By Rachel Singh

Sitting on my kitchen floor with a chopstick and a pickle, I was well into Exploration #53 when the realization hit that I was six explorations away from ending one of the best books I’ve picked up in years. How to Be an Explorer of the World is the latest book to inspire creative thinking by illustrator-turned-guerilla artist Keri Smith. One sleepless night Smith created a list of things she learned and discovered a parallel between the way artists and scientists analyze things. That discovery served as the catalyst for this gem, which is based on the premise that at any given moment, no matter where you are, there are hundreds of things around you that are interesting and worth documenting. Here’s what I discovered by following Smith’s 13 guidelines on how to be an explorer of the world.
_Rachel Singh

1// Always be looking. I looked. At my street, at the trees, at my neighbours staring at me staring at the cracks in the sidewalk, then I went home and googled cement. Discovery(ies): A building can be made to function like a tree and you really can fry an egg on the sidewalk.

2// Consider everything alive and animate. OK! Discovery(ies): Studies show that yelling at inanimate objects will not make them do what you would like them to do.

3// Everything is interesting. Look closer. I watched paint dry and recorded everything I saw in detail. Discovery(ies): Watching paint dry is like doing yoga – once the incessant chatter in your head stops, you go into a meditative state where enlightenment transpires.

4// Alter your course often. It looked like this: YMCA > Police Station > (Oh!) Chocolate Shop > Stadium > Hammock. Discovery(ies): Boys > Boys (in uniform) > BOYS and chocolate > B-O-Y-S, B-O-Y-S, B-O-Y-S > Conclusion that it’s time for me to reconnect with the often-ignored details around me.

5// Observe (for long and short terms). I did this with a bowl of navel oranges. Discovery(ies): The bottom of a navel orange looks like a belly button, or a navel, which is where the name came from.

6// Notice the stories going on around you. Story: Your finger size can be linked to your earning power. Discovery(ies): According to Cambridge scientists, financial traders whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers make the most money.

7// Notice patterns, make connections. See No. 5.

8// Document your findings (field notes) in a variety of ways. Studied the ShamWow. Discovery(ies): Graphing the effectiveness of the ShamWow is the only data that comes close to proving that it holds 12 times its weight in liquid.

9// Incorporate indeterminacy. Hello, Exploration #53. Discovery(ies): A pickle does a better job than a chopstick of wearing the pants of a writing utensil.

10// Observe movement. I watched Space, particularly Venus. Discovery(ies): Venus is peculiar. For example, a day on Venus lasts longer than a year on Venus.

11// Create a personal dialogue with your environment. Talk to it. See No. 2

12// Trace things back to their origins. My brother Gavin. George Bush. ThighMaster. Discovery(ies): Mum & Dad… too many cocktails =  Gavin. Voters… too many cocktails = George Bush. Suzanne Somers… too many cocktails = ThighMaster.

13// Use all of the senses in your investigations. Me + Blindfold + Kids x3 + Sugar + Scissors + Arts & Crafts Project. Discovery(ies): When paying attention to a wide variety of different information, there seems to be a fine line between creativity and psychosis. U

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 1:44 pm and is filed under Know-How, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.