Art In Action

The Latest Extreme Sport: Pumpkin Carving

2007-08-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

You heard it here first. Or maybe not. Regardless, check out Extreme Pumpkins if you are sick, twisted, don't have small children at home and don't want any coming to your door on Halloween. Okay, it's not that bad. But there are flames, and "puke" and other 10-year old boy accoutrements as well as some more disturbing adult ones.

Enjoy?

No PARK(ing) on the Dance Floor! Woo! Woo!

2007-08-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

No PARK(ing)?

A temporary park in a parking space, what's not to like? Come on, all the cool kids are doing it. Even Mayor Gavin Newsom of SF is redecorating!

Build something wacky or spectacular or superbly suburban, then sit (you did bring a bench, didn't you?), smell the daisies and perhaps a bit of bus fuel. Oh wait, this is SF and the buses are electric. Nevermind.

Here's the skinny from the organizer, Matt, who is Andrea's (from Superhero Designs) husband. Wow, that's an awkward sentence. But you know what I mean. I hope.

I didn't put Matt's nifty pictures in here, but there are some on the official PARK(ing) site and some over on Andrea's blog, so you can always take a wee trip through cyberspace to see them.

PARK(ing) Day 2007! (From Matt)

PARK(ing) Day grew out of a temporary public intervention that my art collective, REBAR, created in 2005. Way back then we were interested in exploring the range of possibilities for reprogramming the metered parking space for alternative activities. And, as it turns out, it is apparently NOT illegal in San Francisco County to occupy a metered parking space with something other than a private vehicle.

In response to the worldwide interest in that original project , REBAR created the first "PARK(ing) Day" in 2006, which included 47 PARKs in 13 cites around the globe, including San Francisco, Berkeley, Cleveland, NYC, London, Glasgow, Manchester, Rio de Janeiro, and others. The Mayor of San Francisco even built a PARK in his parking space!

This year we are doing it again! On 9/21/07 people around the globe will convert metered parking spaces into temporary public open spaces. So far this year is sizing up to be absolutely HUGE - there will be dozens of PARKs in SF, Berkeley, NYC and LA, and new participants in cities around the world, including Paris, Barcelona, Melbourne, Berlin, Munich and Toronto.

REBAR will be creating the "PARKcycle" a mobile, human-powered public park, which we will pedal around San Francisco, to deliver temporary public space where and when it is needed.

So, I'm writing to ask you to help us spread the word!

If you have a blog, bulletin board, or bullhorn, please tell you friends about PARK(ing) Day. Plus it's easy to get involved and build a park in your own urban environment!

Everything you need to know is on the PARK(ing) Day website and you can see the video trailer of last year's event here.

The goal of PARK(ing) Day is to:

1) inspire people to reconsider the way our streets are used;

2) generate meaningful dialog regarding the planning principles that continue to unsustainably privilege the automobile above other uses of public space,

3) and to put a big smile on your face!

So please, help us spread the word, build a PARK in your local community, or write about it on your blog.

Thanks so much!

Matt

Wire + Household Objects = Art

2007-07-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

Bent

Sidewalk Stories

2007-07-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

A great example of street art in action in San Francisco's Mission District.

Click here if you'd like to hear more

Unusal Use of the Web

2007-07-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

Alas, this is not your ordinary Web site. It's also for a book of short stories. Enjoy.

Today's challenge: use something unusual to accomplish your goal. (Use garden tools to serve the salad--uhm, wash them well first, okay; write a thank you note on the back of a photo, stamp it and send it through the mail...etc. etc. etc.)

A bit o' inspiration

2007-06-20T10:16:00.001-07:00

Trees that draw, packages that create slide shows of their journeys and more from Tim Knowles

Amazing shadows from piles of junk. This one blows my mind.

Clever Photography

2007-02-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

You can see more of Chema Madoz's clever photography here.

Espresso Art

2007-01-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

Foamy espresso art. What's your canvas?

Petri Dish Art

2007-01-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

You may very well have something in your fridge or under your bathroom sink that rivals this.

Where will you find your art today? Photograph it and leave the link in the comments.

Fun with toothbrushes?

2006-12-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

From the "weird jewelry annals"--Make yourself a toothbrush bracelet.

Find-a-quote

2006-12-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

Today's art action: Find a quote. Any quote. Something that makes you smile, or laugh or sounds like the start of a good short story.

Here's mine:

"The underlying issue is that she's got a bingo problem, which explains why an otherwise nice person might get sucked into something like this."

and here's where you can find the article

Great lit by the masters, covers by you...

2006-11-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

Penguin just announced that they will be issuing books such as Emma without covers. Well, with covers. But the covers, they are blank. Art-quality paper, people. Get out your crazy crayons and your poster paints.

Read about it here.

Flipbook Fun

2006-11-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a site (en francais) about flipbooks. Click on the books and they flip for you. It's very post-something that flipbooks, which are meant to simulate moving pictures/film are now flipped on video for your viewing pleasure. Ponder that.

Your Art Action: Make a flip book. Come on, you know you want to.

Some ideas to get you started:

**Use a binder clip to clip together a bunch of 3x5 notecards

**Take stop-motion photos, print them and binder clip them. (To do this: arrange some stuff. Take a pic. Move something in the picture slightly. Take another pic. Repeat until you are tired of moving stuff and taking picture.)

**Use the lower righthand blank corner of a notebook or--gasp--regular book to make a 'tiny flip'

Post a link to your flip book (or a blog entry about it) in the comments! Maybe we'll start NaNoFliBoMo (National November Flip Book Month).

PostSecret Oops

2006-11-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

Someone wrote in to PostSecret and said that s/he accidently mailed the postcard to the person it was about rather than to PostSecret. Oops.

Here's your art action: send a postcard. in secret. to someone. anyone.

november 1 & 2

2006-11-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

for some reason, yesterday's post didn't come through. drats. i am truly trying to post something every day for the november bloggy thingy. (no-blo-th) ;)

holding souvenirs over the real thing

that was yesterday's linky link. yesterday, however, it was accompanied by some witty prose and a story about the arc de triumph being entirely under scaffolding the last time i was there. today, it's just a link. sorry.

77 Million Paintings

2006-10-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Art that continues to grow in your absence.

Good stuff.

Elect Encyclopedia Brown

2006-10-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a great election-year art project.

Walking on water

2006-10-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

To complete this art-in-action, you need:

1 abandoned church (watertight)
60 large stepping stones and some way to make them rise from the depths and then sink back down
Lots of water

Click here for the story (and a cool picture).

Photo Can

2006-09-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

How to make a can into a photo frame. I kind of like the idea of using photos as can/jar labels when you give gifts. Nice.

In the eye of the beholder...

2006-09-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Who did the following: a contemporary artist, a preschooler or an elephant?

Intend to blend

2006-09-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today's art action takes its inspiration from a German college student who dressed up as a Terra Cotta Warrior in China and "hid out" amongst the life-size statuary. The full story is here.

What lengths will you go to, and how do you intend to blend today? Will you borrow a friend's toddler, dress the part of a frazzled mom and go to Gymboree? Will you don a black beret and washed out black turtleneck and hit the literary aisle of a musty, second-hand bookstore?

Report back in the comments section.

What comes next?

2006-09-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

Inspiration taken from the next sheet famous writers would have used.

Make something good

2006-09-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Here's an inspiring art story about a guy who turns old guns into guitars in Columbia.

Banksy

2006-09-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest by graffiti artist and art guerrilla Bansky, in which he swapped out Paris Hilton CDs in the UK...with his own. His included tracks like "Why am I famous?" Nice.

This reminds me a bit of the BLO (Barbie Liberation Organization) in which people switched the voice boxes of the talking GI Joe and Barbie so Joe said things like "Math is hard!" and "Let's go shopping" and Barbie wanted to go to war and blow things up.

Parking Space to Park

2006-08-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

How's this for an art-in-action piece?

These folks turned an SF parking space into an SF mini-park.

From the folks that brought you the Best Buy art piece

2006-08-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Slo-Mo-Home-Depot

A Fair Piece

2006-08-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's the toilet decorating contest! Bowled Over!

Stick it...

2006-06-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

How's this for motivation? This artist creates a collage a day and posts them here.

Your art action? Make a collage.

Guerrilla Gardening

2006-06-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Make your art grow. Try guerrilla gardening.

Word Bookmarks

2006-06-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

Defective Yeti's got a great idea for learning and retaining the new words you run across when you are reading.

Art Action: Make a word bookmark. Fill it up. Use it wisely.

Pinhole camera

2006-06-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

This group is going to make the world's biggest pinhole camera out of an airplane hangar. They are then going to photograph an empty runway, with an exposure time of 5-12 days. The image will be about 100 feet long.

Here's how to make a more modest pinhole camera.

Your art action today: Make a pinhole camera. Or, if you're too lazy for that, think about what you'd photograph with one, and take a photo with whatever you've got on hand.

Book Meets Band

2006-05-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here's what happens when you take book titles and merge them with band names...

Some of my favorites:

About a Boy George
The Three Muskateers for Fears
Motley Crüsoe
Deborah Harry Potter
Of Mice and Men at Work
The Agony and the XTC
Oh, the Places You'll Go-Gos
The Natalie Merchant of Venice
Romeo Void and Juliet
Of Mice and Men Without Hats
The Elements of Style Council
The Smiths Family Robinson
Everything But the Girl, Interrupted
The Maltese Falco
Moby Dick
Tuesdays With Morris Day & the Time
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Heart of Darkness
The Five Village People You Meet in Heaven
Chicken Soup for the Soul Asylum
J-Lolita
Nineteen-Eighty-Four-Non-Blondes
The Little Prince & The Revolution
Gone With/Inherit the the Earth Wind and Fire

Your Art Action: leave your own creations in my comments! :)

An Allegory

2006-05-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Thoughts from a Fostering Family: An Allegory

I thought this was an amazing post about fostering. Read it.

Art Action: Write a paragraph about your family of origin. Then leave it on a seat/bench/chair somewhere.

Improv Everywhere!

2006-05-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

I loved this Best Buy Mission!

It's exactly the type of thing I'd like this blog to report on and to become. A bit of art...everywhere.

Rob Gonsalves: Tributaries

2006-05-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting piece--it reminds me of a Dali/Escher hybrid.

Creative

2006-05-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is from a relationship newsletter, written by Katherine and Gay Hendricks...

------------------------------------------------
** Relationship Tip of the Day **
------------------------------------------------

Creativity is a key to healthy relationships. Open up more to your
creativity and you will see greater possibilities in your intimate
relationships. Do you have ideas and inspirations that go unfulfilled? An
idea for a new book. An invention. A creative solution to a problem. Get
busy with them and watch what magic unfolds in your relationships.

Creative impulses happen all the time. What we do with these ideas and
inspirations determines our success or failure in receiving the benefits
of our creativity.

Here are tips for taking your inspirations from idea into form:

** Notice "when" you feel most inspired. When you first wake up. During
walks in nature. After a meditation. Playing or listening to music.

** Prepare yourself to capture creative impulses as close as possible to
the moment of creation. Have ready pen/pencil, post-it notes, pad of
paper, marker, recorder, computer, etc. at various locations "where" you
often feel most inspired. Capture your inspirations.

** Do something right away with your idea or inspiration. As close as
possible to when you get the idea, write it down (or record it). If you
like, share it with a spouse, partner, friend, colleague while it's still
fresh. Often with time, any strong feelings you had with an idea pass.
Documenting the feeling and essence of the creative impulse will allow you
to tap into the original feeling later on more easily.

** Organize your ideas in such a way that you set it up for you to
successfully complete them. Find or create an organizational system (like
filing cabinets, computer files, etc.) that works easily for you.

Successful people are superb at taking their dreams and inspirations from
idea through to completion. They understand how to be inspired and how
important it is to honor their inspirations. They strengthen their
connecting to the source of inspirations, and they take easy, simple
steps, one-step-at-a-time to move their dreams and ideas along. As a
result, they experience a wonderful flow of creativity and enriching
ideas, continually throughout their lives.

Purchase weird crafts here!

2006-04-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

The title says it all. Some of the stuff is pretty cool.

Yes, I want to get me some of them weird crafts!

Mr. Picassohead

2006-03-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

Ohhh, it's Mr. Picassohead!

Cool Conference

2006-03-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

This looked like a cool conference. Go ahead, take a chance and click.

Marble Magnets How-To

2006-02-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

While this isn't a crafts blog per se, I think this looks like FUN FUN FUN, and so I'm posting it here.

Marble Magnets

Experience Life

2006-01-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

For one year, this woman went out with everyone who asked her...The Year of Yes

And here's a twist: The Campus Christian Confession Booth

Neither of these are things I'd do, but they are cool life-as-art experiments nonetheless.

Mondo Beyondo and 52 Figment

2006-01-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

Mondo Beyondo is a great way to start the New Year.

Also check out 52 Figment.

I could explain it all, but it'll be so much more fun for you to figure it out yourselves. Really.

Blogs to watch out for...

2006-01-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

I like the homemade artsty-craftsy feel to her work. Check it out.

If you think you can't...

2005-03-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

If you think you can't possibly walk around the block backwards once, consider Umbrealla Man, a local Santa Cruz fixture. He walks up and down the street every day, very slowly, dressed in a fine pink skirt, full makeup, and with a pink umbrella.

For more on Umbrella Man, click here.

A great photo of him: here.

Walk about!

2005-03-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

Walk around the block once, backwards. Make sure to smile enigmatically at everyone you meet.

Spend only a dollar today...

2005-03-24T21:42:00.000-08:00

Today your challenge is to be creative enough that you only have to spend $1 to get through it...

For a further action, pay only in change! (Or if you go over the $1 amount, pay only with change for the rest of your purchases...)

Crafty Young Thing...

2005-03-17T15:54:00.000-08:00

Today, do a kid's crafty or educational project, you know like the one where you make a volcano out of paper mache and then pour food colored baking soda & vinegar in it and watch it explode? Or the one where you put a hard boiled egg over the mouth of a bottle, drop a match in and watch the egg get sucked into the bottle? Or maybe you're not the science type, but you have fond memories of those little metal looms on which you stretched colored loops until you had a potholder? What about God's Eyes? Get some yarn and sticks and watch the decorative possibilities unfold as you flash back to Girl Scouts or church camp.

Even better: Do this with your children. If you don't have a kid, borrow one for a couple hours.

If there's a finished product, don't forget to give yourself a big gold star and hang your masterpiece on the fridge.

Submit: The Poetry Vandal Project

2005-03-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

Poetry needs to seep beyond the pages of a book, needs to arise where it is not expected. I am looking for poems (or short, short prose) to put on stickers and place around the city. If the piece is longer than one sticker, there will be a small line at the end indicating where to go to view the next piece. There is no payment, no publication that you can put in a resume, but your art will be a piece of a living, breathing, city.

This is from craigslist, and you can find the ad here, should you want to submit. Please note that no one at Art in Action is saying you should vandalize property!

The beat of your own drummer...

2005-03-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

Today, dance to the beat of your own drummer. Turn on the music, and just let go. Close the blinds and turn the music on in your bedroom, or if you want the neighbors to get a good chuckle (or scare), do it on the lawn with a boom box. Make sure to move your *entire* body. Dance for at LEAST three songs, and close your eyes for one of them!

Sidewalk Art

2005-03-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

Today, go buy some sidewalk chalk, and decorate your walkway or driveway. If you are not feeling Picasso-like, and you don't want to do a fine Martha Stewart border down to the mailbox, create hopscotch squares and place a little pile of rocks next to them for passersby. Or, if you live in a retirement community, draw a shuffleboard. If there's a lot of crime in your neighborhood, perhaps some festive body outlines are in order. (And yes, the last two suggestions are sarcastic...)

Non-dominant...

2005-03-01T22:23:00.000-08:00

Use your non-dominant hand to write today. Or at least endeavor to do so. Then, before bed, take out a blank piece of paper, pick up your favorite writing utensil (crayons are a-okay) and draw a picture, also with your non-dominant hand. It's a good work out for the grey matter, and when you switch back to your dominant hand, it seems so *easy* to write things. If nothing else, you'll at least get to confuse cashiers when they check your signature, and perhaps empathize with those kindergarteners who are just learning to write on that grey-hued, fat-lined paper...

What's Your Porn Star Name?

2005-02-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

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).

2005-02-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

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.

2005-02-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

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!

2005-02-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

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!)

2005-02-16T14:41:00.000-08:00

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...

2005-02-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

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?

2005-02-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2005-02-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-08T22:54:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

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!

2005-02-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

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.

2005-02-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

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.

AIA: Happy Birthday Mom!

2005-01-31T16:45:00.000-08:00

Your Art Action: The art of conversation.

Today is my mom's birthday. (Note to self: Do not use that as a password security question now that you have broadcast it to the enitre Internet).

Contact your mother. Tell her one thing you remember about being a child. Don't tell her you called her because some peson on the Internet told you to. "But what if she's dead?" you ask. No excuses now. Just chat away to her immortal soul or, if you have her ashes on the mantle, to those.

If you hate this action, or if you are an overachiever and want to do *two* tasks, write my mom a birthday limerick. To get you started: Her name is Penny and she lives in Florida. She enjoys walks on the beach, reading the paper by the pool, kayaking and parties with her friends. She's learning to golf. She's happily married to my dad. (Yes, my description sounded like a personal ad, which is why I added the part about my father.)

If you want to share the fruits of your labor with me, e-mail: wen(put an at sign in here)then put the word qbabe and a d-o-t and a "com." I'll post the best (and worst) here.

Welcome to Art In Action

2005-01-31T16:41:00.000-08:00

This is a test. If it had been an actual post, I'd have said something useful.