Mapping my runs

Since initiating "Left Behind on My Run," I have realized how much I enjoy hand-stitching a map. I get to re-experience the run, and to share it with others.

After installing the first round, I was happy to see that my pieces lived on for nearly a week.

They were taken down, probably not by pedestrians, but by the Department of Sanitation. I called 311 to try to find out if I could obtain a permit to post art publicly without the risk of a fine or having it taken down.

Neither the person I spoke with at the hotline, nor the internet research I did led me to the precise information I want.

The Department of Transportation has three programs to which non-profits can apply with an artist to do a specific project. This is not quite what I'm looking for.

What I really want is to be able to post my maps and emotional quips on the streets of the neighborhoods I traverse regularly. These streets and my runs are as much a part of my emotional landscape as the dates I've been on. When I run, all of these parts of my life seem to collide.

In the meantime, I plan to keep making maps, which I will assemble into a book. I have discovered that I really enjoy stitching on plastic. I like the semi-transparent quality, and the versatility and surprising strength of the material.

The run continues...what I left behind, part II

Corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court...Lots of pedestrian traffic.

"In my mind, we're heading

towards marriage. He doesn't

know it yet, but he will."

Left Behind on My Run, heading down Court Street

"You tie me into knots,

and I'm not ready

to be tied down."

Intersection of Court Street and West 9th. Lots of bicycles road past as I posted this.

From Court and 9th to 3rd Avenue

Corner of 9th Street and 3rd Avenue. I posted this right next to a bus stop, hoping passengers waiting for the bus would be amused by it.

"When you're around, I want to crawl

inside you and never leave."

Left behind on my run: Third Avenue and Third Street

Third Street is a great block to run on. It's quite hilly, and also traverses the Gowanus Canal. I particularly like this part of Brooklyn.

"With each step,

I feel

our connection renew."

This is a map of another one of my running routes.

Left Behind on My Run - Smith Street and Third Street

This is where I left my final sign this evening. I had intended to leave more, but somehow lost my packing tape!! 

"I still hope he'll change."

If people do read these, and I very much hope they do, maybe these pieces will inspire more affection among couples, and a great leap forward towards secret crushes...

Left behind on my run

As many of you know, I am an avid runner. While running, I think about all kinds of things. Sometimes I count the number of blocks left on my route, sometimes I make a mental list of everything I need to do at work that day, and, quite often, I have a realization about how I feel about someone in my life at that moment. 

The map at left is one of my running routes through Boerum Hill-Carroll Gardens-Gowanus-Park Slope. I tend to pick hillier paths so I can increase resistance. I seem to like slogging through the difficult parts to get to my running high.

Is the same true of my relationships?

My plan is to install some of my "post-its" along my running route. These will be stitched on pieces of plastic bags. I feel as though I have accumulated a lot of dating experiences, and it's time to let go of a lot of ideas and memories. Similarly, I seem to accumulate plastic shopping bags. I can reuse them if I want, but ultimately, they are disposable. In today's dating culture, I feel as if relationships are disposable. We are "shopping for perfection," and can always replace a current love interest with someone "better."

The piece at left says, "What I left behind on my run: thoughts of you and my relationships, current and swollen with memory."