art action in your neighborhood

in my artist in society class with karen sjoholm, we are studying eco art--or environmental art--using weekly sessions to reiterate what we are finding as we walk through our neighborhood--in pursuit of making a map.

today we wandered on mt. tam and searched the landscape for a way in. we wandered, we walked together, we stayed in a couple hours of silence in our own little corners of the heaven we'd found there. when we reconvened, she gave us little green pieces of paper and invited a drawing, a blurb, a haiku about our experience. then, she gathered the main arteries of our sojourn and asked us to place our little pieces of paper in the spaces we'd claimed as our own. she invited us to name our places. she invited us to share.

one by one we journeyed around the circle sharing what came up for each of us. as we placed our little slips along the makeshift map, she noticed how we elevated to art that which was simply a matter of getting to a place. she mentioned how inviting it is when a place is elevated to the level of art--how a map, filled with quotes and sayings and haiku about various sites might encourage her journeying to parts formerly unknown.

she mentioned how, on one of her neighborhood walks, she'd found a poem about a tree on the sidewalk underneath a tree--and how the poem opened the tree experience for her. and she invited, perhaps, a neighborhood collaboration--signposting for those of us who look for the art in our own landscapes, to leave some fruit of inspiration in the spots that most inspire us as we make our daily rounds.

and i thought how lovely this would be--to leave evidence of inspiration in the landscape that inspires us. and i can't wait, really--to make my poems and little slips of valentine to leave around my loop.

where can you leave evidence of your inspiration?
how might your community collaborate to follow your example?

if you try this--please, let me know what happens in your world.

10 things anyone can do to demonstrate their art action in their own community

i'm interested in using this forum to keep track of ideas that can help us "come out" as artists--certainly for issues and politics and big things we feel compelled to say something about--but also, simply, as artists. in the past, i've felt a bit lonely in my community. when i look around, i can't tell where the artists live. i can't tell, when i'm in line with people at Safeway or even Whole Foods, if these are *my* people--that i might play with or make stuff up with or try things with. sometimes, I feel afraid, like i don't fit in, like i'm alone--and i may be, but most likely, there are other people who live in my zip code who share my interests and views. as a way of "coming out" as an artist interested in making a visual difference in my beige draped suburb, i am using this blog to think out loud about what i can do to demonstrate my artist's nature.

i can

1. make a sign that says "artist lives here--come say hi" and put it in my front yard
2. make a button that says "i'm an artist looking for community. are you an artist too?"
3. invite my neighbors to an art experience i'm creating or participating in
4. make art in public--visibly on my porch or at a park or in a cafe or...
5. post a saying or phrase or quote on a poster in a little corner of my window--having it face outward toward the wider world
6. wear clothes i've painted or clothes that have paint on them
7. buy an art lover license place or frame for my plates and put it on my car
8. make freeish marketing materials at vistaprint.com that say i'm an artist--promoting whatever it is i'm doing or looking for and pass those out randomly or give them to people i meet in line or in waiting rooms
9. sit quietly and set the intention to meet other likeminded folk who live in my neighborhood, trust the intention and move through the world with a sense of expectancy and confidence to start conversations with strangers
10. attend the art offerings of others as i encounter their promotion material on the web or in the world

what are other things anyone can do, wherever they are, to indicate they're willing to take an art action? or be a part of a community of others who use artmaking as their primary expression vehicle?