What's Your Porn Star Name?

Take the name of your first pet, and the first street you lived on (unless it was a number, in which case, use the second.)

I would be Tommy Wolfe.

Definite Porn Star Status.

If you are really brave, go ahead and introduce yourself like that today.

Find yourself (or rather someone with your name).

Now, this Art Action will be a little easier if your name is Bill Jones or Chris Smith than if you're Paisley Rain Beate-Aromonth or Vladmir Ukilskivsky, but today your task, should you choose to accept it, is to find someone with the same name as you. Google your name (and variations thereof)--you may be surprised at how often you figure in others' virtual reality--look in the phone book in your town or city, or go to the library or city hall and check historical records.

If you're really brave, send the person a postcard letting them know you have the same name.

Do it completely.

A Minneapolis woman is walking all the streets and pathways in her city. That's about 1,071 miles.

If you're not covered in blisters from the walking exercise the other day, and you don't live somwhere like LA, where this would be not only time consuming but dangerous--gotta love those freeways and drive by shootings--you might want to give that a try.

If not, choose something else to complete, to finish, to do until it's done.

Maybe you'll read the dictionary (I'd recommend a Merriam Webster rather than the OED if you want to actually finish), visit all the mailboxes in your town, or road trip to every historical landmark in your state. It's up to you.

The point is to pick something out, something most people do a little of, but never do completely, and immerse yourself in it.

Do it just because it's there.

Crafty!

Today's Art Action: Pick a craft project. You don't have to actually do it, just select one and think about it. And no, it doesn't have to be a crocheted poodle toilet paper cover, unless you're into that kind of thing.

If you're looking for something fun and artsy, with a dose of kitsch and originality (Nintendo cross stitches and Lichenstein-inspired blinds) check out craftster. You'll find detailed instructions to make just about anything (including the "pixelator" which involves toliet paper rolls and your television), and a group of hip craftsters to (virtually) hang out with.

Craftster also had one of my favorite slogans posted: "Rock is dead. Long live paper and scissors." What's not to like?

Let the dice do the walking (Come on, baby needs a new pair of shoes!)

Fun with dice, and you don't even have to go to Las Vegas, or its more ragged cousins, Reno and Atlantic City.

Roll the dice and fill in the numbers you rolled before the following directions. Then get out and go for a walk. Make sure to take enough change for a bus or taxi back home afterwards!

You can start this at a public place or right out your front door. It's fun to do in a neighborhood you don't know as well as your own (just keep safety in mind if you venture too far...I can't be responsible if you walk into a rough neighborhood!) Also wear a watch so you can time yourself on the time-sensitive directions.

Go out the front door.

Turn left.

Walk ____ block(s).

Turn right.

Walk straight for ____ minute(s).

Cross the street.

Turn right at the next intersection.

Walk for _____ block(s).

Turn left.

Continue to the next stop sign, or for ____ minute(s), whichever comes first.

If you see a bridge in the next ___ block(s), cross it!

Walk for ____ minutes in the direction you are already going.

Turn left.

Turn left again at the ___ traffic signal you come to, or after ____ block(s).


ENJOY!

Find, or create, a patron saint...

Art action: Look up the patron saint that would be the best fit for you, or make one up. Here are a few to get you started: Saint Decluteris, the patron saint of those trying to get rid of their excess stuff. Saint Bahamas, patron saint of tropical vacations.

Spare Some Change?

Art action: Spare change mosaic

Clear off a flat, hard surface that you won't need for a bit. Desks, tables, hardwood floors will all work. The bathtub, bed, and shag carpet aren't so good.

Get out all your spare change. Go through your pockets, your bags, your laundry money, that jar on the table. Hunt through the couch cushions and the backseat of your car (check the ashtray, too). Once you've assembled a respectable amount, put it in a pile on your surface.

Now, make something. Anything. Maybe you only have enough to do a smiley face in dimes and pennies; perhaps you can do the Mona Lisa in foreign currency. It doesn't matter. If you don't want to try a landscape, go abstract. Sweep the change over your surface and see what patterns emerge. Play with the patterns until you think they are aesthetically pleasing (or not, if you're going for some shocking, unpleasant to look at art).

When you're done playing, snap a picture, and clean up your mess. You might want to roll that change up, too, and stick it in the bank. Or take yourself out to eat. Don't forget to restock the laundry and car toll change, and maybe drop a few cents in the cup of the guy on the corner.

Public Poetry

Compose a poem.

It doesn't have to be a good poem. If you can't think of how to make your thoughts into a poem, just arrange a few sentences so they *look* poetic and then change or delete a few words to give your creation the feel of highly crafted verse.

Now, write it on a clean(ish) piece of paper. Grab some tape. Tape it somewhere in public.

Go back and check on it occassionally, to see if it's still there.

Safe bets:

*Bookstore or community bulletin boards

*Telephone poles

*Anywhere you'd see a garage sale ad


Not-so-safe bets:

*Side of a bus.

*Wall at the police station.

*On someone's dog or child.

Play with your food!

Today, feel free to build little pyramids out of your mashed potatoes, make fine green smiley faces with your peas, and carve your steak to look like the state of Florida. Extra points if you can get your family members, co-workers or complete strangers to join you in this fun.

Alternate action (great for a weekend): Make funny shaped pancakes. Give up on getting them round and make them like inkblots. Go around the table and tell each other what you see in that fried goodness before slathering it with syrup and sending it down the hatch. (Note: if a certain friend always sees Charles Manson, or The Pope, or Brittney Spears, regardless of whether it looks like a duck, Arnold Schwartzeneger, or a button, you may have a problem. What a tasty, convenient and cheap way to find out there's something amiss!)

Word-of-the-Day

Today, open the dictionary and pick a word at random.

See how many times you can insert it into conversation over the course of the day. Try to sound natural. Definitely keep score, and let me know how you do.

The idea isn't really to learn a new word, but if that happens, hey, good for you! You can pick a simple word, like cloud, lightbulb or bullfight, if you'd like. It's still the same game.

If you don't have a dictionary, try the word of the day at dictionary.com or merriam-webster. Or choose a word from the list below:

impune: to attack the integrity of something

compendium: a comprehensive summary

culvert: a sewer or drain

obviate: (ob-vee-ate): to make unecessary, to avert, to preclude

odyssey: a long and difficult journey marked my changes in fortune


Around the water cooler:

Co-worker #1: Did you see that new show on HBO?
You: Oh, the one about the odyssey?

On the bus:
You, to bus driver: Ah, I see having a monthly pass obivates the whole "having exact change" thing.

etc.

Enjoy.

Art Inaction

Well folks, it seems like for the past few days, it's been Art Inaction rather than Art In Action. I trust you have been amusing yourselves with fine art actions of your own design. Feel free to post about them in the comments, if this is indeed the case.

DYI Holiday!

Sure, yesterday was Groundhog's Day, a time during which Americans let their meteorolical fate for the next 6 weeks be decided by a fuzzy rodent. But that was yesterday. What is today? Is it "Eat A Big Fat Sandwich Day" or perhaps "Walk around the block backwards day"? You decide.

Art Action: Create a holiday, or, at the very least, name today (or some future date you select) with a descriptive moniker. Think "Festivus" on Seinfeld. Think "National Boss's Day" (a kiss-up Hallmark Holiday if I ever heard of one). How about "Thank God For Indoor Plumbing Day" or "Festival of Reclining on the Couch"? What about "Chocolativa"?

How will you celebrate your holiday? Will there be gifts? Lots of beer? Is there a special person or large rodent, like the Easter Bunny, associated with it? Who will the corporate sponsors be?

Now, take the next step and actually celebrate it. Send your significant other a card, or post a "Happy Chocolativa" note to your e-mail group. Heck, stick it in the comments section here so we can all join in the fun.

Oh, and mark it in your day planner so you don't forget to celebrate it again next year!

Hat or Bird Paradise? You decide.

Utne had an article on Ecoartists. You can find it here.

Among the artists is a woman who makes hats that double as a bird feeders/perches in order to create an awareness of the interdependency and connection between all the beings in a particular watershed. That's what she says, at least. She may really, deep down, just like to wear silly hats. (She'll let you wear the hat, too, for free, at special clinics in Mendicino.)

Click here to visit her web site and see the hat.

Art Action: Help something be more than it is. Could any item in your life do double duty like that hat? Could you imagine altering something so it could? What about taking a regular item and figuring out how you can make it a comment on something that is important to you?

Not sure where to start? How about with a slotted spoon or sieve? A pair of tinted glasses that don't fit you very well? A glove? A hockey stick? A watering can? An old shoe? Make one of these into a metaphor for something, or turn it into a piece of art in iteslf. Physically transform it, or just write about what it could mean.

Let it be more than it is. If it comes out well, put it in your yard, or make a web site about it.

Be silly, be brave, have fun.

Idea-A-Day

Your Art Action: Today, visit the Idea-A-Day site. Read through the archive, or the top ten. Write down your own idea of the day.