16 Items: June 30-July 7, 2022
The Mission:
Step One:
Ask a friend to write down a list of 16 items for you. The first 16 things they think of -- likely quite random. Could be pizza, could be sex, could be world peace. They should not show you the list or share it with you while they make it. No coaching or persuasion! Ideally, they would write each item on a note card or a scrap piece of paper so the 16 items could be stacked/looked at one at a time.
Step Two:
Find any sheet of 8.5 x 11" inch paper & fold it in half four times so that when unfolded, the creases result in 16 tiny little frames/panes.
Step Three:
Grab a pen/pencil/marker/crayon/quill & the stack of 16 items your friend generated for you. Turn over one item at a time, and draw one item per square on your paper -- but set a timer and give yourself no longer than 30 seconds per drawing. The goal is to move quickly and to avoid overthinking. The goal is NOT to draw well, so silence the inner critic, whatever his/her/their name is ("That's enough out of you, ROBERTA!").
Everything on the honor system here, of course. Gratitude to the cartoonist Lynda Barry, from whom I took (and slightly modified) this exercise.
The Submissions:
by Captain Quillard
1. Auger Bit 2. Balance Beam 3. Bravado 4. Closetful
5. Gnome 6. Hyacinth 7. Kestrel 8. Labia
9. Log Cabin 10. Milkshake 11. Silhouette 12. Trombone
13. Quarter Horse 14. United States 15. Welding Helmet 16. White Noise
by Buster Blue
1. Airplane 2. Meeting 3. Writing 4. Bunnies
5. Cousins 6. Prosciutto 7. Friendship 8. Pizza
9. Protest 10. Sloth 11. Hiking 12. Masks
13. Strawberries 14. Cheese 15. Fuckin’ 16. Water
by Espy la Copa
1. Cereal 2. Longing 3. Energy 4. Banana Pie
5. Siesta 6. Retro 7. Funky 8. Painting
9. Balloon 10. Hot 11. Unrest 12. Belt Buckle
13. Harlet 14. Lisa Frank 15. Talk Radio 16. Busy
by Journal Kurtz
For my first set (in color), I thought I had been handicapped by all the time wasted switching colored pencils, so I asked my nephew for a new set of words. Apparently that wasn’t my only handicap…
1. Prairie Dog 2. Heirloom Tomato 3. Newport, Rhode Island 4. Koi
5. Dog Bath 6. Fallingwater 7. Storm Clouds 8. Willem Dafoe
9. Marble Rye 10. Yurt 11. Banksy 12. Rest Area
13. Ashes of American Flags 14. Velveteen Rabbit 15. Ennui 16. 4-6-3 Double Play
1. Fireworks 2. Tupperware 3. Remote 4. Cardinal
5. Swift 6. Smolder 7. Blossom 8. Barren
9. Shadow 10. Bundle 11. Amplify 12. Luminescent
13. Shade 14. Porcelain 15. Flight 16. Homogeneus
by North of Canada
1. Baseball 2. Dog 3. Cheeseburger 4. Outlet
5. Sunglasses 6. Shoes 7. Snow 8. Hat
9. Plant 10. Picture 11. Ball 12. Bottle
13. Letter 14. Chair 15. Container 16. Blanket
1. Salt Shaker 2. Golf Ball 3. Typewriter 4. Lipstick
5. Rocket 6. Hammer 7. Horseshoe 8. Tractor
9. Twig 10. Marble 11. Tack 12. Apple
13. Penny 14. Bird’s Nest 15. Fork 16. Saw Blade
by Soldier Clinging to Helicopter
1. She 2. Strawberry 3. Medical 4. Dinner
5. Um 6. Birthday 7. Payment 8. Night
9. Day 10. Truck 11. Hack 12. Pair
13. Fair 14. Morning 15. Flight 16. Fairy
Next Week’s Assignment:
You’ve got mail art!
Send someone a letter or a package. Decorate the outside of the envelope or package in whatever way you like. Bonus points if the decoration provides clues to the topic of the letter or the contents of the package.
(If the photo you submit shows the name and address of the person you’re mailing to, let me know if you’d like me to try to blur or black out that information when I post it here on the website.)