“It’s bringing us lots of smiles during a not-always-so-smiley time.”
Last year, Aidan Cox, a San Ramon Valley Highschool Senior, discovered artist Mike Bennett displaying his cleverly conceived cartoon-like artwork in Tik Tok interactive social media videos on the internet. Aidan was utterly fascinated with Bennett’s nearly life-sized cartoon characters, crafted on scraps of wood, artfully painted and made nearly life size. They were left peeking into and out from bushes in the park, or standing on walkways and stairways.
Like most youth today, Aidan and his friends enjoy using emoji caricatures (little art form heads with smiles and frowns), to illustrate and exaggerate their emotions graphically while sharing thoughts with friends in many communication programs. Most commonly when we wish to express feelings such as “I miss you”, “I love you”, “I’m Sad”, “I’m very happy” in written form, people often attach to that expression an exclamation mark “!”. These emoji have become so popular that you will find a nearly unlimited supply of little artful expressions that you can borrow and attach to your own comments that you can share in other social media programs.
Aidan thought that since these smiley faces make us feel better in those kind of communications, maybe they might also help to lift up our spirits, when coming upon them (sometimes unexpectedly) especially out in public places lately when we are all dealing with repercussions of the Covid Catastrophe.
Aidan began to experiment about six months ago in crafting on scrap plywood, some plywood that he collected from construction sites, some of which he purchased, and some donated by neighbors. Aidan cut the basic circular form with a hand jigsaw, followed by sanding and painting. Some happy face artwork signs are attached to telephone poles, and some trees and or fences in Alamo, Danville and San Ramon. And guess what, the response has for the most part been incredibly positive! For example, Vicki on “Nextdoor” said, “Thank you to whomever recently put up smiley faces, on telephone poles on Danville Blvd. and Livorna Road near their intersection. A treat to brighten the day for all of us!” In addition, Lauren on “Nextdoor” added “Just a note to say how much we love the smiley face posted at the corner of Ramona Way and Danville Boulevard. My kids look for it every time we drive by and get so excited. It’s bringing us lots of smiles during a not-always-so-smiley time. Thank you for this small (but mighty) gesture!”
To date Aidan has made and sold approximately 60 Smiley Faces. Some of his pieces of art adorn private driveways and hiking trails and even a couple of front porches!
My wife and I first saw them a couple of months ago as we drove around our beloved Alamo, and guess what, we smiled or laughed every time we came across them. We thought we would love to have one for the driveway entrance to our property and maybe even the trail adjacent to our home near Oak Hill Parl. We Googled “Aidan”, bought two signs and put them up on our trees, and people walking past our home tell is again and again how happy they make them feel.
Now you too may add and share these uplifting icons of joy, and love and help make a statement that your community also cares. If you wish a sign for your home or neighborhood, simply contact Aidan at (925) 856-7254 or at https://signtosmile.wixsite.com/smile to order yours. He might even add a special accent in his made to order creations if you have your own idea you want to share!
Leave a Reply