Please feel free to use the plans from the curriculum

If you do so, please take some pictures of your art and send them to us at
Youngest Professionals Unlimited.

Everyone likes to draw, or doodle.  It is a natural inclination for most.  Here are some drawing projects to help stimulate the mind and its thought processes.  Most of the projects provide a template for a number of possible conclusions, revelations, and future projects.

-Draw a balloon animal, and then draw it as you think it would look after being untied.
Making a balloon animal is a fun activity, not because of the final product, but because of the process that one goes through to delicately make a recognizable form out of a fragile balloon.  The balloon animal is made up of separate shapes that are eventually tied together in a puzzle-like manner.  The two drawings will offer two different visual interpretations of a single object in different phases of its life.

-Make a house out of one piece of Bristol/chip board.
A house is often made of simple shapes.  The simple shapes are used often in the infrastructure of a building because they are sturdy and easy to build.  These building methods can be mimicked using paper.  The transformation of a 2-dimensional object to a 3-dimensional form can be very exciting; creating curiosity about the methods and reasoning behind the construction of sculptural forms that make up the physical world that we live in.  A lot of complex forms can be built out of one seamless piece of paper; perhaps a whole cityscape can be manifest.

-Think about what a house would look like if it was being taken apart.  Draw a picture of the deconstruction of a house into its separate parts; draw them piece-by-piece or stacked.
When a house (or any construction) is taken apart piece by piece, it is reorganized both physically and mentally.  There are many interesting ways to represent an object when its primary function is changed.  Note: This exercise can be done with other objects as well.

-Draw a picture of what happens when a piece of a house falls apart, or disappears (this can be done with other objects as well).
A constructed object relies on many things to remain complete whether it is physical space, a platform, legs, or other solid objects.  When a piece is taken away, the object falls apart in a number of ways, both subtle and obvious.  The initial removal helps to reveal a structure’s reliance on different elements as well as the resulting successes, mishaps, and physical forms that result.

-Make a list of the things you have eaten within a set period of time.  Then draw a heap of garbage that was created from the leftovers, wrappers, and other odds and ends from the meals.
Everyone creates garbage.  Most of the time everybody’s garbage is thrown together in bags, and then placed in a big pile.  Lots of information can be gathered by looking at one person’s collection of garbage before it is thrown into society’s collective heap.  It is interesting to see how a person’s character can be visualized from the things they eat, and other detritus that they create.  Collecting one person’s garbage is an alternative way of presenting a person’s portrait in an art context.

-Investigate someone’s garbage.  Draw a picture of what you think these people might look like, and/or a diagram of their life habits.
A person’s garbage says a lot about how that person lives whether it be what they wear, what they eat, what they read, and what they live on.  You can literally paint/draw an accurate picture of a person and how they go about living life from looking at their garbage. 

-Draw a picture of a monumental object.  Draw a picture of what it will look like as it disintegrates, or after the world ends. 
A monument can serve as a dedication to a person, place, or thing.  A monument usually commemorates historical information.  The point of a monument is to memorialize and glorify someone or something.  Over time monuments disintegrate, fall into disrepair, are taken down, or just fade away.  Many things can happen to a monument over a period of time which can help motivate future generations.

-Draw an airplane creating a message (text, or pictorial) in the air.
A message drawn by an airplane is a novel and exciting thing to be seen from the ground.  Because it is an interesting phenomenon, people immediately take notice, and wonder what the message will end up being when the plane is finished writing or drawing.

-Draw a picture without using a pen or pencil.
Everyone is accustomed to drawing with a pen or a pencil.  Try to find something else that can serve as a drawing tool.  See what happens to the subject matter you draw upon, and how your drawing style can change to accommodate the new media.

-Draw an object, and then draw the object with the object you just drew.
By drawing an object you will first learn how to represent an object on paper.  By drawing with the object you just drew you will try and find a way to make that object function as a drawing tool.  Try to find multiple possibilities for each object.  There is no one-way to draw with an untraditional drawing tool.

-Draw diagrams of knot tying.
Tying complex knots takes patience and dedication.  Drawing the process of tying a knot is an experience that demands an eye for subtle detail.

-Teach an inanimate object how to dance.
How do you teach something that does not talk back?  Provide some steps for this object to follow.  Draw them out like human dance instructions.

-Spin around until you are dizzy.  Draw until you are not dizzy.  Spin again and keep drawing until the drawing is finished.
Drawing is not an easy activity when dizzy.  This is a good project to get you out of your drawing habits.   You will create a drawing that is both new to you and exciting to look at.

-If you are a girl draw yourself as a boy.  If you are a boy draw yourself as a girl.
The words girl and boy are used to denote separate genders.  While gender is a biological term, it is often used to define stereotypical, and generalized behavior that is supposed to be followed by a particular gender.  Sometimes girls want to be boys and boys want to be girls for curiosities sake.  Drawing yourself as the opposite gender will help you to find the subtle differences and nuances that make up the appearance of the opposite sex.

Intriguing photography does not have to be taken with a professional 35 mm camera, or other high format cameras.  Many interesting pictures come from snapshots taken by point and shoot cameras.  These photo projects can be used with professional camera equipment, but were created to accommodate any type of camera.  Most of the projects serve as a way to add conceptual content to what would already be an aesthetically interesting composition.

-Take a picture of sound, or the source of sound.
Sound is not a physical object.  When there is not a mechanical device or instrument to provide sound for people to hear, the question becomes how sound can be shown using a different medium.  By taking a picture of sound, or the source of sound you will bring up a lot of questions of what the sound was, and how it relates to the documented environment.  The challenge is to see whether sound can be shown to other people when mute, or whether this will become a visual form of irony.

-Take a picture a day of the same place, or a picture every hour, or every minute…
A particular place can remain stagnant or can change from day to day, or minute to minute, etc.  Depending on the way the place is used will determine whether change is minute, particular, and predictable; or erratic, entropic, and unpredictable.  By documenting a place in an orderly manner you will be able to create a better understanding of a place, and the activities that happen as a result of its inhabitants and their use of the space.  Like a detective, this project will help you to analyze an area to find interesting subject matter to concentrate on and to develop more.

-Take a picture, then a picture of that picture, then a picture of that picture.
Abstraction in an art context is the act of making something that does not directly represent physical reality, so that it does not automatically become clear what it is when it is viewed.  Taking a picture of a picture of a picture of a picture, etc. will create an abstract portrait of whatever was photographed in the beginning of this process, which calls into question whether the final picture being presented is an adequate representation of what it started out as.   

-Create a template to fit over pictures you take then place the template over each photo and cut out the shape guided by the template.  Place these pieces together and then place the template over the edges as a framing device.
A template is a pattern used as a uniform guide for making multiples.  In this project the template will be used to compose an image out of bits of different images with a pattern of sorts i.e. uniform shapes.  The template will make automatic decisions and help to create a random composition.

-Take a picture of someone thinking/feeling a predetermined idea/feeling.
Feelings are taught to us so that we can convey our thoughts, and reactions to other people as we experience different environments and situations.  Feelings are sometimes not conveyed the way we are taught them.  A feeling of joy can be conveyed as a feeling of indifference dependent on the person and their own body language.  Naming a feeling for a picture of a person feeling a certain way can drastically change the interpretation of a photograph.

-Take pictures of someone wearing all their sets of clothes, or of you wearing all your sets of clothes, and display them side-by-side.
Clothes help to create an image of a person, and the kind of lifestyle they lead.  Sometimes appearances can be deceiving, sometimes they can be accurate.  The appearance of a particular person can drastically change or remain the same when the collection of their clothes are worn in different permutations while being displayed in an orderly manner.  

-Take a picture of your shadow getting into trouble/having a great time/hanging out with friends.
A shadow of a person is an extension of their body that is not considered a real person.  Therefore the shadow can do many things that a physical body, or law abiding citizen cannot.  The shadow can jump down ravines or climb up walls and peak into windows, or jump over fences that forbid trespassing, while a physical human can only stay on the ground, or within certain areas deemed legal by the officials of a given area.  Show what a shadow can do that a human cannot to find interesting things about an area and the guidelines that deter certain human activity.

-Turn in a circle while blindfolded, and take a picture every 3 seconds.
An image can be guided by chance and still be interesting even though a person has very little control over the end result.

-Take a picture of N, S, E, W points of multiple locations.
The directions of North, South, East, and West are points that everyone can find at any location.  All of the directions create a seemingly clear picture of what a location looks like.  Although superficial, a judgment can be made about what goes on in a certain location and what functions it provides for the inhabitant/s.

-Take a picture at the moment when an action is being completed.
An action or process has many elements, however there is usually only one ending or a climax where the goal is being met.  Stagnant photos of an endpoint might become confusing or anti-climactic when the actual experience might have been just the opposite.  Photography can change a situation to make it interesting yet paradoxical.

-Take a picture then trade your camera with someone else alternating every other photograph.
Every individual has a different way of looking at the world.  In that sense, everyone becomes an author of his or her own reality.  Alternating authorial voices can create interesting juxtapositions and themes when shown in a developed roll of film.

-Leave a camera somewhere to be completed by someone else.  Leave a message stating the desire for the finder of the camera to shoot a picture and to leave it somewhere else for someone else to shoot until the roll is full.  Leave an address where the camera can be mailed (preferably a Post Office Box).
Lost objects usually are found complete.  Half of a roll of film is not complete.  Different individuals have different artistic desires, so they are likely to find things interesting that another might not.  Trust is a hard thing to convey and a hard thing to come by.  Hopefully an artistic gesture will bring about that trait in the humanity of others as they come upon an incomplete collaboration.

-Go to a dark place and navigate your way through the dark place with the flash of your camera.
It is difficult for the human eye to navigate through a dark place – a flashlight usually serves as a handy guide.  Using the flash of a camera as a flashlight kills two birds with one stone i.e. traveling through difficult terrain and making art at the same time.

-Follow random people and take pictures of them.  Be as discrete as possible.
Everyone has somewhere to go – sometimes to far off places - other times just a couple of feet away.  Following a person for a portion of their day can become an interesting adventure that can lead you to places you have never been before.  Without being recognized try and create a story about what this person’s life is like.

-Tell your friends to act like they’re winning.  Take pictures of them at the climax of their winning frenzy.
The act of winning involves action, and the contortion of many facial muscles.  Sometimes, when a person wins, their emotions are manifest so strongly that it looks like they are about to cry.  Taking a picture of this moment freezes the action in order to raise questions of what is really happening in the photograph.

-Create something that is interesting enough to attract people to take pictures of it (it could be an odd event, thing, person, etc.).  Take pictures of the people taking pictures of your creation.
Attractive things are often different than normal-everyday things.  Onlookers want to observe because they have never seen it before and are curious of what it does.  Making something attractive to a big group of people is hard.  By being the first to take pictures, it will be easy to slip into the crowd, because others that did not see you set up think that you find the object interesting as well.

-Pick an object.  Make a photo of it.  Find the dictionary definition of the object.   Discuss which aspects of the object are true, or adequately represent the object.
An object can be categorized in many different ways.  It can be seen as a physical thing, a document, or a collection of words.  Each form of categorization brings about different interpretations and different ways of recognizing the object in question.  Some forms of categorization can be misleading dependent on its particular framing. 

-Take an old photograph.  Recreate the scene or actions in the photograph.
Old photographs are fun to look at.  Sometimes the actions being performed in old photographs cannot be performed again because of the changes that occur over time to the things humans use, dress in, or how a certain place is changed over time by architectural adjustments or other minor changes.  Recreating a scene is an interesting way of investigating every aspect of a document of time.  Often there is a lot to learn from the act of copying an original, although a picture is already a secondary source.

-Only go outside when someone is taking pictures of you.  Stay outside as long as the roll of film.
A roll of film only contains so many pictures.  Actions and accomplishments can become much more important as well as necessary when you have to go back inside after a set amount of time.

-Go outside and shoot pictures of the key moments in the day, or the moments of conflict/success, etc.
A day is full of accomplishments, failures, conflicts and resolutions.  Summarize the day with the moments that make the day memorable.

-Walk around and make a sentence with all the signs that you come across.
Signage can be seen from most of the busy sidewalks in a city.  Some signs show the names of stores, while others have phrases or full sentences.  Use the photographic documents to create phrases and sentences of your own.

-Study the history of a building, monument, or other object in a particular place.  Create a work that reacts to this history.
Studying a particular place’s history can become enlightening and highly fascinating.  Many histories can be found about a particular place that wouldn’t likely be seen as an artistic possibility.  Maybe the site might need something that it did not have before, or perhaps it needs something that it used to have that has been missing.  Often times, a site’s history is complex – choose the subject matter wisely (it may take more time the you initially think)

-Pick a place; find its primary function for society.  Use it for a function contrary, or different from its inherent function.
It is fun to see what happens when a space is used for its opposite function.  It takes people by surprise and makes life exciting again.

-Study a public place and its walking patterns.  Create something to change the walking patterns.   
A site has a particular architecture that guides the movement through its space.  Anything can change the walking patterns of a given site, whether it is big or really small. 

-Make a piñata that represents something particular to a certain area.  Hang it up in a public place.
A piñata is created so that it can be destroyed.  In a public place a piñata might be seen as an object that is off limits because of people’s views on private property.  Leave a stick nearby to instigate destruction.  See what kinds of piñatas are considered untouchable, and which ones people are more likely to break.  Put candy in the piñatas as a special treat.

-Make a monument to yourself, and place it in a public place where you think it would fit appropriately.
A monument can be an object that serves as a dedication to a person, place, or thing.  A monument usually represents biographical information.  A monument can be big or small, public or private:  the doormat you stepped on before entering a house, the plate of food you just ate for lunch, the shoes you wore to school, or your favorite pencil.  The point of a monument is to memorialize and glorify someone or something.  Place it outside to see how long it lasts, or to just acknowledge the importance of what you are presenting to the public.

Portraiture is the art of taking portraits.  There are many ways to portray people and objects through the use of different media and representations.  When the person or object is not directly represented the document becomes more intriguing and mysterious to a casual viewer of the artwork

-Create an alias and create work that your alias would make.
An alias is a false or assumed name.  Along with that name comes an alternative persona.  Making art with a different persona in mind can be a fun way to step into someone else’s head in order to make art that will always be surprising and fresh to the inexperienced maker.

-Draw someone’s aura.
An aura is visible white or colored light surrounding the body of a living creature.  Try to sense the light emitting from a person that you may, or may not know.

-Make a self-portrait with objects.
Using objects to describe a person visually are an uncommon occurrence.  The way a person is presented as a series of objects can give more information about the person, the way they live life, and what they think, rather then an empirical observation.

-Pick one object that symbolizes you.
Objects symbolize or reference other objects all of the time.  A car can represent the freedom to go most anywhere, and at the same time symbolize enslavement due to the costs needed to maintain it.  Pick an object that symbolizes your personality best, maybe you will start to look like your chosen object a little more.

Mail is a form of communication whereby literally any physical object can be sent to anyone around the world.  Using the mail as art is a good way to look at a system and how it functions throughout the world.  The delivery system can be manipulated in many different ways.  It is quite simple to change perspective, confuse, or mess around with communication channels.  It is also fun to get messages back in the mail or to connect with someone you might not know.

-Turn the mailman into someone else by mailing a particular object.
A mailman’s job can change depending on what they are holding or doing.  Mailmen are meant to deliver mail.  If they delivered a car, in a way they would become a chauffeur.  If they delivered a pie, in a way, they would become a neighbor.  If the mailman delivered a milk jug, in a way, he/she would become the milkman.  There are many objects that can change the mailman’s appearance/job.

-Draw a picture/comic/etc.  Ask your correspondence to add to this, and to send it back (and forth).
Two or more people can develop a comic, or other form of a story.  It may become inconsistent or someone might be better than the other at developing a plot.  The time in between correspondence will give adequate time to think of how the story might turn out.

-Ask for donations from your friends through the mail.  The donations can be of anything but money.
Donations are charitable gifts.  Donations can be anything that someone else does not need anymore, or wants to give away.  See if your friends will take part in your donation drive.  Ask for donations of all things red, kitchen sink knobs, or maybe just stories.  Donation requests can be vague or precise.

-Offer to write postcards for other people to send to their friends.
Writing postcards is often a personal endeavor that ends in the transaction of personal information between two people notifying the other of what is happening in their life in a short paragraph.  Sending postcards to friends of your friends is a fun exercise in letter crafting.  This project is also a good way to explore different writing styles and ways of communicating to people you don’t really know.

-Leave a message/set of directions in a bottle.  Leave it on the street, or drop it in the sea.
A message found in a bottle is a mysterious and exciting thing to come across.  Though the instigator may not witness the end result of their own initial gesture, it is fun to think of the possibilities that are created for other people when they come upon a random note from a distant place.

-Leave a message/set of directions on, or in a helium-filled balloon.  Release the balloon outside.
A message found on, or in a balloon is a mysterious and exciting thing to come across.  Though the instigator may not witness the end result of their own gesture, it is fun to think of the possibilities that are created for other people when they come upon a random note that came from above.

-Send people self-addressed stamped envelopes, or other people’s addressed stamped envelopes to other people.
Self-addressed stamped envelopes are stamped envelopes addressed to the person that has sent correspondence to another.  Sometimes people get lazy and do not answer back to people’s letters because they do not want to find a stamp, or they lost an address.  Making it easy for them could produce a greater amount of mail and communication.

-Mail a message to people with a picture of them on the front of a postcard. 
Postcards usually have a picture of a place where the writer was when they found, and wrote on the postcard.  A postcard that is received with the receiver’s image on it can be a funny experience dependent on the picture chosen and the hands that it has passed through.

-Show your friends’ artwork in your coat/jacket/sweater.
A coat/jacket/sweater contains a small amount of space for showing art.  Considerations should be made pertaining to the art and its relationship to the material, the spaces provided, and the history of the jacket’s use.  The end result is a portable art show that can be shown on the outside of a garment, or within the inside lining and pockets.

-Show your friends’ artwork in your locker.
A locker contains a small amount of space for showing art.  Consideration must be taken pertaining to the kind of art to be shown, whether it be contained in the books that are usually kept in a locker, whether the art is shown one piece at a time, whether the works are small enough to be all shown at once, or whether-or-not the work applies to the theme of a locker and its use.

-Invite artists to show artwork on your lawn, in the bathroom, kitchen, etc.
The lawn is a part of the house that is usually well maintained for public exposure.  The same cultural norms apply to bathrooms and kitchens, which are kept clean for hygienic purposes, and because visitors use them when the occasion arises to host company.  These are perfect places to display art.  Perhaps the work can center on what stereotypically happens in these spaces.  Maybe the work is about a historical event that happened on the lawn, in the bathroom, or while making something in the kitchen. 

-Invite people you don’t know to draw a picture.  Compile all of the pictures from one day.
Pictures can be simple.  When drawn relatively quickly, pictures are often times easier to follow because of the simple imagery that is used to display information – like the drawings found in a bathroom stall.  Strangers are more likely to take the time to draw them because they are an easy way to communicate effectively. This is a fun way to meet new people and to get them out of their protective shell.  The outcome of different pictures can be quite interesting when compiled together.

-Make a business for something that cannot/does not sell.
Businesses are created to be successful money making ventures.  A business that specializes in things that do not sell portrays irony.  Trying to make a failure a success can be quite exhilarating and portray a complex thought to outsiders.

-Make a grocery store with all of your garbage.
A grocery store is always filled with new products.  Garbage is made up of used products, and the packages that they came in.  The packages and other detritus can serve as an interesting biography of the person who consumed them when displayed the way they were initially found.

-Write letters to companies praising their product, and request a hand-drawn picture of what their office looks like, what they would rather be doing, where their boss is, or what their boss looks like.
Letters to companies are usually written to praise a product, or to express dissatisfaction.  Response to customers is considered good business etiquette.  Requesting an untraditional response can help lighten the mood and approach of the response.  Perhaps the company’s public relations employees will find your request exciting enough to complete while on the job.

-Write to companies/state/country officials offering to trade something with them (like ties, or pictures of you favorite things).  Tell them you are doing a school project.
Companies/state/county officials usually answer citizens’ queries as part of good business and governmental etiquette.  Trading is a foreign concept in a capitalist driven economy.  The officials may be caught off guard and find your project interesting enough to participate.  Whether they do or don’t they will always send a letter of recognition, which you can post with the rest of the responses you get from different company/heads of state/country.

-Do your other friends’ art work while they do yours, and then show it as a body of your own work and the experiences you had working with other peoples’ ideas.
Other people’s artwork can sometimes seem more interesting to you then your own work.  Doing their work while they do yours is a fun way to get to know the other person and their thought process.  The work trade also serves as a form of communication between two people that will only become apparent after the works are completed and traded back to their rightful owners.

-Have a conversation where you can only talk five seconds, 10 seconds, etc. after the other person has finished talking.
A conversation is made up of calls and responses, this usually happens rather quickly.  By waiting a certain amount of time after someone has spoken, you are forced to think about what that person has said more then you would in a regular conversation format.  This could be detrimental or beneficial to the outcome of the conversation.

-Play a game of phone tag playing the game telephone.  Separate calls by at least two days.
The game of phone tag imitates the rumor making process in a playful manner.  The game is based on a chain reaction set in a short span of time.  When the time period between phone conversations becomes longer the nature of the game will change in unforeseen ways.

-Have a conversation, think of a person, place, thing.  Whatever the other person says, always respond with something about this certain person, place, or thing.
A conversation is a free-flowing exchange between two things.  A conversation centered on one subject can be quite limiting to how a conversation evolves over time.  On the contrary limiting a conversation by focusing on a particular person, place, thing, or event can result in interesting outcomes.

-Ask people what questions they have been asking themselves lately.  If you feel like it, call random people and ask them the same question.
People ask themselves questions all of the time.  Sometimes the questions pertain to life dramas; sometimes they focus on professional matters.  Regardless, the questions people ask themselves can be very different from person to person.  Usually this question is not asked of anyone.  This question has the capability of breaking down mental barriers between two people.  The question is not too invasive and not too strange, so people are more likely to answer with sincerity and interest.

-Make a time capsule to be opened after any period of time less than a month.
A time capsule is a vessel that carries with it remnants of a time period.  Usually a time capsule is opened after many years of dormancy making the objects inside more interesting to look at as a result of time’s effects on cultural memory.  A time capsule that is opened in a shorter time span might be looked at differently, and could be more effective to the people that witnessed its creation, where as the people that make the time capsule do not get to see its resurrection.

-Make a time capsule encapsulating a period of time no longer than a minute to be opened in 100 years.
A time capsule is a vessel that carries with it remnants of a time period.  Usually the time period encapsulated in a time capsule represents a year, or otherwise long period of time.  A short period of time like a couple of seconds can become an interesting group of information to an observer several years away in the future.

-Make up some fake rumors.  Distribute them to friends via Internet, phone, or oral communication.  Find a way to monitor the rumors’ success/failure.
Rumors are bits of information about a given subject that get passed on from person to person.  Over time the information distributed through rumor changes as a result of the pitfalls of individual interpretation and bias.   Rumors become interesting not because of there initial form but the way that form mutates from person to person over time.  Finding a way to monitor the changes can become a fun project documenting the evolving process of information exchange.

-Make a project with another person.  Begin the project a sentence at a time with someone.  Switch every other sentence/idea till the project is done.
A collaboration is an idea shared by two or more persons.  Making guidelines for collaboration can be an easy way to mediate a successful collaboration.

-Have the person you are conversing with chew gum with you.  Save the gum as a remnant of the time you spent together.

Chewing gum is an activity that is done in order to get sugar from a candy stick.  When two people chew gum at the same time they are still able to talk to each other.  The conversation, or the memory of the conversation is symbolized through the saved gum; like a picture, or a drawing document.

-Teach a non-human how to read.
Knowing how to read a language is vital to the act of communication.  Humans understand their own languages, but other things don’t.  If everything knew how to communicate through written/printed symbols the world might be a better, if not more interesting place to live in.

-Move a piece of dirt then move it to another place. 
A Spec of dirt is a relatively light element.  Dirt is usually moved by wind or when a moving foot captures it.  Dirt does not normally move great distances.  Moving dirt to a drastically different location can help show the difference in geographical terrain, or physical perception.

-Trade dirt with other people.  Share stories about how you obtained your last pile of dirt.
Trading dirt with a friend can be a fun way to discuss with each other the places where the dirt was found – it is also a good way to explore geographic information about a given place.  Trading dirt is a good conversation starter, and a fun adventure.  Some people will be more eager to trade dirt then others; it is a mysterious gesture, but appears rather harmless.

-Make little cities for the sidewalks.  Make these mini-cities out of material you find on the sidewalk.
Sidewalks are open areas for people to walk on so they can get from place to place.  The sidewalks relationship to other buildings creates nooks and crannies where feet do not usually follow.  These nooks and crannies are perfect places for the development of miniature cities.  The sidewalk is a great collector of building material for many a little city.

-Design a billboard for someone you know. 
A billboard is a public outlet for communication.  It is big so that people can see it from far away.  A billboard is used to advertise an organization or product.  This medium is not often used to display affection for a certain individual.  Like murals, billboards with someone you know on them have the potential to confuse onlookers while providing a more community-centered appearance in the neighborhood where it is located.

-Plant corn in an alley or on the street.  Watch its progress over time.
This is a fun activity that helps vitalize the community and offers free food to the public.

-Make a sculpture that serves as a birdhouse.  Hang it up in a public area.
A birdhouse is a colorful decoration that also helps to shelter birds.  A birdhouse is a place where birds can sleep, eat, and raise baby birds.  Because it is a shelter it will be hard for officials to take it down for fear of disturbing a natural environment, and increasing the time your sculpture will be visible in public. 

-Take thirty minutes to try and sink into the ground while your eyes are open.
Sinking into the ground is difficult when the ground is solid.  This project demands intense meditation for success to be achieved.

-Concentrate on levitating.
It is necessary to have a light body and mind in order to levitate.  This project demands intense meditation for success to be achieved.

-Concentrate on completing a work till it is complete in your head.
Sometimes work does not have to be manifest physically.  A lot of the times it is the idea that is most important.  It can be better realized when explained and imagined by others.

-Try to show your work telepathically.
Telepathy is the communication of thoughts using the unknown senses.  See if anyone gets it.

-Make a date in the future in a particular place.  Write it down.
A date and a place to meet can conjure up many thoughts about how the place will look at that particular time, who will be there, and what might occur.  Such a small gesture has so many interesting implications to feed the imagination for a healthy amount of time.

-Think of ways to share supplies of energy with other people.
It is fun and challenging to try and share energy with others.

-Create a shape.  Place it on a map (of any sort).  Note the points of the shape as they lie on the map, visit the sites, and document the results.
A shape has a given amount of points save for a circle, which has much too many for this project.  Visit the site where the points of the shape lie on the map.  Recreate the shape through pictures of the individual sites.

-Create a map for a treasure hunt with or without prizes.
A treasure hunt is an activity whereby a set of directions is placed on a map to be followed in order to get to a certain site that contains a prize of some sort.  People tend to enjoy a good hunt no matter what it is they are looking for.  There are many different ways to make directions for a map.  Footsteps can be recorded by the mapmaker, certain trail markers can be noted, riddles can be made, etc.   When there is not a reward to discover, the participants might look back on their memory of the hunt as a valuable experience – teaching them the value of paying attention to their environment rather then the instant gratification of an object.

-Take a tape recorder; create a map and a musical score.  Record the sound you are hearing at dead ends.  Take the sounds you have recorded and assign them musical notes in your score.  Record the orchestra sounds you have created.
Music does not have to be made with musical instruments.  The sound of anything can be used as music within a given context.  A city is very noisy during the day.  A random map can lead you in unforeseen directions.  The sounds left after your confusion can make a confusing musical composition.

-Make a template made from a bird’s eye view of the walls of a given structure (house, room, sidewalk), like an architectural blueprint.  Note the points on the template where you stop and the paths you take to get there during a day.  Start from a clean slate for each new day.  Overlap your days or keep them separate.  Do this for a couple of days, a week, a month or a year.
A lot of time is spent in the house.  Movements between rooms can be repetitious.  Recording domestic movements can be a fun investigation into moving habits and the effect a particular architectural environment has on an individual.  This project is also a fun way to make interesting compositions out of the daily rituals that create the humdrum.

-Make a map of a place without referencing anything visual.
Maps are often made up of iconography that people can follow in order to get to a certain destination.  A map with no visual cues can be a troubling and challenging way to convey a thought or to get someone from point A to point B, and all the points in-between.

-Make a set of directions/steps that someone could follow anywhere.
Directions are a way to express an action using words that are easy to understand so multiple people can accomplish the goal that is offered.  Some directions are created to accomplish things in a designated area, like baking a cake in a kitchen, or riding a bike outside in the park.  The meaning of the accomplished goal becomes different when the designated location for a given action is changed.

-Think of a feeling.  Make directions that someone else can follow to display those feelings or to feel those feelings.
A feeling is made up of many elements both verbal and physical.  We learn how a feeling is manifest in order to convey it to others and to react to it in the proper way.  Some feelings are difficult to describe while others are very easy to construct.  The question arises if a set of directions can aid someone in creating a genuine-looking feeling.

-Make a set of directions for a group of people to follow.
Like writing a script for a movie, or play, writing directions for a group of people is difficult.  Each person must have their own set of directions to follow.  Group cooperation is needed in order for the scene to become clear.  Dependent on the location the action set out by the group could become very amusing and profound.

-Have a group of people think of a discrete or abnormal action, or assign certain movements for other people.  Give a specific time for everyone to perform this action.  Start doing something else and see what happens at the predetermined time.
When people are doing separate things in a group situation they often do not pay attention to the situation as a whole.  This project is a way to test if you, or the other people participating can actually pay attention to a whole group – doing different things – all at once.

-Write directions for a circular action that repeats itself endlessly.
The world is made of cycles that repeat themselves and interact with other cycles to keep the world going.  Cycles are part of nature and part of artistic practice.  Endless repetition can help emphasize a point, because it is brought up again and again; it is also a good way to visualize infinity.

-Think of a boring activity.  Describe the steps it takes to complete the activity in words.
A boring activity is technically uninteresting.  Making a purposely boring action can become more boring or more interesting dependent on how someone reenacts the instructions, and how others view the performance.

-Make contracts for people to agree and sign.

A Contract is a document of an agreement between two or more people.  If the contract is broken it can serve as evidence in a court of law prosecuting the offender of the agreement.  Contracts can be drafted for anything – the only challenge is getting someone to agree to your terms.

-Make rules for a game to be acted out in the public.
Games are fun to play.  Games are even better when they are enacted out in the world or away from the traditional place setting or card deck.  Games are made of rules that create an open framework for play.  Create a set of rules for a person, or persons to follow that may or may not depend on a particular environment.

-Make work centered, based off of, or catered to your height, eye level, body circumference, etc.
The human scale can be a very important tool that can be used for artistic creation.  Every human can relate with another humans height.  The height between human and art might not be similar, but the scale is still the same.  The relation between two humans can be very powerful making the projects more potent to viewers.

-Make something to mark time or distance that is not standard.
Time is usually judged by a clock or timepiece.  Distance is measured through inches, centimeters, millimeters, yards, etc.  Finding another way to measure these standard distances and periods of time can be both a confounding and fascinating venture.  Perhaps there are better ways to judge time and distance that are more applicable to a given individual.

-Make a travel companion and then take a walk with it.
A travel companion brings assurance and comfort to the avid traveler.  The travel companion can start discussions with strangers that would otherwise be hard to establish on your own.  A travel companion can be a magnet that picks up objects along the way, or a sheet of cloth that bears a message on it.  A travel companion can make noise that is louder than anything in the world.  The travel companion is not a heavy object so that it can follow you anywhere.

-Trace the contour line of the shadow of an object at 3 points in the day.
An object creates a shadow when hit with light, especially when outside.  A shadow makes a shape that sometimes does not look like the object that it comes from, either because it is elongated, or skewed in another direction.  The sun moves across the sky over a period of a day creating different shadows at different times in the day.  An object’s shadow can look like a mysterious abstraction when viewed on a day that might not be so sunny.

-Write a sentence with each word written on top of the others.
In America a sentence is crafted from left to right.  A sentence would not make linguistic sense if the words were piled on top of each other, however, it would make an interesting picture.

-Make a project proposal for a local business to help you with.
Local businesses sometimes have money to support outside projects that they would like to support in their community.  Art projects often times are expensive to manifest.  If a project is good enough and seems to support the community in some way a business might be likely to support it when proposed.  By sponsoring a project the business will hope that the project will help them advertise their business in a different way and perhaps let other people sample their material if their product is being used somehow in the project, which doesn’t always have to be the case.  In the end it is a win-win situation for the business, community, and artist.

-Take a large piece of cardboard.  Take it outside and perform with it.  Invite others to join in the fun.
Cardboard is often thrown away.  It is usually over-looked once it has performed its initial function as a vessel for carrying things.  Aside from carrying things, cardboard can serve many functions.  Explore its sculptural capabilities both objectively and socially.

-Make a piece of work for everyone else, but so they don’t know about it, or don’t know they are participating in it.
Art is sometimes more exciting when people don’t recognize it as art.

-Obtain two CDs or audiotapes each with different songs or messages on them.  Play either the CDs or tapes at the same time.  Observe what happens when they are played together, or when put on loop.
Some interesting ideas/words/sounds can come out of opposing media players.  Sometimes music can get better when John F. Kennedy in 1966 is making a speech while Ice-T is proclaiming that he is the illest rapper in 1986 – or when the sounds of airplanes are being played next to an interview with the inventor of the kite.  Confusion or cohesion can occur dependent on the tapes/CDs used and the choice of materials that might accompany them.

-Make a stacked sculpture using dollar bills or index cards.  Make a stacked sculpture with other objects like moving crates, or plastic bins, pencils, desks, tables, sand, telephones, business cards, cereal boxes, etc.
Lightweight objects are easy to carry.  When stacked they can become a massive and precarious object that is looked at completely separate from the parts it is made out of.

-Break things and try to put them back together in a new way that creates a different use then what it was initially intended for.
Often, when something is broken it is considered useless and is thrown away.  With a little time and imagination the pieces can be made up into a new object that is more interesting then when it was first solid, perhaps serving a better use.

-Make your own tools for activities that don’t exist.
Certain tools must be brought into use in order to make particular things.  Different things call for different tools.  By making your own tools you will inevitably create new things.

-Go shopping and buy only things that are of a certain color.
Shopping is born of necessity.  Shopping for things that are only a certain color can make the shopping experience a little more challenging. 

-Unplug all the appliances in your house and note when each one gets plugged back in.
Most things used in a house, or workspace needs electricity to run.  The act of plugging in each successive thing will become annoying yet informative as to what is necessary to get things done around a given space.  Some things may never need to be plugged in again.

-Find a way to make work in your sleep.
Sleeping is a time for rest, reenergizing, and relaxation.  Although sleep leaves one unconscious, dreams are manifest, making mental work for the brain.  Making art during sleep would be an easier way to create work, because you will not be conscious of exerting your energy while getting a lot done
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-Develop a machine to make art for you.
A machine does not have a consciousness.  It never gets tired as long as the energy supply is constantly providing.  Think of things that can be made faster with the aid of a machine.  Think of things that are too boring for you to complete that a computer would not mind completing for you.

-Post missing signs for things that really aren’t missing.
Missing signs often appear on telephone poles, fire hydrants, and poster-filled walls.  Some people pay attention to these signs very closely.  They might be pleasantly surprised when they find messages that are subtly or radically different from the ones they are used to seeing.  This project shows how appropriation can be used as a strategy to help emphasize ideas about something completely different from what the medium was previously used for.

-Hide things.
Hidden things are extremely exciting when found.  It is fun to hide things and to see how long they go unnoticed.

-Camouflage things.  See how long it takes for them to be found.
The act of camouflaging is done in order to hide something.  A piece of art could be left outside with the public, but won’t disappear because of its strategic placement.  The chances of a camouflaged object being taken away by authorities/other individuals, or being destroyed is very low, because it is not seen by everyone.

-Bring an object to exchange with someone in your class.
The concept and realization of sharing is important.  By exchanging things with another person consider their likes and dislikes.  You might get to know the other person better as a result of the exchange you initiate.

-Offer something for free to the public.
Find something that the public needs that is not offered for free.  This is a generous act, which can have dramatic effects on individuals and whole communities, dependent on what it is that is being given away, the amount given away, and who it is given to.

-Open up a barter stand.
Bartering is an activity of trade.  An object is traded for something that is agreed to be of equal value to the thing being traded by the other person.  Perhaps two pieces of chocolate are worth a person’s house in someone’s mind.  Pick one thing to trade and try bartering for a whole day trading what you have just traded, etc.

-Find a bunch of something that is readily available and free (like rocks) and arrange the selection somewhere where people walk by with a “free ______” sign nearby.
Offering things that are readily available for free is an ironic gesture.  However, some might be more likely to take when seeing the free sign, creating an interesting social study.

-Share your ideas with others.
It is always important to share ideas with others.  Ideas can move quickly from mouth to mouth, or through other communication channels.  Ideas can provide entertainment, thought, wonder, answers, and various other necessities.