Poster Every Day

Shiri Levy in Israel is making a Poster Every Day...

Why did you decide to do this project? When being "in between jobs" as they call it and trying to figure out what I want to do next, I decided I want to make sure I spend some of my free time on doing something creative. As a design school graduate and big poster fan, I decided the most fun thing to do would be to design a poster every day. It allows me to incorporate a lot of different things I like such as quotes, people, lyrics and design elements.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I'm only at the beginning of the project but I'm already having a lot of fun exploring different skills such as illustration or typography. I also love the fact that inspiration can really come for anywhere and I find myself writing notes to myself at odd hours with ideas for a poster future posters.

See all of Shiri's posters HERE.

Sartorial Zoo

My friend Adrien here in Richmond, VA and her friend Marianne in Knoxville, TN (whose project Looks Good from The Back was previously featured on this site) have created a new daily project together called Sartorial Zoo...

Why did you decide to do this project?

A: We did an entry on our style blog where we matched up street style photos with baby animal dopplegangers (which is surprisingly easy) and it was so much fun that it seemed like a project we should keep doing.

M: It's like we say in our tagline: Street style meets baby animals. Because duh. Fashion is notorious for taking itself too seriously, and baby animals are (mostly) cute. It's a win-win.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?

A: When the ZooBorns blog updates with new photos my first thought isn't, "Awww, baby sloth!" it's "Ooooh, that looks like the Sartorialist on a bad day." And I laugh. A lot.

M: I will send Adrien photos on a regular basis where I'm like, look at the giraffe's EYES! Or, I think the penguin needs to have it's mouth open. It's just ridiculous, and don't we all need a little ridiculous in our lives?

See all of their fashion/zoo mash-ups HERE.

The Illustrated Dream

Revati Locke in New Orleans, Loisiana is creating The Illustrated Dream. She explains, "In an experiment to get me started on a separate body of work, I am: recording my dreams, putting them through a process, illustrating them daily, and posting the results."...

Why did you decide to do this project? After ten years of playing "around" the idea of being a professional artist, by obtaining degrees and work in related fields like art therapy and interior/industrial design, I recently made the decision to go directly for it, head on.

However, at first, I had no idea what to lay down on paper. I had years of art supplies stored in boxes ready to go and a steady flow of energy, but I had no point of view, no reference, no focus. Searching for personal resources that would give me a direction to go in, I stumbled on the idea of simply, and diligently, illustrating my dreams. I recognized that, compared to my waking life, my dream life was completely unscathed by the passage of time or stress; it was rich, deep, and fresh - an inexhaustible revelation. So, illustrating my dreams seemed to be a perfect starting point.

It was also important to me that I share the process with others. I don't edit the paintings and I don't particularly "like" all of them. It's easy to see that my voice and style have yet to coalesce. But right now, it is all about inspiration and process and I think that is important to share. Sharing also helps keep me accountable.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Before my project was clearly defined, I came across a string of words that stated, "Motivation comes from doing." This clicked with me and I was able to see for myself that by simply "laying it down" I was creating paths to explore that had not been there before. I tend to be a critical perfectionist that enjoys the "gestation" period of a project; dreaming but never fully expressing. I'm learning, through this project, to trust myself and take a leap.

Obviously, these studio experiences affect other areas of my life. There's more energy in everything I do. I'm more aware of myself, of how I feel. I'm more interested in sharing my "real" self with others. I'm challenging a deep-seated belief that things like energy and opportunities are scarce and am having glimpses that they are really quiet abundant - and available. All in all, the challenges and triumphs that I experience in the studio are being experienced outside of it as well .. it's a wonderful feedback loop.

See all of Revati's dreams HERE.

365 Reasons Not To Die with A Full Craft Cupboard

Sharon Newth in Melbourne, Australia is creating 365 Reasons Not To Die with A Full Craft Cupboard... 

Why did you decide to do this project? I am a stay at home mum of four with a very busy life and I love to be creative. I stumbled across your book about a year ago and have been thinking about it ever since. I find I never get the time, so I thought if I did this project it would help motivate me to make time for the things that make me happy and in turn make those around me happier.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I find I smile a lot more since beginning this project, and I have a lot more energy to put into all areas of my life. I have been approached by people from around the world who have enjoyed my creations and this also gives me a real sense of accomplishment. I also find that since I started creating something every day everything in my life has become a potential source of inspiration and ideas come from the strangest of places. As I create I find I might also start off with one idea which completely changes by the time I get to the finished project. It's a also a way to share a part of myself with others that I wouldn't normally get to share otherwise. Sharing the project via my blog has definitely helped me to keep going with the project.

 

See all of Sharon's projects HERE.

365 Self Portraits on My iPad

Carol Bonomo in Southern California is creating 365 Self Portraits on My iPad...

Why did you decide to do this project? I wanted to see how many ways I could change a photograph using ipad filters and effects.  With the exception of a few somewhere in the middle of the project (where I used software programs on my laptop), I managed to come up with different takes on my same old self.  It was cheaper than buying 365 new outfits.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am an enthusiast who can tackle new things with ease and excitement.  My "sticking with it" skills, however, are not nearly so good.  It never occurred to me that I would actually stick to something every day for 365 days.  Now that I'm two weeks from completion, I just might do it!  You have to think if you can take 365 self portraits (and not throw up seeing your tired old face and every tick and drool and droopy eyelid every day on your blog) and come up with something/anything "artistic" to do with the shot... well, what else could you do and stick with now?  I recently loaded several painting apps on my ipad.  I just might become a 365 ipad painter next.

See all of Carol's portraits HERE.

The Pinups of Betsy VanDeusen

My friend Betsy VanDeusen in Los Angeles, CA is spending her 29 to 30th year creating the The Pinups of Betsy VanDeusen...

She explains, "Starting on 2/27/2012, and working through 2/27/2013, I intend to work on my art daily. It will all be tied in to the "Retro Pinup" theme somehow. The important thing to me is the daily practice of working. I'm not necessarily interested in creating "finished pieces" on a daily basis (Taking a work to completion may take the accumulated efforts of a week, a month, or more- if the piece demands it). I just have so many ideas that I never follow up on, and this project gives me the incentive and excuse to focus on those ideas on a daily basis."

Why did you decide to do this project? Seeing other artists grow through their daily creative projects was a huge push for me to start my own. Skull-A-Day has been a huge inspiration, as have the people I know personally who have completed daily projects: Freehand Profit of "MASK365" and Charlton Yu of "Burger365."

In doing this project my major objectives are: Fighting procrastination and resistance, realigning with my priorities as an artist, studying and learning from the masters of pinup art, honing my technical skills, and creating & sharing work that I can be proud of... No small task, but luckily I'm just taking it one day at a time!  ;-)

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I've been trying to keep things light, and not to take myself too seriously with this project, but it's hard not to get caught up in the work! This is the first time that I'm really sharing my own personal artwork since I graduated from art school, and it's really scary!

During the last 7 years, I had all these ideas, but was really hesitant to actually make the things I wanted to make (and I definitely didn't have the courage to share my work in a public forum!). The biggest thing my daily project has done for me is that it's helped me to get over that fear of just getting started. You have to do something each day, so there's no point in dragging your feet about it!

It's also really helped me to break projects down into little "daily units of effort..." I like to think that it's like cutting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into pieces for a child- It's still the same amount of food, but when it's cut in to manageable bites, it's not so intimidating! The thought of "doing a whole oil painting" can be very daunting, and is therefore easy to put off... BUT working on a painting for an hour or so today before work... that's manageable! I can do that!

See all of Betsy's Pinups HERE.

365 Names

Lauren in Manitoba, Canada is creating her own name daily in 365 Names...

Why did you decide to do this project? I’ve attempted daily projects before—a drawing a day, a photo a day, etc.—but I never got past the one month mark and subsequently gave up. This time was going to be different. I saw the “Make Something 365” book online and it totally inspired me to try this all over again. So, instead of taking pictures, I decided to do something more personal. I decided to create my name using a different medium every day for one year. I chose my name because I’ve had an interesting relationship with it. When I was 4, I declared to my parents that I did not like the name “Lauren” and insisted on only being called “Laurie”. And that’s how it was until 7 years ago when I was in class on my first day of college and the professor asked if I would want to be “Lauren” or “Laurie” and I said “Lauren!” and I’ve never gone back. I love my name now and I wanted this project to reflect my change in heart.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?I’ve really learned to be much more open and willing to share bits of my life with others. I’m a pretty closed book but keeping a daily blog and letting people in on what I’m doing, has certainly taught me to let others in occasionally. I’ve also loved hearing ideas from friends (and strangers!) and getting encouragement as the project has progressed. Who knew a daily project could be fun?!

See all of Lauren's names HERE. 

Hungerpaints

Natalia Dinsmore in Brookline, Massachusetts is creating daily to "help cope with whatever gets thrown at me" in Hungerpaints...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because I needed motivation to help me in my recovery process from an eating disorder. I love art but I found it hard to actually sit down, and seperate time to do it. So by creating this blog, it forced me to find a break in my day to do something positive for myself.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? My eyes are open a lot more. I look around and see what I can photograph or make instead of  just moving through my day, monotonously.

See all of Natalia's projects HERE.

Visible Gratitude

Rebekah Sherwood in Dallas, Texas is documenting things for which she's thankful in her daily in her project Visible Gratitude...

Why did you decide to do this project? In 2011, I kept a gratitude journal. I tried to write down every day ten things I was thankful for from that day. I wanted to cultivate a heart of gratitude to God for all that He has blessed me with each day. Once the year was over, I didn't want to just stop being intentionally thankful. So, I decided to carry my gratitude over into picture form. I'd been toying around with the idea of doing a 365 blog, so it worked out well to put those desires together.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? So far I've completed 98 days. It has been good for me to continue to find things in my life every day for which I'm thankful. The more thankful I am every day, the more joy I find in life. Doing this project has also helped my photography skills improve!

See all of the things Rebekah is thankful for HERE.

Waking up in Berks County

Danielle Nuhfer in Reading, Pennsylvania is creating Waking up in Berks County. She explains, "My project is a photo project where I take one picture/day of anything that is in Berks County.  It doesn't have to be a specific thing, it just has to be something that lives, breathes or is located in the fine place where I live."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because Reading, PA was deemed the country's most poverty-stricken city in the United States in 2011.   I started to get very concerned that all of these things were going on around me, yet I had no real perception that this was the case nor was I doing anything to help the community.

I was ashamed that I lived a moderately comfortable life, completely oblivious that I was living within a community that was among the poorest in the country.  I was so desensitized to my own surroundings that I didn't even recognize all the pain in my very back yard.  This really shook me.  I realized that I was not living a very present life.  So, my project has a two-fold purpose. First,  I am using it to make sure that I make an attempt to stay present in my daily life.  By taking a picture every day of the world around me, I am forced to stop all those things I THINK are important and wake up to reality.  Second, it is helping me to see the reality of the world I live in.  I am able to capture the beautiful, the mundane, the ugly and everything in between.  Only from a place of presence will I be able to move forward and give back to this community that I have called home for over half of my life.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Well, I'm only in the second month and it has been really interesting.  I am learning that eventually every day something will inspire me to take a photograph but I sometimes I need to look for those opportunities.  The first few days were simple but then I started to run out of those BIG things to capture.  I made a promise that I was going to try to conduct my life as naturally as possible and not go driving all over the countryside to take a picture from various remote locations every day.  I wanted to stay true to reality...not what I create for a blogging/project opportunity.  So, I have settled in and taking a picture is something I do every day.  I'm not completely consistent with the uploads, but behind the scenes the pictures are being taken and the information is being logged.  One thing that I love is that my eyes have a new purpose, there is a heightened sense of duty.   One day at a time I am becoming active and invested in my life....all through taking a picture.

This seemingly simple process has now given me even more ideas for ways to incorporate this concept of "waking up in Berks County".  I have started to use some of the pictures I've taken in multi-media collages that I create.  I couple the pictures with cutouts of local articles to create a truly unique piece of art that on all dimensions is inspired by Berks County and created in Berks County.  It's important to me to be an active citizen giving back and this is the way that I'm finally starting to fill that purpose in my life.

See all of Danielle's photos HERE.

180 Degrees

Tiffany Parris in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is creating 365 Postcards in her 180 Degrees project. She explains, "I am taking mail that I receive, some of it pretty yucky (read the description on the blog), and repurposing it into new postcards. I am opening the project up to any readers to send me mail and if they choose, I will send them a 'repurposed postcard' in return."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this because I am in a season in my life when my mail really sucks. I hate opening my mail. I wanted to turn it around into something positive.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I actually enjoy looking into the gruesome mail slot these days. I know that whatever financial, emotional, and spiritual struggles I am currently in right now will not last forever. There is a light at the end of the PO Box. I enjoy these little moments of creative energy. I am not setting out to make a piece that will be sold or that will ever hang in a gallery, but it makes me happy to unwind and just tear and glue paper.

If you'd like to send/get some "happy" mail from Tiffany contact her through her site HERE.

HaikuDawg Follow-Up

Danielle Durkin and Maria Ayoob finished their joint yearlong HaikuDawg project on March
5, 2012...

Dull ache behind eyes
Sisyphus taught me today
Lift and step forward.
—D.D. #10 3.16.11

 The chickadee’s call
Delicious sound of morning
Taste the mellow notes
—M.Y.A. #110 6.24.11

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project?

Dani: I reveled in the regular communication and sharing of creative energy with others. I created a small group of folks I would send haiku to each night and it was mutually inspiring. Having a place to go once a day to focus a thought and/or feeling allowed me to crystalize experiences in my day or week in such a way that I felt  more connected and mindful of my surroundings.

Maria: I think I became a little braver. There is satisfaction and fun to be had in using my 'voice,' but to get it I have to give up my fear of being heard - and of being judged on my mistakes, my silliness, my mediocrity.

Old friend embrace me
No matter the roads we walk
I will see you there.
—D.D. #49 4.24.11

 The freshest morning!
Bliss is cool air on bare skin
Light-white-blue on brown
—M.Y.A. #125 7.9.11

In what ways did the project change your life?

Dani: My friendship with Maria has strengthened and deepened because we are doing the project together and our haikus are like a wonderful, ongoing conversation. Due to my illness over the last several years, I've felt isolated and at a loss as to how to reintroduce creative outlets to my routine. Consistency with this simple haiku art has reopened up a tiny window of light and communication I've craved. It's profoundly healing.

Maria: My friendship with Danielle has grown profoundly this year. Our haiku-conversation has been accompanied by many phone and email conversations, single word text messages asking for help or offering support, and the pleasure of getting to know each other as we are now. My relationship with depression has changed too. I've found some words to describe this very private experience. Re-reading those words has given me some ideas about what is consistent about my depression, the ways it manifests physically for me and how it reflects the seasons and colors my perception of the world around me. Finally, the project has taught me to be delighted by what I see. I love my city, my neighborhood, my walk to work, the little changes in the weather much more because of it.

I lift myself up,
Flutter moth-like to life’s light,
Stretching my burned wings.
—D.D. #68 5.13.11

Fall begins like this
A cooler afternoon light
One spiraling leaf
—M.Y.A. #199 9.21.11

Now what? We've decided to do another year of HaikuDawg together, starting April 1st,
2012, as well as try to publish our haikus for a wider audience. A lot has happened for both of us in a
year and we suspect our complex lives will be reflected in the new batch of haiku.

Laughter is the thread,
Knotting our hearts together,
Joining our loose ends.
—D.D. #290 12.21.11

I want my mind clear
My skull empty, echoing
Like a cave of bone
—M.Y.A. #220 10.12.11

Read the original HaikuDawg interview HERE.

Walking off the cliff,
Feeling wind yet not fearless,
Breathing into flight.
—D.D. #324 1.24.12

November, blue-gray
I was born in this cold month
Its shadows hold me
—M.Y.A. #266 11.27.11

And you can read all of Danielle and Maria's haiku HERE.

Rebecca's 365

Rebecca Grace Jones in Shepherdstown, West Virginia is doing a daily creativity project inspired by 365: A Daily Creativity Journal...

Why did you decide to do this project? I found your book in our wonderful, local independent bookstore, Four Seasons Books, Shepherdstown, WV, at the end of December last year and got very excited about the idea of starting this yearlong project right away in the new year. I love assignments. I loved them when I was a student and later when I became a commercial illustrator. I enjoy the challenge of taking someone's idea and seeing what creative thing it leads me to do.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am on my 92nd day. I've been posting each thing I do on my Facebook page. It is enormous fun to have my friends give me feedback and comment and tell me how they relate to what I do. So it has become a great way to share and interact with my friends. Sometimes I get an idea of what I want to do immediately, sometimes I really struggle, sometimes I don't like the project idea and don't want to do it! But the funny thing is that those are the projects that usually come out the best. Each project seems to push me and increase my creative vocabulary, either with new media, new techniques or just making me think. I just wish I had more time to spend on them! I can give myself only a few hours a day tops because I make my living as an artist and need to 'make product to sell'. Sometimes that influences what I do, because I think if I make something I can use for my Work work, then it justifies the time spent. But mostly I just have fun!

I've also noticed a difference in my confidence level. For example, 'ask a stranger', I was unsure about doing and it ended up being the best fun! I'm tempted to gush with detail about all this, but I know you are a busy man and must get many emails to read. So just suffice it to say...thanks! I didn't realize I needed to 'change my life' when I started your book. Now I see how this works!

Follow Rebecca's progress on her blog HERE.

Eats and Reads

Deborah Moore in West Valley, Utah is doing a yearlong project called Eats and Reads. She explains, "Every day I pick a different childrens book and make a snack that goes along with it."...

Why did you decide to do this project?  I've already been doing Eats and Reads, but I wanted to do something more consistent.  I love to cook, make healthy snacks and getting kids excited about current books.  

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I started doing sporadic Eats and Reads over a year ago as a way to have something to blog about.  It's helped me learn what picture books are out there.  As an aspiring author this is important, but by making treats to go along with the books it's more entertaining for me. I've recorded some of my creations, but I've never been 100% certain how the snack would turn out.  Creating and rushing toward possible failure has given me a chance to get over some of my hang ups and try a few unusual things.  For example, I made a Chihuahua out of peanut butter, graham crackers, and banana's.  It turned out cute, but I had no idea if it'd even work when I was doing it. Other times I'm made a cute looking snack which my kids absolutely hated.  One highlight was when I let S.A. Boden, author of "The Compound" know that I made a snack for her book.  She thought it was a fun idea. 

I wrote my first rough novel (in submission, but it hasn't been picked up by any agents yet) by forcing myself to write a little every day.  This helped me work past the creative blocks and discouragement.  I love the fact that your book provides little prompts and has realistic support for creative and artist types.

See all of Deborah's Eats and Reads HERE.