Do you hear what I hear? Answers to our Question of the Month.

Imagine you could not hear this thundering rush of water!

Okay, that was not really the question of the month which I will get to in a moment. First I must mention that our participation is growing, this being the 4^th time we (Snarky Art/Journey Gallery) have posed a question to our First Friday visitors. Also, this is the second month of our Community Participation Project and we were overwhelmed by how many people came by to take part. Despite not having our ice carver show up, (the resulting  “sculpture” on the pedestal thereby a dead ringer for the monolith in 2001 A Space Odyssey) we drew a large and steady crowd for music, art and hot cocoa.

Another blog post will be devoted to the Jelly-Wish-Fish project. You will be able to see all of our projects created from December through June at a special show in July…but until then, keep coming by to be part of the creative process. There are some great projects being planned that will only take a few moments of your time.

Okay, now on to the “Leave Your Mark” Question of the month…..”If you suddenly woke up completely deaf, what sound(s) –except for any related to the human voice- would you miss?”  I chose this question because my Dad (without his cochlear implant) is deaf and I wondered what sounds we all take for granted.  99 answers were offered this time! October had 25, November was 70, December 58 and now a jump to 99. Look for each month’s question in the AiS First Friday flyers.

So to best of my categorizing ability (and in some cases the deciphering of handwriting) the responses are as follows:

Birds at the feeder – birds chirping – singing birds (2 entries)

Spring peepers (2 entries)

Daytime crickets – crickets at night – cicadas

Violins (2 entries) – sexy viola – music in general (4 entries) – jazz music – guitar music – disco music (2 entries) – piano music (3 entries) – gongs - an orchestra – church bells (2 entries) – wind chimes

Feet walking (2 entries) – finger tapping – peeing – farts – clapping (2 entries)

Dogs barking (5 entries) – cat’s meow – my rooster crowing

Breaking icicles – crackling fire (2 entries) – waves crashing on the beach (8 entries) – snow falling – waterfalls – thunder – rushing water – river rapids – babbling brook – gentle rain – rain in general (2 entries) – rain on a tin roof (2 entries) – wind (2 entries) – wind in the trees (2 entries) – leaves rustling – crinkling of leaves – crunchy leaves (2 entries)

Train whistles – Harleys/loud motorcycles (2 entries) – airplanes (2 entries) – jets flying 

Coffee pot brewing – pages turning when you read – clock ticking – a baseball being hit – record player crackle – writing on a chalkboard

Everything (3 entries) – all of the above {from the bottom of a column} – silence {huh?}

The following I could not read due to the handwriting but the words look like…dubstep, welson’s, and crating

And the entries of those who did not read the entire question before answering….baby giggles – my children’s laughter – laughter (2 entries) – husband breathing – whispering – movie theater

The above are some pretty creative choices. I did observe several people not write down their idea because somebody had already listed it. Please don’t let your choice not be heard, multiples are welcome, this activity is intended to get you to think and to see how others think. The best part is watching people contemplate and discuss among themselves. The annoying part is when unattended children start scribbling on the board or writing obviously inappropriate things just to be funny. A really attentive parent would read the question to the child and ask for a thoughtful answer and also venture a dialogue on how it would make the child feel to not be able to hear.

The boards are closed for January, as is the wishing fish, because the gallery is closed for a few weeks over our winter break. Look for the energy to continue as we make our mark at the corner of 4^th and McKinley when Margo Miller will be our feature artist opening Saturday, January 24th at Journey Art Gallery.