For the last four years, I’ve participated in GISH (formerly known as GISHWHES), the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt. Spearheaded by Misha Collins, the actor known for the TV show Supernatural, it’s a great way to pack a ton of creative, competitive fun into one week of craziness – all while benefiting great causes.
While I have yet to hit it big and see one of my individual contributions hit the GISH coffee table book, I’ve been on a pretty stellar GISH team – Team Riptide – for the last four years. Some of my teammates have made it into the book! They’ve inspired my to do better in my work, and they’ve often been a huge part of my submissions (GISH encourages teamwork after all!). Through GISH, I’ve learned that I have a knack for video editing, a patience for detailed Photoshop projects, an interest in using food for bizarre projects, and a lot more creativity than I thought I could ever have!
Every year I get a bit of anxiety about doing GISH, but I really love it. It pushes me out of my comfort zone. It makes me feel good about art and creativity. And it makes me feel OK about not always being the best at everything. I don’t need to be excellent at everything; sometimes, just doing it is what matters.
So here’s my Best Of, my Greatest Hits, my Favorite Submissions, in no particular order.
What your pet really does when you’re not at home (item #98, 2018)
For the last few years we’ve had cameras running in our living room so we can check on the dog throughout the day or when we’re on vacation. This footage came in handy when I wanted to show what my dog really does when I’m gone, which is – you guessed it – stuff he’s not really allowed to do!
The Spectral Olympics (item #21, 2017)
This is a sentimental favorite. I really had no idea what kind of limits GISHWHES (as it was called at the time) imposed and I really didn’t know that participants went the extra mile. So here I was, making quaint little dioramas!
A cheesy 80’s intro featuring your teammates (item #55, 2020)
This is one of my absolute favorites. My team did such a great job getting footage for me to cut and set to a super pop-fueled 80’s vibe.
Send noods! (item #57)
Another item I tragically underestimated, we were to recreate a famous piece of art in entirely noodles. I chose Venus Anadyomene, and ended up eating all the noodles later.
A tragic, dismal miniature scene a la Tatsuya Tanaka (item #95, 2019)
We were to make a tragic tiny scene with reimagined objects. Here, I chose a pork bun that exploded. I still have a bunch of these tiny figures sitting in my craft box in case I’ll need them for another GISH.
Make GISHémon cards for your team (item #98, 2019)
We were to create GISHémon cards (like Pokémon!) for our team, displaying our best qualities and powers! I really love Photoshop tasks, so this was a blast.
