Creative Gravy: The Exquisite Corpse

People are wandering down the middle of the street, as there is close to a foot of fresh snow on the sidewalks. It's about time we had a decent blizzard! The talking box is always shouting about "The Storm of The Century" which usually results in a few measly flakes. But THIS, this is excellent. :) (However, I apologize to all those whose flights have been delayed!) It's wonderfully quiet here. There is no sound with the exception of a soft kitty snore and the distant grinding of gears as our neighbors do their best to displace the snow.

I wanted to thank the Glitter Queen, Jennlui for passing on the Friendship Award to HerSpeak! What a Sweet Heart! (I'll be passing it on later today, I want to try my best to branch out and find some new kindred blogosphere spirits.) And now--to the Gravy!

Brain Baster: Making Creative Gravy
Part III Continued...

The last few Gravy posts have been exercises designed to help you do a little mental yoga through experimental mark making. Today, I'm going dish a bit on an superb way to stir the Gravy with friends! This is simple yet strange game that works equally well for artists and cocktail party attendees alike! It kicks the crap out of Yahtzee, that's for certain...

Image by Gregory Abbot

Gravy Maker #7: The Exquisite Corpse

Ooh! How decadently dark that sounds! However, the title of the game makes it sound much more morbid than it truly is. (*sigh*)

First, a little history!
*

The Exquisite Corpse is a parlor game developed by French surrealist painters in 1925. These artists were interested in startling juxtapositions and using dreamscapes as a basis for their work. This technique would also be used later in the Dada and Fluxus movements and also goes by the names "the rotating corpse" and "the exquisite cadaver".

*
I just love to imagine artists back in the day with their skinny mustaches and smoke curling from crumpled up cigarettes as they sit at cafes sketching beautiful ladies with stainless steel penguin feet.

Here's how it's played! You need 3 or more people. (You could do two if you so choose, but it just doesn't work as well.) You'll need a piece of paper and a writing utensil for each player as well as some sort of time keeping device. The first player draws something in the top third of the paper for 2 minutes. (It can be anything--some people like to use "The Body" as a general theme to begin, so you might start with something like a "head". But really, it's up to you.)

When the keeper calls "time", player one folds the paper so only a small portion of their drawing is exposed. The paper is passed to the next unsuspecting player who continues drawing where player one left off. Again, after "time" is called, player two folds their paper, leaving only a little hint uncovered and passes it to the final player. Player three then draws for two minutes, completing the sketch and reveals the weirdness of what everyone has made!

So Easy! So Silly! So Peculiar!

If people are worried about "not being able to draw" assure them that the worse drawer you are, the better the outcome of the game! It's supposed to be fast and funny. It's not a contest, it's a good-spirited collaborative effort to make something featherbrained! There's really no way to mess it up--the wackier, the better. This game can also be adapted for words. Instead of each player taking a turn to draw, you can write down or collage words, folding to leave the last letter of the word exposed for the next player. This leads to something that sounds like a mad lib. :) Try this with friends over coffee, as an exercise on your studio floor with your kids, at a holiday gathering or as a meeting icebreaker with colleagues. No one will miss Uno, I promise. :)

Oh! I almost forgot--check back tonight for a Goddess Giveaway! :)
Until then--

Live Curiously, Friends!
Merry Making and Many Blissings!~*