You never know what you might uncover on the Burlington waterfront.
Photographer Paige Pasquini, who attended high school in Vermont, found a jar on the waterfront with an auspicious message inside: "Do not let yourself be defined by other people's opinion of you."
She was so moved by the anonymous message — and its serendipitous delivery system — she decided to replicate it at Saint Lawrence University, where she is a senior art student. She placed 24 jars around her campus — in trees, bushes, shelves, benches and library stacks — and left them there for a week. On posters and social media she spread the word that people should take what they find in the jars and leave something new for the next person.
Over the next seven days she documented the jars' constantly shifting contents: "quotes, notes, knick-knacks, doobies, drawings, dares, money, games, cigarettes, personal confessions, glitter pens, flowers, origami, sage leaves, stickers, stamps, gift certificates, beaded necklaces, gum, candy, friendship bracelets, tea, words of encouragement and invitations to campus events."
Living in Burlington for the summer, Pasquini returned to the waterfront recently to leave a jar of her own. Have you seen it?
Comments
Comments are closed.
From 2014-2020, Seven Days allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website. While we've appreciated the suggestions and insights, right now Seven Days is prioritizing our core mission — producing high-quality, responsible local journalism — over moderating online debates between readers.
To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please send us a letter to the editor or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results.
Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them. Thanks for reading.