Walking with Untied Shoes

WALKING WITH UNTIED SHOES

WALKING WITH UNTIED SHOES A book of ideas and prompts by Linnea Abernethy, Perth Alacar, Michelle Alonzi, Anna Gray, Sierra Gray, Jayson Hoogendijk, Jonah Kim, Seth Lee, Will Lund, Sarah MacIntyre, Bening Nikol, Jonathan Richards, Elly Santo, Kelsie Wells, and Miriam Winters

with illustrations by Linnea Abernethy, Perth Alacar, Will Lund, and Jonathan Richards Portland, Oregon 2017

APNEA OR APPLAUSE Clap every time you exhale air Un-clap with each inhale.

Repeat until you no longer require breath and/or applause.

Michelle Alonzi

BLUE Wear every piece of blue clothing you own.

Walk down the street.

When you find a blue object, ask the closest person to you to take a picture of you next to it.

Repeat the practice for one mile.

Sierra Gray

BREATH PIECE Capture the scent of the park in the rain.

Capture the scent of the park on a cloudy day.

Capture the scent of the park during a sunny day.

Sarah MacIntyre

CLOSURE Speak secrets you don’t want anyone to know into mason jars. Seal them tightly, and then mail each jar to a person you’re keeping a secret from.

Perth Alacar

EGO Approach someone on the street and ask for their number.

Make small talk with them afterwards.

Facetime them later that day.

Ask them if they remember what you talked about earlier.

Bening Nikol

DROWNING Don’t do homework.

Jonah Kim

DRINK YOUR WORDS Fill your mouth with water.

You are a fish and this water is your air.

Speak only when words are more important that breath.

See how long until you’ve spilled all your water. .

Michelle Alonzi

FATE Without using words, prompt someone else to play rock-paper-scissors with you.

Play to the best of three.

Once concluded, break silence and tell them, “This is the only way that could have ended,� regardless of the outcome.

Jonathan Richards

GIFT RECEIPT On your birthday, paper machĂŠ duplicates of all the birthday gifts you receive.

Keep them for one year.

In honor of your next birthday, use them as doorstops to prop open all the doors in your school, workplace, or home.

Anna Gray

HABITAT Let someone bulldoze your home.

Feel defenseless knowing that there is nothing you can do.

Find another shelter, hoping it will be the same as your last home.

Realize that you are now a homeless bird.

Sarah MacIntyre

HOLY TRINITY Attend 3 different religious services of your choice.

If you have any preconceived biases, leave them outside.

Separate each into categories of which one you’d rather: a. Fuck b. Marry c. Kill Then, keep your God-damned opinions to yourself.

Perth Alacar

THE HUNT Cover a hamster’s feet in paint.

Let it run over a blank paper.

Afterwards, repeat with a snake.

Elly Santo

HUNTER GATHERER Gather all the pillows and blankets in your home.

Find a largish area and begin constructing a fortress.

Name your citadel.

Conquer more land.

Will Lund

ILLUSION OF A VERTICAL SURFACE Stare at a wall for ten minutes.

Draw what you see.

Jayson Hoogendijk

IT TAKES A VILLAGE Board a train and stand in the middle of its car without holding onto a handle or seat.

Rely on the people around you for support.

Linnea Abernethy

JACK-JACK Go to the produce aisle at a grocery store.

Close your eyes and select a fruit or vegetable based on touch.

Name it; purchase it; carry it home in your arms.

Read it a bedtime story; kiss it to sleep.

Play a song that has made you cry before.

Cook the fruit or vegetable into a meal.

Eat the meal. Then, describe how your food tastes with only one word.

Perth Alacar

LIFE ALERT Lay on the ground of a busy sidewalk for an hour.

Will Lund

MAERCS Open your mouth.

Scream backwards.

Michelle Alonzi

NEON Wearing all neon green clothing, walk into a restaurant and go to each person and ask how they are doing.

Seth Lee

NOT KNOWING THE HALF OF IT Go to a public place.

Sing only half of a famous duet.

Jonathan Richards

OLD FRIENDS Ask someone who you are not very close to if they will give you their grandmother’s name and address.

Write to her as if the two of you are very close.

Miriam Winters

OLD HOME Go to your parents’ house.

Take all their lamps and put them in the closet.

Elly Santo

OUCH Pierce your body in five different places.

Record facial reactions with each piercing.

Eat 5 foods you do not like and document the face you make with each food.

Compare and analyze your discomfort levels and reactions.

Bening Nikol

PAINT PIECE Take a gallon of pink paint and pour it over everything.

Kelsie Wells

PHONE CALL Search your town for a phone number written on the wall of a bathroom stall.

Call the number, and ask them why they were in the building you found their number in.

Sierra Gray

PLUSES Borrow a good book.

Read it, removing or recording every occurrence of the word and as you go.

When you’ve finished, construct a tower with your collection of ands.

Anna Gray

POMEGRANATE Obtain a pomegranate.

Smash it on the floor until the fruit is broken.

Clean up your mess in front of an audience.

Linnea Abernethy

REFLECTION Choose a room that is 300 square feet.

Cover all of the surfaces with mirrors.

Wait in the room until it is dark.

Turn all the lights off.

Draw a portrait of yourself.

Elly Santo

SLUMBER AMONGST THE DEAD Sleep in a cemetery.

Write about what you’ve dreamt of.

Jayson Hoogendijk

STARRING ROLE Spend 24 hours impersonating yourself.

Do not break character.

Michelle Alonzi

TEA Turn on a kettle to prepare a cup of tea.

Sit in a nice spot while you wait for the kettle to heat up.

Forget about the water.

Realize it’s gone cold.

Repeat as many times as necessary.

Kelsie Wells

TEA PARTY Make tea out of crushed crickets.

Share it with a chameleon.

Miriam Winters

TALK/BUT DON’T TALK Go to the library and sit next to someone at random.

Attempt to have a conversation with them without using any spoken words.

Seth Lee

THAT’S IMPASTABLE Count the amount of hairs that you have on your head.

Go to the store and buy that amount of angel hair pasta and cook it.

Eat it all in one sitting

Miriam Winters

UPSETTING Go outside and yell out your personal beliefs.

Continue until someone comes up to you, offended.

Jonah Kim