Whenever the mood strikes, write down the last five things that made you smile.
Draw those five things interacting with each other while participating in one of the following activities:
1) throwing a party
2) taking a nap
3) solving a mystery
4) posing for a photo
5) playing a board game
6) relaxing at the beach
note: if none of these scenes appeal to you, you may choose to draw your five things in any situation you desire
Once completed, stash the drawing away in a place you can easily find later.
On a sad day, pull out the drawing and remember the things that made you happy.
Smile.
PROCESS
My score was mainly inspired by Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit. As I was reading through it, I noticed that most of her scores had some sort of therapeutic property to them. Whether it be screaming into sky or shooting a hundred panes of glass, there always seemed to be something cathartic to finishing one of her scores. I wanted to try and capture this healing element – boil this essence down into an easily achievable activity for a kind of instant relief.
I was also compelled to try and make the piece something to do in solitude. In some scores like “Tunafish Sandwich Piece”, I felt a quiet, meditative sort of vibe. I wanted my score to also involve this sense of self-reflection – a moment to yourself surrounded by good thoughts. The resulting artwork is something made by and made for yourself. It’s possible to share the drawing after the score is completed, but what’s more important is the process of taking a step back and reflecting on what makes you happy.
With that in mind, I made the first iteration of my score. Initially, I had it so that the person completing the piece would roll a dice to decide which scene they would draw their objects in. But as I tried it out for myself, I found myself re-rolling a bunch of times anyways because I didn’t feel like drawing whatever it was I had gotten. In the end, I made the scenarios into more of a guideline instead of a necessity. It just felt sort of silly to try and force people into drawing something they didn’t want to in what was supposed to be a therapeutic activity.
Another thing that got altered was a small phrase at the beginning at the piece. “Whenever the mood strikes” was initially “On a good/happy day”. But, again, as I was testing, I realized that this should happen naturally. I actually tried out the score on a day where I wasn’t feeling too great and found that it helped take my mind off things. I was so focused on tracing over my memories and drawing them into the scene that it sort of drowned out any negative thoughts I had at the time. I never did get around to trying this on a “happy” day, but I can assume that it would have a different vibe to it. It might be worth testing out in the future.
Oh, and here’s a link to the image I ended up drawing. It’s kind of an eclectic mix considering I had just been scrolling through the internet at random at the time, but I feel like that adds a fun element to the piece. It would be interesting to see how different people fit their objects into their scenes and what kinds of interactions come out of it.