated in the north eastern Italy, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, 2kms from the Slovenian border - and Stefania tells that they speak both italian and slovenian languages.

In her email she writes about things that my picture has brought to her mind - it really has brought up a lot of thoughts. She tells that it remainded her of "those photos in which there are 2 photos one on the other, so that at the same time you see two different things."

Her email ends with the words: "maybe a lot of people in this world are alone as the trees."

vol 1 / nr 81 / Florence, Italy

Ale Di Gangi found the envelope in Via dei Pucci 49r and he was "*so* happy to be the lucky person who spotted it." He mounted the picture and it is now hanging on his wall.

Ale Di Gangi is a artist himself. View his website at aledigangi.com and his photos at Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/ale2000/

ps. the possible exhibition - mostra di foto Polaroid di ale di gangi / 20 + 1 scatti scelti - 2007/2010
Exhibit 5 - Firenze 16.10.-5.11.2010
presso, Libreria Seeber - Melbookstore, Via De' Cerretani, 16, Firenze




Edit: November 7, 2010 - I received image of the print hanging on Ale Di Gangi's home -

About 30 prints left

...That is: 2/3 of all the prints are now somewhere travelling.

Since I'm using quite slow mobile web, making the map of the whereabouts of prints has been more difficult than I thought. The map and comments have to wait until I'll get back to better connection - still about one week.

I haven't set any date for leaving a message and it is totally optional anyway, but I'm of course glad of every response I get! I have to say: I'm already very satisfied on how many responses I've already got; many of them with a little story.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving these prints somewhere in Sienna.