About this project
(first series bellow, featuring the village I'm in!)
The Wish Book is a project based on a childrens book that I found.
With this project I hope to help gain awareness of what we want and show how easy it could be to get these things. By traveling far and wide and collecting wishes from all over the world I want to share and depict universal themes and wishes we all relate to. My only wish is to inspire and document these many lives along the way.
The range of wishes I am collecting start from the children I am currently working with here in India, to college students finishing up there bachelor's degree, to strangers I may meet on the street. I have found many times people open up and reveal something so incredible or touching that it would be shame for me not to spread and share this project.
Here are a just a few examples of some wishes I have collected;
http://www.courtneybird.com/the-wish-book.html
The video above is only a small window of the world I have been experiencing here in India. I wanted to share the place I am beginning my documentation from.
I've found the farther I go, the more I meet people and interview them, the more interesting the answers become. One thing that never changes is the universal themes of doubt, love, a better world, family and the things we really wish for but may not think we deserve or are capable of getting. By documenting both with video, photography and writing, I am able to capture many sides of the story and also get an inside glance of many lives.
I am currently volunteering at a school in a small village here.The school, Pushp Niketan, (http://pushpniketan.tripod.com/) which means blossoming flower, is a school geared towards alternative education and has a strong emphasis on the arts and developing the unique gifts of each child. The children are incredible, along with the staff. After I finish at this school in the end of December I plan to go to another school located in Thailand and then to work with artist Megan Belmer at another school in China (www.meganbelmer.com/home.html).
The beauty of art is that it's for everyone. This project let's everyone tap into their inner child. The contrast in interviews from child to adult is sometimes very vast. Other times it is very narrow, and each interview paints a small portrait of these unique humans I encounter.
One teacher had answered an interview the other day stating;
"I wish I had a pocket sized girlfriend."
While a boy in my 8th grade class had answered;
" I wish there was a place for my family to live happily mam, like heaven."
I've found being a stranger many choose to be blatantly honest and say things to me they may not say to others.
In conclusion I hope to publish "The Wish Book" with a collection of these wishes and photos. And also edit a film together of all the shorter films. Highligting the different chapters and then adding some animation to it. For now this includes Thailand, China and Swtizerland and then again the U.S. In the U.S. I plan to work with filmmakers and faculty with whom I studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to work on editing of the film. (Former mentor Tirtza Even; www.tirtzaeven.info). In Switzerland I will be attending Grad School for Media Communciations and the Arts. I want to bring this project with me there and work on it in collaboration with my thesis project.
So WHY Do I need your help?
To make this project possible I will need help in travel funds and material funds. This goes from small things such as paper to more expensive equipment such as camera's. I need to raise enough to ensure I can make it out to these different places to document.
And I'm sure I will be picking up many treasures along the way for those who can help :).
I hope that this project will have the ability to inspire and make as many people smile, laugh or feel, as much as I have felt thus far. Please stay tuned as the stories develop and things only get juicier! India is a trip! A surreal, magical, spiritual, trip!
Please check out my other performance and video work.
latest film:
http://www.courtneybird.com/performance-if-you-will.html
And a film made in 48 hours at the International Festival of Animated Film in Germany in collaboration with animator Gina Kelly from Cal Arts:
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on December 16.
Pledge $2 or more Pledge $2 or more
I will send you the most warm thoughts, make a wish on an eyelash for you and blow you a fat kiss. Believe me, these fat hand blown kisses could cure heartache ! It's been proven, google it. :)
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
I will go to one of the temples here and send you sweet sweet thoughts, I'll also find u a postcard along the way!
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
I will send you a handwritten piece of snail mail from oversea's! I make some pretty crafty pieces of mail, the women at the post office here never fail to raise their eyes in surprise at each original piece when I make it to the post office!
Pledge $15 or more Pledge $15 or more
The above ( a special mail package) with an extra special indian, chinese, swiss or thai goodie! These may involve some colorful bhindi's/incense/bangles/ bizarre stickers/ a small stone/crystal/a feather/prayer beads or a rare treasure I find on my journey! It's a mystery well worth waiting for!
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
All of the above, plus a little watercolor drawing made by me! I'm notorious for making some mean watercolor drawings
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
SUPER SPECIAL PACKAGE: Not only do you get the above, mail, a treasure, and a drawing but you also get a copy of the DVD when the film is finished with an image of one of my favorite photos or moments during the process!
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
NOW WE"RE GETTING SERIOUS: So you'll receive a treasure, mail, a DVD, a drawing, a small photo book AND you will get an EXTRA special treasure from oversea's! Do not underestimate my "extra special " abilities to find extraordinary treasures!
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
COLLECTOR"S Package!: Ok, ok. All of the above, AND A drawing made according to any one "word" you give me, And a dedication in the film/book! This means, I will film something in your honor! Whether it's my singing to you on the Ganges or writing your name in the shadows of some forest, it will become part of the process of this project! Spontaneous activity yo!
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
The IN_LOVE Package: Hey, i'm in love with you! Didn't I mention that? No really, this package will be FILLED with love! I mean it, including all of the above ( a signed DVD, treasure, drawing....etc etc) you will also receive a hand stitched/woven creation of my choosing! (Did i mention my dear friend, Hemlata Mam, has recently taught me how to knit?)
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
GETTING GUTSY PACKAGE: ALONG with all of the above, need I remind you? (Treasures, mail, a signed DVD, photo's, etc) I will make it a point to come and find you and interview you! Unless you are somewhere crazy, ridiculous, like under the ocean- believe me- ANYTHING is possible! I will make this as possible as I can, it's part of the adventure no? (if you're location is *really, really* unfeasible then i may have to resort to skype, but hey, who doesn't love a skype date?)
Pledge $3,000 or more Pledge $3,000 or more
ARE YOU CRAZY REWARD: I hope so! Because you are also wonderful! And ON TOP of alllll of these one of a kind rewards, I will make a "One of a Kind" Video in your honor! It will be only for you and mailed to you exclusively with your copy of the DVD and the rest of your goodies! Act now, limited time offer! :)
Project By
Connected as Courtney Flip (1786 friends)
Dreamer, Animator and Filmmaker from Thousand Oaks, California. Studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris for Animation.
Crazy about learning, alternative education, philosophy, film and magic. Magic in the moments of living, in the ability to breathe, to create, to share and to enjoy whatever the present happens to bring.
Please check out my sites to see more about the magic i love to surround myself with.
This involves surreal and personal stop motion movies, slightly crazy performance work, and rose colored lensed documentation of this sweet, sweet life.
