This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
People all over the world today are hiding their artwork for you to find, thanks to a tradition started by Utah artist Jake Parker.
It's called Art Drop Day, which takes place the first Tuesday of every September. Parker, who creates indie comics and freelances other artwork from home after working on big studio movies like "Epic" and "Rio," came up with the idea for Art Drop Day during a summer road trip. As he and his family traveled across the country, Parker hid some of his sketches in nooks and crannies along the way, then created a scavenger hunt by sharing hints about them on social media.
Parker's sneaky surprise for fans caught on, and blossomed into a full-fledged annual event as student, amateur and professional artists around the world have followed his example and left their artwork for people to find.
"The world needs this right now," Parker wrote on the event's website. "We need to feel a little more connection to each other and there's nothing like the bond two random strangers can make through the act of creating and giving."
What began as one artist's gift to strangers has spread across the U.S. and into at least Japan, Guatemala, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The fun has even drawn "Mouse Guard" comic creator David Petersen and comics editor Jon Morris, into participating.
Here's how it works: draw something; leave it somewhere; take a picture of the artwork; then share that picture on social media with the hashtag #artdropday, along with the city you dropped it in and a hint about the location. (Here's a YouTube video of Parker doing just this in Tokyo.)
So if you want to follow along, just search the hashtag #artdropday.
Twitter: @MikeyPanda