7X7

In the 7X7 frame, you get seven passes through a piece of art, with the basic goal being that each of the seven versions is “done” and could stand on its own as a version of the artwork if need be.

7X7s can also be done collaboratively, passing an art piece back and forth, or around in a circle!

My invitation to you: try the process of creating a 7X7 (an art piece that you create in 7 iterations, each iteration being a usable version), alone or with someone else. It’s perfect if you want to play with a layer-based process, like screenprinting or multitrack recording, or just having fun with creative restrictions.

Here’s an example. Below are some of the layers of a 7X7 song. It was created in 7 sittings, each sitting adding a layer. Here are a few of the passes, so you can get a feel for how it works. It was also intended as pop.

Final Lyrics:

There is a tone allotted just to you. There is a bandwidth, with your name written on it. A location, anchored in time and space.

You’d have to be crazy to give it away to somebody else. You’d have to be crazy to let another being take your body.

But I wouldn’t put it past you. And I don’t hold it against you. Because I know you don’t know what you’re doing, and your ignorance endears you.

There is a light stream. There is a sound beam.

There is a bell, sounding just for you. There is a voicebox, in and out in every measure.

You’d have to be crazy to give it away to somebody. You’d have to be crazy to let another being take your body.

But I wouldn’t put it past you. And I don’t hold it against you. Because I know you don’t know what you’re doing, and your ignorance endears you.

There is a light stream. There is a sound beam.

~~

Thumbnail image lovingly appropriated from What Kinds of Seeds Are These? by Heidi Bee Roemer and illustrated by Olena Kassian