Señor Matt and His Fantastical Hat

"Senor Matt" is an idea I came up with in October 2011 for a children/youths story (stories). Could be illustrated books, films, cartoons, anything really.

Set in the mid to late 1800's a Spanish soldier Matt returns from war and finds his city and family in ruins. Although this fills Matt with much grief he chooses to use this opportunity to travel the land he fought so hard to protect. While on his journey he meets an elderly man who instantly asks for his assistance. Matt complies in exchange for a meal and a place to sleep. The Old Man agrees and they begin work on building something a bit unusual. This continues for a few weeks, the Old Man still not revealing much about himself or what they are constructing, even when looking at it Matt and everyone else who passes by aren't quite sure what it is or will be. When the work is finally through the Old Man takes Matt into town to his workshop which until now, Matt didn't know existed. For all of Matt's selfless, tirelss work the Old Man wishes to give him a gift, something very special. The Old man walks to the back of his shop and pulls a dusty cloth off of a canvas nestled well into a wooden easel, through the dust Matt fails to make out what it is immediately but as the Old Man removes the canvas from the frame and places it onto a sewing board, Matt finally sees what it is, "Starry Night" by Van Gogh. The Old Man says he got it from a close friend and was waiting for the right person to give it to. When Matt asks what the Old Man is doing with the painting the elderly chap merely grunts and puffs while matching it specifically to a pattern. When the clinking sounds finally come to a stop and the dust clears Matt sees what the Old Man was working on, a rather unusual thing a painting turned into a hat. The Old man is beaming with pride, places the hat upon a sigil carved into the table and sprinkles some interesting glittery particles on it whilst chanting in a language Matt knows he's never heard before. The Old Man quickly scoops the hat into a sack and he requests Matt follow him to their newly constructed "building". Once they arrive the Old Man pulls a long chain from under his coat, at the end of the chain is a strange key, when he opens the door Matt is taken aback by what he sees inside, this is not what he remembered building. The Old Man then reveals to Matt what his plan has been all along. Once the Old Man was a very young man, a very young man who has always lived in the same town, who seemed to fail at everything he ever did, school, work, love, life. As the Young Man grew older and things turned bleaker, he met a man who painted, that man was Vincent Van Gogh, he gave the aging man the Starry Night painting hoping that it could ease some of his woes in the future, or maybe be of use in another way. The now Middle Aged Man never used the painting he tucked it away in his workshop full of useless ideas and magicks and placed a cover over it, never realizing it's potential until it seemed too late, too late to marry, have children,make use of this gift he'd been given by a kind painter. So when Matt came along he realized this was his final chance to do something. So he constructed a portal with Matts help and used an alchemical transmutation theory to turn this painting into a Hat which would grant the good hearted wearer the ability to travel the world through Art. Any art. Music. Painting. Sculpture. Anything.

Through this fantastical device Matt is able to see the world through different eyes, experience what we can only dream and come back to tell the world what he has learned. Matt is the human experience, Matt becomes empathy, Matt becomes knowledge, Matt becomes love. Through each piece of art he learns more about himself and others. This is Senor Matt and His Fantastical Hat.

I can't wait to see what we can do with this idea. This is what hitrecord is all about.