Action words:
-hang
- drop
Begin by brainstorming what your action word means.
Both of these words - drop and hang - are relatively straight forward:
- "hang" means to suspend something
- "drop" means to let something fall
Looking for less immediately obvious definitions, these are options:
- "hang" has a special meaning when it comes to people, where they are hanged by the neck.
- "drop" is also a synonym for collapse, as one would do from physical exhaustion. If the object were, say, me, I could step off a treadmill and drop to the floor.
- In the context of liquids, a drop (noun) has a different meaning. Perhaps I could "drop" the object from a water dropper.
- In the context of several abstract things such as a conversation, it can be ended by having it be "dropped", e.g.: None of these less obvious definitions seemed workable, so I dropped them.
What limitations does it present?
- The instructions say that I should "alter" an object in an interesting way. None of these definitions, when "done" to an inanimate object, change it in any noticeable way.
- Many of these definitions are only applicable in very narrow contexts, such as fluids or people.
What opportunities does it present?
- Attempting to both hang and drop something could be relatively easy, as the two are closely interrelated.
- I could potentially do some play on the meanings of the words and treat a solid inanimate object as though it was liquid or person, which could be interesting.
Pick an object/item that you use on almost a day-to-day basis that you don't give much thought to. What is that object?
A mechanical pencil. Several, in fact, as I have a habit of almost always grabbing at least two so I have a spare in case one is out of lead during a quiz or exam where it would be suspicious of me to dig through my bookbag for another.
Use the action word to alter the object in an interesting way.
I decided to connect multiple mechanical pencil in a way such that their normal mechanical operation - the push of the eraser - would result in some of them first hanging then dropping. I then proceeded to press the eraser until they dropped. The pending doom of the pencils set to the beat of the mechanical clicks reminded me of the Jaws theme. I felt it appropriate to reset the system I had built and click away again, this time to the beat of the Jaws theme I found online as I watched the pencils savor their last moments of being attached to the wall in the odd fashion I chose.
Keep notes throughout the process.
I took a picture of each step. I'm not sure what else to take note of.
Decide the best way to digitally share your object.
The objects themselves - "altered" by their drop - are of little interest without the journey they took. The best way to share this journey is by video, accompanied by the sounds of deep though followed by the sound of their pending doom.
Write a statement explaining the object/item you chose, why you chose it, what word you had, and the process that went into making your final piece.
I chose a handful of mechanical pencils
because they were, honestly, the first thing my mind jumped to when I
looked for objects/items that I use on an almost day-to-day basis.
While I could have kept looking, I felt it would be best to stay true
to my first instinct. If nothing else, it would add to the
challenge. My words were "drop" and "hang", and
I used both of them. To hang and drop the pencils, I connected them
in such a way that two pairs were each sharing one piece of lead per
pair, then I used the clips to connect the two pairs. I then hooked
one of the pencils - "the lucky one" - to a fixture on my
wall. I then clicked on "the lucky one"'s eraser until the
other three pencils dropped to their clicky-clacky doom. I did this
all to the tune of the Jaws theme because that's what the physical
process and their accompanying sounds brought to mind.
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