About Bailey
Artist Statement
I live in a world of oracles, where everyday objects whisper stories to me about our collective yet deeply individual human experiences – stories old as time itself, yet as modern as you and me. For decades, I’ve studied and written stories around global folklore, myths, and mystic rituals that shape the stories we live by to this day. Time and again, I am always led to the magic seam that runs beneath the surface of the seemingly mundane.
My stories do not stay on the page. They live in the world as story objects in site-specific participatory installations that are at once public and intimate, experiential and intuitive, for both myself and my audience. My mixed media approach combines words, images, and reimagined materials into experiences featuring constellations of story objects for the audience to encounter unexpectedly as they go about their day.
Each story chooses its recipients through a natural kind of alchemy: An object makes someone smile, so they interact with it. In the space that opens, a small story appears, one that invites the audience to celebrate their existence and reflect on their good fortune to be connected with themselves, each other, the place around them, and all that is.
Bio
Bailey Lewis is an experiential storytelling artist and writer (MFA, University of South Carolina). She combines words, images, and reimagined materials to create intuitive story experiences. In Bailey's work, each story chooses its recipient, inviting audiences into personal and collective explorations of connection to ourselves, each other, and all that is.
Bailey’s work has been exhibited and published internationally. She is the author of award-winning stories, which have been featured in The Wigleaf Top 50 and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Bailey has been featured by Adobe, Progress, and others for her unique approach to interactive storytelling. Her public artwork, The Gumball Machine of Great Fortune, received a 2026 Public Art Grant from ArtFields Festival for its installation in Lake City, South Carolina.
If you can’t find Bailey, look by the water. She’s probably researching an ancient mermaid or listening to a starfish tell its secrets. Or, you can always find her online at baileysendsword.com.
About Bailey
Found Oracles is an interactive art site by experiential storytelling artist Bailey Lewis.
All oracle cards, stories, and interactions found here are concepted, designed, collaged, written, and published by the artist.
Every oracle you’ll find in this interactive collection has a story for those who are called to its card. These stories are secrets of the universe, as told by everyday worldly objects, about the human story - common experiences and plot lines that are as old as time, yet as modern as you and me.
Here, you are of the world, not set apart from it.
Here, you are connected to the universe and everything within, not inconsequential to it.
Whichever oracles call to you are the ones with stories for you right now.
Trust yourself, and choose.
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The Pickle is the oracle that started it all.
What is a found oracle?
found oracle (n): Any object, symbol, person, or story that speaks to you with unexpected truth is an oracle. These oracles of the everyday world provide a mirror to see yourself more clearly: your unique power, impact, and magic - as revealed through the eyes of the universe.
Like the found art movement, found oracles are commonplace objects with unexpectedly profound meanings. The objects and stories of the everyday world speak to us all the time in their own secret language of symbolism and deeper meaning. Those who pause to listen and engage with the messages of these “found oracles” can use them to direct their energy and emotions, connecting them more deeply with themselves, others, and all that is.
You’ve got oracle mail.
As you go about your everyday, an oracle arrives in your inbox. It has a story for you, should you choose to open it.
Sign up to receive the latest oracle cards and their stories, first peeks into collections, and other news from the oracles of the everyday world.
Meet Bailey Lewis
The storyteller and artist behind Found Oracles.
Bailey Lewis is an experiential storytelling artist (MFA, University of South Carolina). She combines words, images, and reimagined materials to create intuitive story experiences. In Bailey's work, each story chooses its recipient, inviting audiences into personal and collective explorations of connection to ourselves, each other, and all that is.
Bailey’s work has been exhibited and published internationally. Most recently, she received a Public Art Grant from ArtFields Festival for the installation of her work, The Gumball Machine of Great Fortune. She is the author of award-winning stories, which have been featured in The Wigleaf Top 50 and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her approach to interactive storytelling has been featured by Adobe, Progress, and others.
If you can’t find Bailey, look by the water. She’s probably researching an ancient mermaid or listening to a starfish tell its secrets. Or, you can always find her online at baileysendsword.com.
Found Oracles installations are available for venues, galleries, and cultural spaces. These intuitive and collective stories choose their recipients, creating a personally reflective moment within our common human experience. The oracles and their stories invite us humans to reflect on our good fortune to be connected to ourselves, each other, and all that is.
Get in touch.
To inquire about Bailey’s work or any of the oracles, you may use the Contact page on this site, email Bailey at hello@foundoracles.com or reach out via the studio at bailey@baileysendsword.com.