232 Consecutive Days Making Art

Calm lake 8.15.2021

Today is the 232nd consecutive day that I have made a 4.5 x 6 inch piece of "art."  (I might be using that term loosely on some days, but every single day I create something!) 

Why did I decide to do this?  

2020 was quite a downer of a year.  No art shows.  No motivation to create.  I just knew I needed something to look forward to--something that would bring me joy.  So I started thinking of doing something that would be my joy project.  I had participated in month long creating challenges, and I thought it would be quite a journey to see if I could carry on for a year.  I knew I would have to find joy in it or I wouldn't stick with it.

From there was born the #365artgiveaway

I decided I would find a way to give all of these away.  At first I thought I would share them on instagram and then I would just give them away.  As I collected them in a shoebox I imagined having a pop up art show and giving them all away.  That is what is going to happen.  In January 2022, I will be hosting a pop up art show and giving them all away.  Stay tuned for details.

Any project one sticks with has a longterm impact.  This one has definitely been a challenge.  Let's be honest, it's tough to simply show up in our humanity every single day.  I am grateful that so much of what I do creatively is also personally transformative.  

Here are some ways this has changed me:

1.  I see the world through different eyes.  I ask myself how I can represent something I see.

2.  I see extraordinary in the ordinary.  Those wild flowers along the road keep inspiring me over and over again.

3.  I explore new media.  I've really enjoyed and loved my new found love for oil pastels. 

4.  I expand my use of individual and mixed media.  When I paint over and over I see new ways to use the materials.  It's the same for combining watercolor and colored pencil or oil pastel and sharpie.

5.  The options are endless.  Even if I looked at the same garden or tree or lake each day would be slightly different.

6.  Slowing down let's me grapple with humanity.   I get to put a piece of myself out into the world every single day.  Some days it is breath taking or deep, and sometimes it is sorely lacking.  That's okay.  It's our human experience.

I'll write more in the future about this, but for now I want you to know there will be a give away in January.  Also, I'm thinking of putting together a little ecourse for folks who might want to begin a daily practice for 2022 with some ideas for how to succeed--whatever that means! with planning, organizing, and doing your thing.