Hello Everyone! It's been a bit since I've blogged, but it's been a very busy 2021 for me so far. First on my list, I have written and fully illustrated my first children's book as author-illustrator and I am about to go on a very exciting self-publishing journey! I am super excited about this project and I will have more to share on it very soon. Here is a sneak peak of an idea sketch for one of the characters...
Second on my list, I had quite a few holiday commissions that I had to finish at the end of 2020. Always super fun to work on some personalized artwork for some lovely families.
An ornament for grandma (above) and a family portrait (below) for the family of The Momming Worker.
And last on my list, I have been working on two big commissions. One was a series of artworks for the website of a new company based out of New York (see below) and the second is an ongoing book illustration project for another author. Phew! I'm exhausted simply typing that out. Oh yeah, and by the way, I'm an art teacher by day and I have a couple of kids running around here somewhere. Busy, busy - but I'm better when I'm busy.
Anyway, it's all super fun. I can't complain about getting to make art and teach others about art all day everyday. That's the dream!
So now that I've explained how super busy I am, I want to share a new project I'm about to start. The 100 Day Project is something I attempted two years ago in 2019 and failed after about 12 days. Due to Covid, quarantine, and being home all the time, I was able to successfully complete it in 2020 and now I am amped up about doing it again in 2021. So what is it?
Well, this is a self-designed creative project that you commit to completing everyday for 100 days. The project can be anything you want to do from baking to writing to drawing to painting to singing to dancing to knitting and more! You can pick anything and then carve out time everyday for 100 days to meet your goals.
It comes with a great online community. You can share as much of your project on social media as you like and you will find a lot of like-minded individuals doing the same thing. The support system is amazing. I plan to share my project everyday on my Instagram page.
Two years ago, when I did not successfully complete the project, I was a bit too ambitious. I chose to do digital art everyday for 100 days (see above). Well, I'm not a digital artist, so I picked something too challenging for me. It was difficult to stay motivated and to find time in a busy day to fit in digital art. In 2020, my project was much more simple. I wanted to paint or draw something small everyday. The subject could be anything. The only rule was that I wasn't allowed to draw in pencil first. I had to go for it with color material or ink without any pre-planning. The pandemic hit a few weeks into the project and I found myself with extra time. And that combination allowed me to successfully complete the project. It was super fun and I highly recommend it. (There are samples of my project from last year scattered throughout this post).
This year I have another ambitious project, but I'm going to keep the artworks small to make it manageable. I think this will help me meet my goal each day. I have made a list of 200 different words and phrases. I cut them all apart and put them in a bag. Each day, I plan to pull out two of those words at random and make a small, 30 minute artwork inspired by those two words. It's going to be fun!
You can make a calendar to monitor your progress through the project. Here are my calendars from last year and this year (see below). Each day I work on my project, I color in one space on the calendar. I have always liked a to-do list and the ability to cross things off - this is a more visual, artsy version of that.
I hope you will join in. The 2021 project starts this Sunday, January 31st. To get started, sign up on The 100 Day Project website (it's free, but there is a subscription option if you are so inclined) and search the hashtag #the100dayproject on Facebook and Instagram for inspiration and moral support. No project is wrong, you do what's best for you - it's the creativity habit building and the team spirit of the project that I like best of all.