It Might Suck

This project has come about with the completion of my first project/blog, 20 Dates in 20 Weekends; A Craigslist Social Experiment, in which I went out on 20 dates in just less than 20 weekends with almost 20 different men (I had one second date). My experiences with my first blog led me to the realization that meeting new people and forcing myself open to their perspectives was quite valuable in understanding myself.

The dating element of the original experiment was quite arduous and led me down some treacherous and painful paths, which I am sure I will be discussing in therapy for a long time to come.

This project is more about the general, rather than the specific, matter of the value of human connection. That is, how we cultivate our friendships, work relationships, and intimate relationships. How we are measured, as Desmond Tutu once said, by the quality of our interactions.

My project is a simple barter, an exchange of ideas for a hand-made object. Of course, this satisfies two great needs of my own: one to create things, and the other to connect with people, and therefore, with myself.

My process will be to give a person unknown to me before the exchange a ceramic ball for which they will give me conversation. The project's theme is desire and fear, how they effect relationships and each other.

The first stage of the project is to procure space in which to make these ceramic spheres, which I have just gotten word that I have done; PNCA will be providing me with studio space in which to create these objects for a very reasonable monthly fee. The second stage is to do a bit of experimenting by handing out preliminary balls in exchange for preliminary conversations. I intend for this project to span a year, and as a good friend of mine said, "...it would be a horrible realization to come to after making 350 balls to find out that this project sucks."

There are other arrangements to be made; I must leave The Void and move closer to the city and therefor the studio, and begin the work of making the balls. I must arrange to have pictures of each ball I make in order to post them in my blog alongside the stories. I must come up with a very good conversation opener, one that will help people feel comfortable enough to open up regarding this highly personal issue. I think that last bit will be the challenge.

It is always scary to start such a large project, because as my friend stated, it might suck, but as with my last social experiment, its success relies almost solely on people, and as I have learned, the one thing you can rely on people to be is human, which in my opinion, is always interesting.