The 100 day project; it is finished!
In February of 2023, I became a participant of the long-standing 100 day project on Instagram. Creative people vow to practice their creativity (however they define it) for 100 days. I decided to do this after years of failed journal and daily sketching attempts. So I posted my daily work here.
It has now been 100 days in this project. Creatively, there were good days, meh days, and truly horrendous days. I took on watercolor as my medium for many days because it is a medium I have never been comfortable with using. I still am not, but I am no longer scared of it! Most of the images were done on-site, but a few were from photos I had taken because the time and place were not conducive to working.
It was really fun to give myself permission to ‘just do’. I had no expectations. I chose postcards instead of a sketchbook because of their individuality. That seemed so much less intimidating than the preciousness I feel when opening a sketchbook which can cry out for continuity or consistency. I decided to also “air my dirty laundry” and post the result each day both on social media and, hare, on my website. This would both to keep me honest and hopefully people would enjoy seeing them; Maybe they would get inspired to, as Chuck Close says, not wait for inspiration but “just show up and get to work”.
The only downside I saw was what I would describe as a “pressure valve” effect. Creative juice pressure builds up as I prepare for a project or builds over the days, weeks, and months as I work on it. This was somewhat mitigated by the safety valve of doing my daily piece. It became THE project I was working on, not a warm-up or partner to other work. I am not sure how I feel about that.
Will I do it again? Absolutely. Starting immediately? Maybe a week or two off while I rethinkmy approach. I will let you know!
It has now been 100 days in this project. Creatively, there were good days, meh days, and truly horrendous days. I took on watercolor as my medium for many days because it is a medium I have never been comfortable with using. I still am not, but I am no longer scared of it! Most of the images were done on-site, but a few were from photos I had taken because the time and place were not conducive to working.
It was really fun to give myself permission to ‘just do’. I had no expectations. I chose postcards instead of a sketchbook because of their individuality. That seemed so much less intimidating than the preciousness I feel when opening a sketchbook which can cry out for continuity or consistency. I decided to also “air my dirty laundry” and post the result each day both on social media and, hare, on my website. This would both to keep me honest and hopefully people would enjoy seeing them; Maybe they would get inspired to, as Chuck Close says, not wait for inspiration but “just show up and get to work”.
The only downside I saw was what I would describe as a “pressure valve” effect. Creative juice pressure builds up as I prepare for a project or builds over the days, weeks, and months as I work on it. This was somewhat mitigated by the safety valve of doing my daily piece. It became THE project I was working on, not a warm-up or partner to other work. I am not sure how I feel about that.
Will I do it again? Absolutely. Starting immediately? Maybe a week or two off while I rethinkmy approach. I will let you know!
