I'm about to start painting my office (/living room/guest room), a project I've been looking forward to.  When I bought the paint -- see Transgressions -- I flashed to a conversation I had with a friend, who noticed the mess I made of my ceiling in the kitchen (photo).  She recommended a flat brush-thing with wheels that roll along the ceiling, giving you a straight line.  Home Depot indeed had the thing, which costs about $2.50.  It's reusable, probably not forever...but I couldn't decide whether it's a tool or a thing.  Perhaps I ought to take the time to tape and paint carefully - but when I think about how long that will take, the little thing is damn attractive.  Thoughts?

Already? The first night out?

Tonight was my friend's birthday dinner...I ate at home and headed out with some catchphrases about Fix, looking forward to drinking some sake. When I showed up in the East Village, I gave a lame explanation that my eating schedule was off and therefore I wouldn't be ordering anything. Jesus! These are good friends, friends that have experienced - and participated in - other crazy ideas! I felt somehow because the site's not posted yet, the postcards aren't made, and I haven't sent out the requisite emails, that it's not legit enough to talk about. Which is what this project is about - conversation!

At least I didn't order anything...but I also couldn't let my friend pay for her birthday meal! Gotta find a better way for next time...

Disgusted and alarmed by the proximity of unlimited shopping and unlimited garbage in Manhattan, as well as the disposable mentality I live and work in – “just throw it out and get a new one” – I’ve decided to make a little experiment in non-consumption. Now, I already live a pretty marginal existence as far as materiality is concerned: I’d like to see what happens if I make the commitment to reducing my participation in the buying cycle to zero this year. 

Of course I’ll fail.  I want to see by how much, and in what terms, while challenging my own notions of “need” and demanding more creativity of myself.  I want to learn how to fix clothes, proper meals, broken things – and learn from some master practitioners like my grandparents, other artists, and complete strangers.  I’ll be documenting my efforts on this website, and I hope you’ll contribute your ideas, suggestions, and skills to the effort.   I realize this investigation is nothing new, in either artistic or political terms – it's an experiment designed to start conversations and illustrate how one choice impacts one life.   

The Rules 

1. I’m not buying new manufactured consumer goods in 2007.
2. I’m not buying food from restaurants in 2007.
3. I will allow myself to buy coffee and drinks, which I could easily make at home.
4. I’d like to take better advantage of the free and community-based resources available in New York City.

Read more in The Rules and Background