Interactions Book 1 - 308

2016-04-26

A book of drawings from a different person on each page. The start of my exploration to share unique experiences and find meaning.

I was inspired to start this project after an interesting encounter meeting a man and a dog on a hike. As I reflect on that encounter, I realized that meeting would influence the course of my life. This is the first project where I began to explore creating unique interaction experiences. I did not have a pre-defined intentional goal, other than having a feeling that this was going to be something interesting.

Process:

If someone seemed receptive, I would ask them, stranger or not, if they wanted to participate.
Have the person(s) draw or write on a single page anything they wanted to.
The drawing would have a time limit of 3 minutes and 8 seconds.
After the time was up, I would give the page a title.

Experiences:

Everyone I asked was willing to try and curious.
There were a lot of fun interactions with friends, and nice momements between myself and a stranger.
People I've asked includes: an airplane seat neighbor, a car salesman, my glass flameworking instructor.
I made the drawing prompt open ended and it was interesting to see what direction people would take.
I appreciated how each person is capable of expressing themselves in their own way.
Some people who were naturally artistic were able to just start immediately and let their expressions flow.
Over time I noticed that it seems the total open endedness of the prompt left some people unsure of what to do and might have experienced decision paralysis.

Outcomes

77 Drawings over 4 years.
I enjoyed having an interesting experience with people, and learned that I could initiate these experiences and make them happen.
After I finished this book, I knew that I wanted to continue.
For my next project, I wanted to do something that had some more personal meaning, other than just a quirky activity. I wanted to have a more focused prompt to give people a better direction.
This would be the start of my creative journey.

selected pages from Book 1 below