Project Sidewalk

Well there we have it.

The new front page is live! Check it out at http://www.projectsidewalk.com. Keep an eye out for a redesign here on the blog as well.

I have a handful of projects ready for the new year, as well as a new camera to help with them all, so be sure to check back soon. 2008 was a bit rocky, but despite the lack of updates, I’ve been growing many ideas as the days have gone by.

2009 is going to be an exciting year.

If you’re interested in fairly more regular updates, I’d like to send you over to a good friend who keeps me inspired: http://ashlystewart.blogspot.com/

See you all soon.

Stuck in a creative slow down, I decided that I needed to change my environment. Not just a temporary change like a walk or a coffee shop, but instead a change to the place I do most of my work.

What was supposed to be a short rearrangement of my room turned into a seven hour journey through old notebooks, discarded papers, and forgotten ideas.

By the time five AM rolled around, however, I had a new set up and fairly organized documents.

I decided not only to change my physical space, but also my digital space. I’m currently working on a new look for the site which should hopefully be finished by the wee hours of the morning.

Wish me luck.

Another bump for the Project Sidewalk… Project (well that’s a bit redundant, eh?).

I’d like to share a bit of a popular thread going on, The Corrupted Wish game:

Essentially, one person tells one of their wishes, and the following person twists and corrupts it away from the original intent. This is a great exercise in perspective–what looks great at first often ends with terrible implications.

Examples:

Ehdom: I wish I could fly.
mmmouthwash: wish granted, but now you can’t land.

mmmouthwash: I wish I could turn invisible.
Ehdom: Wish granted, but now you can’t see anything else while invisible.

Ehdom: I wish I could remember all of my dreams…
MisSarah: Wish granted, but now you can’t wake up.

MisSarah: I wish I could understand physics.
Anna: Wish granted, but now you can’t understand anything else.

Anna: I wish I could never look aged.
Luminara: Wish granted, but everyone will think you are 12.

Luminara: I wish I could read minds.
StephanieK: Granted, now you can’t read anything but minds.

StephanieK: I wish I was not afraid of anything.
nevaordinarie: Wish granted, now your dead…

nevaordinarie: I wish I could discover another world…
Ehdom: Wish granted, but there is nothing there, and you can’t get back.

Ehdom: I wish I could slow down time…
Luminara: Wish granted, but now you will age 10 times faster than everyone else.

VincentCharon: I wish I knew everything…
Richard A.: Wish granted, but now you can’t explain anything to others.

And it goes on for pages. Stop by and add some wishes of your own… just be careful what you wish for.

We’re currently in phase one of Project Sidewalk, which is community building. Stop by the forum and make an account, it only takes seconds.

Still not sure what Project Sidewalk is? From the front page:

Project Sidewalk is a canvas to the imagination. The site is centered around a community working to create a revolution in creativity, storytelling, art, and entertainment. The site thrives around the community–a group of writers, artists, thinkers, and hopefully you. The forum provides a communal and collaborative exchange of ideas, which in turn nourishes the creation of new and innovative art forms.

We are all inherently creative. Although we have this immense potential for creativity, it often goes unused. Raw creativity can be a scary thing–it requires letting go of certainties, conquering the fear of failure, and most importantly, the actual act of creation. The latter can be the most difficult, as there seems to be a common idea of one having to be an “artist” to create art, a “writer” to write, and so on. The idea of needing to be a “professional” holds no merit to true art. All one needs to do to become an artist of any kind is to be aware of the desire to create, as well as the desire to express and share what is created.

Here you will find not only a community to help nourish and stimulate creativity, but also a number of innovative projects. Many of these projects revolve around storytelling, and most involve a collaborative effort from the community. Those that wish to participate can contribute and help the projects grow; everyone, regardless of contribution, can enjoy the work that results from these projects.

We have two main goals in this community building project:

- Create a community that encourages creative play and experimentation. Creativity spawns from both open play and limitations–the various projects and creative games within the community will help all of us find inspiration while exploring our imagination. Many members will be able to take this new inspiration and flow of ideas to enhance their own projects outside of the site.

- Create a community that can act as a sort of artistic flash mob. In other words, a group of people readily available (along with any others) to participate in creative collaborative art, storytelling, and various other projects. Projects will be organized and created by all and any members of the community.

These were originally part of a set of pictures I took for a friend, but several of them stuck out to me as telling a story.

I’d strongly recommend the larger versions, which you can find by clicking each photo.

You can also view the set over at flickr.

Taking one picture every day.

You can view the set here.

When things aren’t going well, I find it helpful to change perspective–both figuratively and literally.

Last week I was without a car for awhile, so I was had to (got to) take the slower side of things and walk everywhere I had to go.

It was amazing.

You can find all of the pictures on my Flickr account.

View The Set

You can also view the geotagged map of these pictures here:

I now have a Flickr Pro account.

Expect photos daily.

Last week for submissions for the Eye of the Beholder project! Be sure to check it out.

Eye of the Beholder

After a large amount of requests, I’ve decided to sell the Rejected Valentine’s Cards. Within the next day or so you’ll be able to purchase hand made high quality cards on a per card basis. There will also be new cards for all sorts of occasions.

Also, if you so choose, you can buy the pack of the 21 one-of-a-kind original cards on ebay.