Commitment-Paul King

Walking a Ling-Paul King

Collaborative effort - Clint, Paul, Dakota, Elliott

Process: each member of the group randomly selected book in the library and searched out a single line. From there we pulled our minds and lines together to create our final product.

Documentation of a Day- Brandee Watters

This day starts out red
A deep, strong red.
As dark as the sin I entertain
In the wee hours of the morning.

Sleep comes as a deep blue.
It rises and falls like a fog-
Rolling in and out,
Ebbing and flowing,
As sandman and I argue.

Friendship is a light yellow-
Warm and inviting,
Like an early lunch.
Taking in laughter and happiness
Just as much as our food.

Wandering is like a light green.
Comfortable though unsure.
Stuck in a waiting place
But not wanting to move.

White comes in as ideas,
Thoughts and revelations.
Philosophical wonderings
And "lightbulb" moments.

Sadness is black.
Extreme darkness.
It's all consuming,
Life destructing,
Moment crippling,
And you can't get out.

Until the words
Start to touch you again,
Their light blue
Comfort comes through
And deepens.
As your eyes droop
The sandman wins
Once again.

Personal Manifesto- Brandee Watters

1. Be kind. The road of life is one we need not go alone. Being callous and cold only increases our loneliness.2. Take time to show people your vulnerabilities. The only way you can know yourself is by sharing the most intimate parts of yourself with others.
3. Dance in the  rain. And in the street. And while waiting in line. And when alone. And while in a crowd.
4. Go full out. Full-ahead. Life is just filled with moments and opportunities. If we miss out we may always wonder what was truly waiting for us.
5. Ask why.
6. Schedule wandering into your life. Take time to aimlessly walk or drive. You never no what you will find, though it is usually parts of your own being strewn across the everyday scenery you pass by in a rush everyday. 5. Above all, value your freedom. You right to choose to wander or rush, to be kind or tough, to dance or not, is a precious choice. 

Walking a line - Elliott Bliss

Intertwined

This is a Commitment- Brandee Watters

I am going to do a creative process for at least 30 minutes everyday and keep a record of my thoughts, ideas, and findings throughout.

This is the Title of my Commitment

I, Elliott Bliss, commit myself to carrying at all times on my person a notebook for ideas. I further commit myself to the carrying out of one idea per week. 

Update

After one month of living my commitment I made a few photos to share what has been done. Before a show the pictures I would like to mention that having a notebook on me at all times was an excellent way to jot down ideas in order to remember them for later. I tend to be quite forgetful of ideas so this was a big help.

The notebook. Hello Confucius.

Imitating Andy Goldsworthy. Rock stacking

Collecting things

This is a Commitment - Clint Stevens

5 nights per week -work on a small media sketch (paused scene of a movie)

2 nights per week - work on large scale drawing.

create an account on instagram and Facebook to share my art and start getting an idea of what people respond to, as well as getting in contact with other artists.

The China-man.

My Daily Creative Habit

I am taking the phrase, "A picture's worth a thousand words" and approaching it from a new angle.  

I am taking a single word and making a composition of the feelings and associations connected to it.

I am writing down the word along with a list of the things it makes me feel, and visualizing what that might look like.

this is a commitment

This is a commitment to dedicate a portion of everyday, for 30 days, to creativity! I dedicate my time to finishing projects I've started and start ones that yet to be started!

This is a commitment-Paul King

Build a large work table in an unused room in my basement.

After the children go to bed this is when I will go into my work room/study and get creative and take the time to get artist for the evening.

Documenting the Passing of January 14th

Personal Manifesto - Elliott Bliss

Who am I?
A thinker who creates
A creator who solves problems
A problem solver who listens
A listener who collects
A collector of objects, hobbies, memories, and experiences

Who do I Want to be?
An inventor
One of those guys that's interesting to be around
A raiser of children
A cherishing and understanding husband
The kind of man that makes life better for those around him
A continuation of who I already am

Who am I Really?
A project under construction
A sometimes shy guy
An often undecided human
Someone who is always looking to improve

Manifesto of Nicholas Nuttall

i. I want to make art of all kinds to that will inspire minds, promote love, and entertain.

ii. I desire to be comfortable with my skills, yet always be seeking ways to improve.

iii. I will love to observe the work of others, and appreciate the advice they give to me.

iv. Respect is the pillar on which all positive relationships are built. Learn it, then earn it.

v. Praise others, for in every thing they create there are things worth praising.

Manifesto-Paul King

Art

Art that changes the world

Art that make you feel

Art that is significant

Art that is new 

Art that is different 

Art that is reflective

talk to yourself  - The man who talks to himself has found a new door to his imagination, his thoughts become clearer, receives a new partner in crime.

Do not neglect the spiritual - It is necessary for one who seeks the bring forth the unseen, to seek out the unseen in whatever way he chooses.  If an artist neglects this aspect of his life, his creative powers will be greatly inhibited.

Look for the good things -  Always find the good in something, if you cannot find it, get creative.  The more you can find the good in life, the more you will be able pinpoint good ideas.

Laugh - they say laughter is the best medicine, but what they don't tell you is that its like morphine.  Once you're cured from your ailment, it doesn't lose its effect, laughter will bring you to new heights.

Never stop -  Never stop being an artist.  In all your doings you have got to be an artist, always thinking like and artist and seeking out new ideas and solutions.

Be a gatherer  - Never stop gathering ideas!  In all of your conversations, soak in the thoughts and concepts expressed, embrace the jokes, and treasure the emotions.  If these are collected and kept in a safe place, you will have a wealth of treasure to use at your disposal in your creations.

Eat, drink, and be happy  - Have a food or drink that you like when working.

Rise from your tomb joyfully  - Wake up early and approach every day with excitement.

Exercise  - It will do the body good.

Study  - Read, Read, Read!  Watch, Watch, Watch!  Books and YouTube are your friend, use them wisely.

Love the world around you  - Learn to love the people you associate with, get to know them.  the more you get to know them, the more you will love them, and the more love you have, the greater will be your creative powers and your ability to do.

Do what you feel  - Be confident.

Documentation of a day - Elliott Bliss

"This day will never happen again." 

     What happens when we fail to realize that there are an infinite amount of moments. Some may feel anxiety, some may find liberation. 

Coming to this realization I feel the need to seize the moment and really savor it. 

I draw a strong connection between this concept of letting time pass incoherently and how we slip in between and around other human beings. 

 What if we took a moment to talk to an individual while we were letting moments pass by? 

While standing in a line with a pocket full of uninvested moments. 

What if we invested those moments into others?

 How could that change your life? and theirs? 

 What opportunities could this individual open for us?

 Let's look for those strangers in time. 

Documentation of my Day--Paul King

AM

7:45 wake up and the take the puppy potty

7:50 get the fire going

8:58 make the kids breakfast

8:15 go back to bed and talk to Jeneka about the plans for the day.

8:45 get back up and get ready for school

9:33 play with the kids

9:44 feed and water my dogs

9:58 Leave for school

10:06 fill my gas tank at the gas station

10:22 get to school

10:24 got prepared for class to start

10:30 class starts

11:20 asked if Martin Luther had read Abelard

11:21 went to my next class

11:22 got prepared for the class to start

11:30 class started

PM

12:04 Jeneka texted and said come straight home so she could leave asap and put the baby for a nap because she couldn’t wait any longer

12:20 class ends and I got home

12:37 stop by the hardware store to buy poles for the dog kennel I’m building

12:48  arrive home and Jeneka leave

12:55  begin measuring the poles digging two more holes and cementing poles in the ground for a kennel as well as lining them up straight with string and making sure they are level

2:14  tell the Abe If he does me a favor and lets Abby play with his toy I’ll do a favor for him so she will stop crying so I can finish

2:15  explain what a favor is

2:30 see that the baby is up and tell and have the kids shut all the bathrooms and remind them to keep an eye on the baby

3:56 finished re leveling the poles and go inside change out of the cementy clothes

4:07 Wipe a butt

4:08 Clean peanut butter off the baby

4:10 Change a diaper

4:12 clean up peanut butter & spilled water

4:18 Wipe another butt

4:21 sit down to rest and watch a documentary

4:42 Make the children dinner Peanut butter jelly and honey toast sandwiches 

4:57 Start watching my documentary again on people that think they can find Noah’s Ark

5:03 Stop the girls from screaming the baby stole Abbies sandwich and has it in a death grip making a huge mess and smooshing it

5:04 clean every on up

5:10 wipe a bum

5:13 wipe another bum

5:20 Play with the kids

5:37 Talk to Jeneka

5:43 start playing checkers with the kids 

6:30 Send a child to get the baby bottle so that I can wash it

6:35 Start playing minecraft for the kids

6:47 jump into the lava to respawn somewhere not in the ground where I can’t find my way out of

6:50 tell the kids that I can’t play this game anymore that I don’t want to

6:51 watch funny videos with the kids of people having accidents while working out

7:05 Clean the bottle and warm milk

7:09 change the baby and put her to bed

7:12 tell the other kids to be quit because the baby is asleep and I’ll let them play a while longer

7:14 we watch some more funny videos

7:30 we play checkers one more time each

7:46 Abby the 3 year old won’t listen to me helping her play checkers and begins pushing the pieces around the board I stop her and she is crying and tired.

7:48 I finish the game with my other child

7:55 we brush teeth

7:59 I send everyone to go potty

8:02 say prayer and I take all the children to bed

8:04  take the puppy potty

8:06 clean the house some

8:27 Jeneka gets home and we talk about some things

8:38 I start thinking about my manifesto

8:43  study for a quiz that have the next day

9:30  compile my documentation for the day

10:02 go buy some orange juice

10:23 post my day to the blog

Documented day - Clint Stevens

Manifesto - Clint Stevens

Transformation page - Clint Stevens

I turned that page into some lame wings, enjoy!

Documentation

Documentation:  Unfortunately, the videos I took were to large to post.  But thankfully I took photos of the pieces I chose to work on for this assignment. 

     

            So, recently I have been playing around with spray paints because I have always been fascinated with spray paint galaxies and planets.  As you can see I posted the products of what I worked on over the course of two days, yes I instead worked two days instead of the one.  The two photos at the beginning were merely experiments to see if I could actually accomplish what I had in mind, of course they are no where near as good as the tutorial videos I watched in the process but I felt accomplished enough.  Then came the harder part, putting what I practiced into the process of a complete piece, the second set of photos are what I have came up with about mid process.  But the great thing about mid process photos are they constantly remind you of what you have done and where you want to go, which to me, puts a thousand swirling butterflies in my stomach.  But alas, materials have been depleted leaving me stuck where I am until the weekend. Until than I suppose!!

Sensory Deprivation-Paul King

Location-The green room. We call it the green room because of the green carpet

Parameters- Blindfolded, play the piano using only hearing and feeling, stay at the piano piano 45 minutes. Entertain my children and have fun.

    Honestly, sight while being very important in playing the piano has always been my greatest obstacle. I have never had the self discipline to not look at the keys while playing which has slowed my progression. Finding the keys that I wanted based on sound and feel alone has seemed to me to possibly be a door by which it may be possible to make greater progression in my pursuit to play the piano. I also tried another experiment in being blindfolded with different parameters which also involved being in one place. In both experiments I found that not being able to see was relieving and relaxing. It was actually a great break from the strain of sight that because of my experience in war has become a constant source of stress always searching for threats. Always scanning and always giving my mind visual aids to associate with the darker side of the human experience. Somewhere between being covered head to toe in the blood of the innocent dead and being blown up by a suicide car bomb yards away while on foot, the people that had my rifles barrel in their faces took on the faces of those that knew, the faces of humans, even the faces of my family. Now the faces of the living take on the faces of the dead for which I cannot care. PK

Sensory Deprivation - Elliott Bliss

Apparent Liftoff

     Like an astronaut blasting off into the ionosphere, I too felt a sense of vertigo as I ascended into the twenty-foot-isphere. Being strapped and harnessed in gives you a false sense of confidence. You reach out and feel around above your head only to find flat wall. After what seems like minutes your hand brushes over a hold.  Finding a place to put your feet to take the heavy load off your arms is the most difficult part. You feel frantic when footholds don't appear and your arms begin to be strained.

Safety first

While not being able to see, I found that climbing came quite naturally while blinded (when patient.) Being lowered from the top it was always a surprise to reach the bottom. You feel like you are being lowered for too long, almost as if you missed the gym floor and are being lowered into the basement.

Sense Deprivation - Clint Stevens

At the Ephraim Pioneer Graveyard I blindfolded myself, listened to white noise and wandered around for twenty minutes. It was very bizzare not knowing where I was going, randomly running into gravestones, fences and trees. It was sunny and I could feel the warmth on me, which gave me some sense of direction, but when my timer went off and i removed the blindfold, I was no where near where I thought I was. After the first ten minutes I started to notice touch more, I could feel every weed that grazed my leg, every rock I stepped on, my clothes rubbing on my skin. It was a strange experience.

I recorded the sounds during this experiment. mostly just sounds of me walking around, and bumping into objects, I did start to offer some commentary about halfway through. Except I'm unable to upload.

My Starting point.

Where I was when my timer went off.

A couple photo's I took while walking back to my car.