The Stuff Project

No. 80 to 113 (E.A.S.T. at Co-Lab)

2009-11-17T22:53:00.009-06:00

Below is some stuff that I gave away at Co-Lab today. Each item was accompanied by a hand-typed explanation of the object's history. Click on the items below to see a photo. If you took something please leave a note to let myself & others know what you've done with it.

80. WACKY CATNIP
81. CLOTH RAGS
82. TREES OF MYSTERY
83. FELT OF VARIOUS COLORS
84. GOLDEN GLOVES
85. TEDDY BEAR COSTUME
86. STUFF FROM ART
87. WOODEN ELEPHANT
88. HIPPIE DEODORANT
89. BOOK ABOUT SPAIN
90. UNWANTED CHRISTMAS GIFTS
91. HIGH LIGHTERS
92. PIRATE PORN
93. ANKLET
94. PAPER SKULL
95. METALLIC PAPER
96. MYSPACE PHOTOS
97. 3 ISSUES OF CABINET MAGAZINE
98. 8 ISSUES OF THE BELIEVER
99. 4 ISSUES OF HIGH FRUCTOSE
100. CLOTH NAPKINS
101. FUTURISTIC CLOCK
102. BUNNY MITTENS & STRIPED SCARF
103. CAT DRAWING
104. SPEAKER WIRE
105. YELLOW GLOVES AND RED SCARF
106. 2 SILK SCARVES
107. MURAKAMI WALLPAPER
108. COLORMOUNT & PHOTO PAGES
109. IRONIC BUST OF NATIVE PERSON
110. DRAGON TILE
111. CAT MASK
112. LADIES BOWLING SHOES
113. GREEN BOWL

No. 43-79 (The Big Time at Okay Mountain)

2008-04-28T01:58:00.005-05:00

Below is some stuff that I gave away at Okay Mountain today. Each item was accompanied by a hand -typed explanation of the object's history. If you took an item please leave a note to let us know what you've done with it.

Day 6, No. 37-42

2008-03-18T20:15:00.003-05:00

Sewing Machine, Purse, Belt, Peacock, Headband, Heart-Shaped Box

37. Sewing Machine. I got this tiny sewing machine with a gift card that I had for Hobby Lobby. I never really use it because I have a real life-sized sewing machine. I can't remember who I gave this to and there isn't much else to tell.

38. Purse. I gave this purse to Amy who is a programming manager at KVRX. I had this stuff with me while there were some people meeting up in the music library and she seemed to really like it. I did this drawing while Art, Paul and I were driving out to the country to play a show for Alex Dupree's going away party. We felt like we were outcasts most of the time we were there because a lot of his friends are religious and we were sitting around smoking cigarettes and drinking whiskey. I bought the purse at Savers and drew on it with paint pens.

39. Belt. This belt used to belong to my mom or one of her sisters. I was about to give it away to someone but backed out at the last minute due to sentimental reasons. It has a Smurf on the belt buckle. The belt is for kids so I've only ever worn it around my waist.

40. Peacock. I bought this peacock from an antique mall near my apartment. I used it originally for a photobooth strip and it has been sitting on my dashboard for a long time. I think it was originally more pink in color but it has been bleached by the sun. I gave this to the boy at the coffee stand and he attached it to the banana rack.

41. Headband. I gave this to Cody, the other programming manager at KVRX. He wears headbands sometimes and I have seen him wearing this one since. Art gave this to me. It was part of his halloween costume when he was a character from a movie that I haven't seen.

42. Heart-Shaped Box. I gave this to someone else at the radio station but I didn't know him very well. He said it was exactly what he wanted! I got it from a $1 bin at Target once. I also once used it in a self-portrait that I put on the internet around Valentine's day. I have another one that I keep small things in. I used to keep foreign currency in the other one but I combined some of the items.

Day 5, No. 30-36

2008-03-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

Christmas Tree, Antennae, Paint, Doll, Teddy Bear, Throat Spray, Wall Hanging

30. Christmas Tree. I bought this christmas tree impulsively from the CVS near my house. I hooked it onto the closet door outside my bedroom for my cat, Mr. Universe, to play with. I can't remember who I gave this, too, but I remember being surprised they took it. CVS always has the most absurd seasonal gifts.

31. Antennae. I believe I bought these at Terra Toys for one of my first few shows with The Narrow Escapes. It was the show when Art was an indian and Paul was a cowboy but neither of them bothered to tell me they were doing cowboys & indians costumes. Nobody really wanted these so I left them at Michael's house for his kitten to play with.

32. Paint. I gave this to the coffee boy. I couldn't give this away Thursday and saved it for Friday. He seemed genuinely excited about the paint, which I thought was nice. It's not a color that would inspire me to paint more, but it kind of seemed that way for him. I wonder what he will paint. I'm not sure why I bought it but I used it for a cardboard sculpture

33. Doll. This doll was a gift from my dad and came with another, larger doll. They were made by a lady that worked at the West 6th Street Artists' Market, which he managed for a while. Each is individually made and seem highly influenced by The Nightmare Before Christmas. I used to keep these in my living room, but they creeped out my roommate a bit so I put them on a shelf in my room. I tried selling these on Craigslist for a while last year since they are so intricately made, but ended up giving the small one to Mark from my sculpture class.

34. Teddy Bear. I tried to give this teddy bear to Tim, but he left it at the radio station because he thought it wasn't a personal gift since it is part of the stuff project. I think I got this bear from my parents about a month ago when Art and I were planning a sculpture made of stuffed animals. We never finished the project and I ended up giving most of the left over toys to Art.

35. Throat Spray. When I was seeing Tim last summer I got a sore throat and cough from him. It seems like I always get sick if I start seeing someone new. TJ let me borrow this throat spray that she got from France - I think TJ might think the spray is extra-strong because it's foreign, but I disagree. I tricked Tim in to using it first and it tasted really horrible. I gave this back to TJ because it's been sitting on my night stand for a very long time.

36. Wall Hanging. I got this from a thrift store when I was preoccupied with decorating my apartment a year or two ago and ended up getting quite a bit of owl decor. I am a big fan of needlepoint. I didn't really want to give away this piece so I put on the wall outside my office at the radio station, that way the separation process will be gradual and I never really have to say goodbye. I should probably give it to my friend Selina because she likes owls a lot, I have another owl wall hanging that I can give her for her birthday later this month.

Day 4, No. 23-29

2008-02-14T23:36:00.007-06:00

Metronome, Throat Spray, DVD, Headware, Badge, Paint, Unicorn Book

23. Metronome. I believe I got this metronome from my uncle or aunt. My aunt, Brenda, and uncle, Beau, have long been the hip aunt and uncle on my mom's side. When I was in high school they taught me to play U2 and Cranberries songs on acoustic guitar. I've never had much use for a metronome, though it does kind of freak out my cat. I gave this to Lace.

24. Throat Spray. I wanted to give this back to TJ but I didn't see her today.

25. DVD. I have so many of these DVDs. Michael and I got some from Leonard Knight when we visited him at Salvation Mountain. I sent Leonard a letter and some photos once we got back to Texas, I even sent him an envelope with return postage, and in response I got another box full of DVDs. He wants us to spread the word of his mountain, especially to old people, and I have been failing in that respect. I gave this to the coffee cart boy, Ryan. I think it might've been for Sweet Leaf Tea because that's what I've been getting, mostly. He did run out for a week, which was pretty rough.

26. Headware. I did not give these away today but I took them to Mike Smith's class with the idea of using them in our Sears class portrait. I ended up using my bear hat instead.

27. Badge. I got this badge from a thrift store up the road from my apartment. I went there with Art and someone else after eating at Taqueria Arandas. Along with this purchase I bought a Cardigans CD and an electronic Mozart album. Lace took this item, also.

28. Paint. I did not give this away today, either.

29. Unicorn Book. I must've got this from Barnes and Noble with a gift card or something. Samantha and I were really into unicorns for a while. I'm mostly over it, I guess, because this seems like a bit of a novelty item now. I think Lace might have taken this piece, also.

Day 3, No. 15-22

2008-02-13T15:41:00.003-06:00

3 Packs of Cigarettes, Scented Markers, Snowman Snowglobe, Sweater, Water Dropper, Coin Purse, Feminist Book, Flower Picture

15. 3 Packs of Cigarettes. Here we have a pack of Virginia Slims and two packs of "Sports". I was wanting to buy a pack of Capris for a while but I couldn't remember what they were called. I ended up buying Virginia Slims, which are not as slim as you'd think. A couple weeks later while driving home from my grandparent's from our Christmas celebration I stopped at a convenient store to see if they had Capris. They did not but I saw these Sports for $1 a pack. I ended up buying 3 because it seemed like such a good deal, but trying to smoke the cigarettes was frustrating because they were so incredibly light. I gave these three packs to Art since I don't smoke anymore and he loves cigarettes.

16. Scented Markers. I got these markers for Lace as a Christmas gift in 2006. I gave it to her with a coloring book but she forgot it at my house or in the car or something. Lace and I work together so I'm not sure why I never gave them to her but I ended up giving them to someone else. I used these in a performance last week where I drew a portrait of a boy n my class using my feet. I don't remember who I gave these to but I didn't tell them about the feet thing.

17. Snowman Snowglobe. Nobody took the snowglobe yesterday so I brought it with me again. I saw Samantha at lunch time so I gave this to her - it was originally a gift for her because she collects snowglobes. We took my car in for an inspection and oil change and walked to Alonzo's where I had enchiladas and Samantha had fries. I gave her the snowglobe and also her Moleskine. Samantha forgets things at my house and in my car a lot.

18. Sweater. I got this sweater in high school. I think it's from Kohls. Either I got taller or the sweater got shorter, but I don't wear it anymore because you can see several inches of my undershirt. I gave this to Jo-Anne who works at the radio station and is in my fake band. I thought she might wear it because she is shorter and smaller than me but I feel like I might have forced it on her. I hope she will wear it.

19. Water Dropper. I bought this water dropper from Hobby Lobby last fall. When I went to the Ox-Bow school of art one of the staff members, Carmen, specialized in gouache. Shortly after returning to Texas I found a bucket of gouache and water color that someone was throwing out and recalling a similar dropper in Carmen's studio I thought it might help in my work with the paint. I usually used a bottle cap and never actually used this dropper. I gave it the coffee cart boy in exchange for a hot tea.

20. Coin Purse. I got this coin purse from my Aunt Leanne when she was living in Japan. She moved to Japan with her husband Howard, but now she is back in Texas and they got a divorce. It's a nice purse with some gold thread in the pattern. Their used to be a small bell attached to the purse that would jingle and people often asked me what it was for. I took to telling people that the bell was to warn you if someone was trying to steal your purse, but I don't know if that's true. I gave this to TJ when I saw her at the station. TJ does the radio show after mine.

21. Feminist Book. I found this book somewhere and was excited because it was free. I never read it and I gave it to Vanessa C. Vanessa is the news director for KVRX and she also works at the TV station. I don't know much about her.

22. Flower Picture . I got this for Ethan as a birthday gift a couple years ago when he was living at Casa Vista. It's kind of like a hologram but technically I don't think it really is. I didn't go to the party when I had intended to give it him, which was the year that his parents gave him a lot of wine. I did go to his last birthday party but forgot the gift again. I hung this up over the music directors' desk at the radio station because Ethan is a music director now. I haven't yet told him that it's for him.

Day 2, No. 8-14

2008-02-12T10:18:00.002-06:00

Nail Buffer, Photo Corners, Snowman Snowglobe, Ceramic Figurine, Alarm Clock, Hat, Oil Pump

8. Nail Buffer. This nail buffer probably belonged to my mother. It has four sides with varying grains for different nail buffing techniques. It is mostly used for buffing the ridges of your nails, which is kind of strange. Brian took it and seemed pretty excited.

9. Photo Corners. These were probably taken from my mom, also. She was really into scrap-booking for a while, but I don't think she does it anymore. I used these and her crazy scissors for a "senior scrapbook" project I had to do in high school. Lilian almost took these, but she was disappointed that they weren't white and old fashioned. I ended up giving them to Luke later in the day.

10. Snowman Snowglobe. I got this snowglobe from Savers as a Christmas gift for Samantha who collects snowglobes. I gave it to her a while ago, but she forgot it at my house. She never remembered it and it was a pretty shitty snowglobe anyway, so I thought I'd give it away. This is the only object that no one took today, so maybe I will try to give it Samantha again later.

11. Ceramic Figurine. This handsome figurine depicts a baby squirting mayonnaise on to a hamburger. The baby is either very small or the hamburger is very large. I got this from a dollar store in a section with babies on lots of other foods. I used it for a video project once, but it was kind of dumb. I gave this to Ryan at the coffee cart who put it in the display case with the pastries. He traded me for a rice treat.

12. Alarm Clock. I bought this wind-up alarm clock from Target. I remember getting it the summer that Michael and I broke up because my other one didn't go off some times and I was getting in trouble at work. I didn't use it for very long because it makes a loud ticking sound, which makes it difficult to sleep. I kept it on my bedside for a long time, but never wound it up. I don't know who took the alarm clock.

13. Hat. Paul gave me this hat for Christmas. I guess I should feel bad giving it away, but I think it was a novelty gift. He gave it to me after he got back from London so I thought it was a fancy English hat at first but he told me it was from Savers. TJ almost took this hat but she decided she wouldn't wear it. I gave it to Matt who said he collects hats.

14. Oil Pump. My parents gave me this in my stocking last Christmas. You can put cooking oil in it and pump it to spray on your food or cookware. It's neat because you can re-use it and you can put olive oil in it, which is better than Pam. I usually just pour olive oil into the pan because I'm not very picky. I never used this for spraying oil, but I did put water in it to spray my cat when he claws my favorite chair. It didn't spray very far, though, so I didn't use it very much. I gave this to Kayla, who sounded like she was actually going to use it for cooking oil.

Day 1, No. 1-7

2008-02-11T22:04:00.002-06:00

Gloves, Back-scratcher, Frame, Sunglasses, Tambourine, Wood-burning Tool, Toy Gun

1. Gloves. I think these gardening gloves belonged to my mom. I am not sure how I acquired them, but I used them in my 3-D foundations class when I would cut chicken-wire. I gave these to someone in my drawing class.

2. Back-scratcher. I found this back-scratcher at the flea market on highway 290. I went with Art. It was an extremely fwindy day and I remember it being unusually cold. I bought two of these back-scratchers because they make hilarious noise when you flip them upside down. I though I could play at a Narrow Escapes show but they ended up being too quiet to mic. I also bought a pair of yellow gloves and we both got some flashing LED pins. Mine was a dolphin and Art's was shaped like lips. We shared a funnel cake and some popcorn. In the center of the flea market there was a band playing and people dancing. I think we would've stayed longer if it hadn't been so cold. Someone in my drawing class took the back-scratcher and found its sound very amusing.

3. Frame. I think I stole this frame from a craft store when I used to shoplift. Maybe at the same time that I stole the wood-burning tool. I don't know why I got this frame. Ben took it and he was thinking of painting it yellow and blue. He said he likes feminine house decorations, but I don't think yellow and blue are very feminine. Whatever, I hope he likes it.

4. Sunglasses. I found these in the parking lot of my apartment. I think they were on the ground. Natalie always makes fun of me for bringing things in from the garbage, but these are pretty sweet glasses. I wore them in one of my favorite photobooth strips. Once I wore these sunglasses over my regular glasses while driving on the highway. It wasn't very safe, but I bet it looked really cool. I gave these to Courtney; she said she likes bats a lot, which I think is neat.

5. Tambourine. I never really liked this tambourine. Once I accidentally took Heather's big tambourine and it was really nice to play with. She eventually made me give it back. I think maybe she gave me this tambourine in exchange... I'm not sure who it came from, but I think a lot of people got them from a Hedwig and the Angry Inch sing-a-long at Alamo Drafthouse. I gave this to TJ.

6. Wood-burning Tool. I think I stole this from a craft store (see above). The only time I remember using this was when I was painting something as a gift for Kevin and I burned the word "happy" on the back. I was going to write "Happy Birthday" but I decided to leave it at that. I feel like there might have been alternate tips for this tool, but I couldn't find them. I don't remember who I gave this to.

7. Toy Gun. I bought this from the grocery store in October of 2006. I used it for a photobooth strip where I shot myself in the head. It didn't look as realistic as I would've liked, despite my attempt at making fake blood with corn syrup. I also took this gun to a costume party once. I think the theme was "space cowboy" or something. This is the first object that I slightly regret giving away. I don't remember who I gave it to.