Get Unstuck in 30 Seconds with Andy Stefanovich

Andy Stefanovich Chief Curator and Provocateur of Prophet shares how he gets unstuck in 30 seconds...



Be sure to also watch the Unstuck videos from Improv Everywhere's Charlie Todd, Young House Love's John & Sherry, storyteller Slash Coleman, artist Matt Lively, Boing Boing's Rob Beschizza, and artist kHyal™ as well!

What about you? Make your own 30 second video about how you get unstuck and I'll share it on the blog! Just post to YouTube or Vimeo and send me the link at the submission address HERE.

365 Dresses

Denise Felt in Columbia, Missouri is making 365 Dresses...




Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because I wanted the opportunity to stretch my creativity in new ways.  And the discipline to stay on a schedule for a year.


How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Already I'm finding ways to create art that I would never have taken the time for before this project.  Each morning when I wake up, my first thought is 'what dress will I make today?'  And I'm excited to get out of bed!


See all of Denise's dresses HERE.

Japan in 365 Days

James Martin in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan is taking daily photos in Japan in 365 Days...



Why did you decide to do this project? I am living in Japan for one year, teaching English to little Japanese kids. I decided it would be a good idea to document my adventure somehow and, as a budding amateur photographer, a 365 photo blog seemed the perfect way. I thought it would be a great way to represent my everyday life in Japan whilst, at the same time, giving me the chance to improve my photography skills.



How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? The project has improved my photography skills and made me think more creatively! I am always on the look-out for interesting scenes, nuances in light and composing photos in my mind. It has trained me to look for good photos, beyond the obvious. Sometimes it can be a little bit of a burden- when I haven't found a good shot or I'm just not in a photo taking mood- but by in large, I am enjoying having a project to concentrate on and develop as the year goes by. When I post a blog I always feel a sense of achievement and as though I have created something.


See all of James' pictures HERE.

Minimal Comics

Graeme McNee in Kobe, Japan is making Minimal Comics daily, which he describes as "A three panel minimal comic every day, drawn with a cheap pen on paper stolen from work."...



Why did you decide to do this project? I wanted to capture little moments and ideas of daily life and present them in the most minimal and simple way possible. People might not realise at first, but the comics are all inspired by an event that happened on that day. Sometimes I draw something I saw, sometimes it's a commentary on a concept, sometimes I just capture the ideas in my head. When I look back at each comic I can remember at least some of the events of that day.



How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have started to take more notice of the world around me, because I am now looking for moments to capture each day. I have also started to simplify my drawing. Before my drawings were sometimes overly detailed, now I'm trying to draw with the least amount of lines possible. I've also started a new morning routine: wake up, have breakfast and think about the content for the comic, then draw it and post it. I used to hate getting up early but now I find myself waking up before my alarm eager to make the next comic! Posting on tumblr and google+ has expanded my creative network too, and through people linking to me I've found all kinds of interesting new projects and art, including your site!



See all of Graeme's comics HERE.

Sprint To The End

I can't believe the year is almost over, congratulations to all of the folks who've taken on and shared their projects so far – it's been a real blast reading about your experiences!

For those of you who haven't started a project yet, I want to share a suggestion from Kevin King: Sprint To The End.

Basically just make a commitment to do one thing a day for the 31 days of December. It's a great way to get the benefit of some daily practice without committing to an entire year. Plus you'll cap 2011 with some great experiences and start 2012 with some new ideas and inspiration.

And of course if you decide to take this on I hope you'll share about your experiences with me!

Happy Sprinting,
Noah

Get Unstuck in 30 Seconds with kHyal™

Artist kHyal™ shares how she gets unstuck in 30 seconds...




What about you? Make your own 30 second video about how you get unstuck and I'll share it on the blog! Just post to YouTube or Vimeo and send me the link at the submission address HERE.

Love & Art

Nicole Ducharme in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada is drawing daily in Love & Art...


Why did you decide to do this project? I was browsing through Indigo Books one day while visiting a different city, craving for something to invigorate my creativity and give me a push. Then I saw your book and I knew it was what I needed.





How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have created more in the time that I have been working on this project then I have in a long time, project related and otherwise. It feels great and it makes me feel great.




See all of Nicole's art HERE.

Unstuck Book Release Party: Richmond, VA

Hey Richmond folks, please come out celebrate the release of my new book Unstuck...


Saturday, December 3rd
5-7pm
2913 W. Cary St.
Richmond, VA
804.422.8066

Hope to see you there!

NYCSubway Girl Interview

I had a lovely visit with Cathy Grier AKA NYCSubway Girl (who is one of the people featured in my new book Unstuck) on my recent trip to NYC...


Noah Scalin is Unstuck from NYC Subway Girl on Vimeo.

Be sure to check out Cathy's great series of "What inspires you?" videos on her site HERE.

Hidden Missives

Jay King, aka TheoJunior, aka KwasiRa in Little Rock, Arkansas has been creating Hidden Missives, aka Tiny Golems for five years! He explains, "I post a remixed polymer clay sculpture every day.  They are almost always faces. Each one is pressed partially into several molds of toys, stones and almost anything that can impart a texture."



Why did you decide to do this project? It began as a writing experiment with visual aids and gradually morphed into an art project with words.





How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It may not qualify as such since I'll miss days here and there. When I do, I try to make up for it by doubling up on subsequent days. I've posted 1720 so far in five years, so it's actually been a 5 year project so far.  I do more every year, so I have no plans to slow down, only speed up.

How has it affected my life? It's brought me into contact with many talented artists, mostly through Flickr and deviantART, who have encouraged and inspired me. It's given me something creative to do at the close of every day, sort of an artistic nightcap.  And it's provided me with one freaky as hell family.


See all of Jay's hidden missives HERE.

Get Unstuck in 30 Seconds with Boing Boing's Rob Beschizza

In the spirit of my new book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio, Boing Boing managing editor Rob Beschizza explains how he gets unstuck in 30 seconds...



What about you? Make your own 30 second video about how you get unstuck and I'll share it on the blog! Just post to YouTube or Vimeo and send me the link at the submission address HERE.

Unstuck officially released!

My new book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio is officially in stores as of today!


It features 52 creativity boosting projects, that are arranged by time commitment from 30 seconds to several hours, and is designed to be used by anyone, regardless of age, profession, or level of skill. 


The book also features interviews with a dozen of my favorite inspiring people and how they deal with their own roadblocks to creativity.


In addition there are sidebars with even more projects to get your creative wheels turning.


And it includes plenty of blank space to use as you see fit!

I hope you'll pick up a copy today. As always I recommend supporting your local independent bookstore if you still have one, but if not you can also order online at Powells, Amazon.com, Qbookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters/Indigo.


Bella Diva's 30 Days of Jewelry

Idabelle Fosse in Seattle, Washington is making a new piece of jewelry every day for 30 days...





Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to challenge myself to do one new piece of jewelry a day for 30 days because I was inspired by Noah Scalin's presentation at the Schoolhouse Craft conference. I wanted to see if I could push myself to create on demand, as well as to see what new ideas I could get from the things around me. I also wanted to jump start my work for the holiday season and hoped to create some buzz for my new jewelry line.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  I have learned to find joy in my "mistakes" as well as the pieces I find to be good. I have learned to appreciate the need for flexibility, and i have learned that though it is a daunting endeavor, that I always get something out of it. most of all, I love the fact that my imagination flows more now than it did. as I was making one piece that was working out well, I got the idea for two others that I wanted to try. it's been a wonderful experience.

Read more about Idabelle's challenge HERE.

Get Unstuck in 30 Seconds with Matt Lively

Artist Matt Lively, who is interviewed in my upcoming book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio, shows how he gets unstuck in 30 seconds...


Be sure to also watch the Unstuck videos from Improv Everywhere's Charlie Todd and Young House Love's John & Sherry and Storyteller Slash Coleman as well!

What about you? Make your own 30 second video about how you get unstuck and I'll share it on the blog! Just post to YouTube or Vimeo and send me the link at the submission address HERE.

Unstuck Book Signing: NYC

The first book signing event for my new book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio will be next week in NYC!


Friday, November 18th
6-8pm 

118 Prince Street
SOHO, NYC
212.966.6688


Hope to see you there!




Another Day Another Dollar Follow-Up

I've decided to periodically check back in with some folks who have completed their 365 projects...

Peter Oakley (AKA Oscar Fox) in Melbourne, Australia spent a year documenting dollar coins as he accumulated them one a day from October 31, 2010 through October 30, 2011. Then on the last day he donated all 365 dollars to a local animal shelter!




What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? Perseverance and Photoshop, there were times when I thought; I don't have to do this, its all just a bit of fun. but I'm so glad I kept going. And boy can I now use Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, I've learnt even just a small adjustment to an image can make a big difference.

Day 2, with the coins over my eyes reminds me of my early eagerness but I also like its relative simplicity in execution.


In what ways did the project change your life? Life changing is too big a statement, The look on peoples faces and the "good on you" that I got from so many people when I told them what I was doing was a great feeling, I have gained a new respect for myself in as much as I now know I can stick to something and see it through.

    Day 254 just worked for me, I usually take many photos for a given image and select just one. this was the first shot and that was it.
Now what? What indeed, I really want to do something like this again, I am already feeling like something is missing. I am currently putting a photo book of the site together but that will probably only ever go into a print run of one for myself. also I have made a few enlarged and framed prints of my four skulls image for gifts.

    Photoshop became my friend of the year and a bit of manipulation was obvious, day 243 was interesting but a bit bland, a small amount of color adjustment and tight cropping and it was ready to publish.

Read Oscar's original 365 interview HERE.

    On day 363 I used a photograph that I originally took for day 154 but never used. I always liked it so it finally got an airing.   
And see all of his dollars HERE.

Skulls in NYC

Krause Gallery in NYC will be exhibiting a selection of objects and images from my daily art project Skull-A-Day this month!



The show opens Thursday, November 17th with a reception from 6–9pm.
If you're in the area I hope you'll come by and say hi!

The show runs through mid-December so even if you can't make the opening there'll be plenty of time to see the work in person.

Krause Gallery
149 Orchard St.
Lower East Side, NYC
212-777-7799

Wed-Sun 12-6pm
Mon-Tue By Appointment

image: Nude Skull

Art On My iPhone

Keltie Borden in Kingston, Ontario, Canada is spending a year making Art On My iPhone...




Why did you decide to do this project? I attempted a 365 project in 2009 and regrettably bit off more than I could chew.  I was trying to make a mask every day and while it was more fun than I expected it was also not sustainable for me; especially when I got pregnant and became very, very sick.  Now almost three years later I am itching to feel that excitement and inspiration and attempt it again with some hindsight and experience under my belt. I went back and forth for months on what type of project to do and very nearly started one focused on making a pendant every day.  I feel much more confident about using my iPhone to produce art instead, though.






How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am very early in the project, but so far it's made me feel like I'm doing something good for me.  As a mother of a toddler it's easy to
find myself relinquishing my creativity into projects and ideas for my daughter.  With AOMi I feel like I'm creating things that don't necessarily connect to motherhood or any of the day-to-day things I am
tied to.  Yes; some of the photos are of my daughter and I refer to her from time to time but being creative is something I've needed at every point in my life.

The biggest surprise so far has been my surge of interest in photography. Taking pictures with the iPhone is easy and there are so many photography apps for taking and editing photos that I find myself
looking at my surroundings already with an eye to what's interesting enough to frame in my lens!  I'm excited about taking pictures in a way I never have been before.


See all of Keltie's art HERE.



BBCX365 Follow-Up

I've decided to periodically check back in with some folks who have completed their 365 projects...

Johnny Selman recently completed his BBCX365 poster design project in which he created an image each day based on a headline on the BBC news website...





When did your project start/end? I started the project on my 30th birthday, September 8, 2010. It is my graduate thesis project at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I am a working on my MFA in the school of graphic design and I present my thesis this December. The daily posters wrapped up on September 7, 2011.



What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? Doing an x-a-day project teaches you time management, commitment and endurance. It is the constant in your life. Surrounding it are the other elements that create a year of your life - success, defeat, tragedy, joy, sickness, injury, enlightenment, love and loss. All of this is in flux while that poster or that skull or that drop cap becomes something as familiar as a morning cup of coffee or cigarette or whatever your AM rituals may be.

For this project in particular - I learned how to take complex material and reduce it to digestible and powerful visual bites. For the last 2/3rds of the project I worked with American designer and artist Paula Scher on the thesis. She challenged me to report on news stories that were most important for the cultural awareness of my audience. Then to make those posters as powerful as possible. She was a bold, articulate and an inspiring mentor.


In what ways did the project change your life? What I was doing seemed to resonate with people. I started the project because I wanted to increase my own awareness of global current events, while helping other Americans do the same. After a year of world news and a year of posters exploring those events - I am significantly more cognizant of the world we live in and I'm confidant that I'm not the only one.



Now what? The project has won an award at the AIGA Cause/Affect competition, the biennial, international design competition that celebrates the work of designers and organizations who set out to positively impact our society. The award ceremony is on November 3rd and is open to the public. The full year of posters will be on display along with the other award winning designs.

I still read BBC every morning and still sketch out ideas for posters. I've been working on the possibility of a weekly online publication that opens the project up to the public and will represent a week of news translated into posters by a base of assorted designers. I think the idea has legs and look forward to exploring it further once I graduate.


See all of Johnny's posters HERE.

Get Unstuck in 30 Seconds with Slash Coleman

My friend & storyteller extraordinaire Slash Coleman, who is interviewed in my upcoming book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio shows how he gets unstuck in 30 seconds...




Be sure to also watch the Unstuck videos from Improv Everywhere's Charlie Todd and Young House Love's John & Sherry as well!

What about you? Make your own 30 second video about how you get unstuck and I'll share it on the blog! Just post to YouTube or Vimeo and send me the link at the submission address HERE.

Forest & Kerosene

Forest in Los Angeles and Kerosene in Montreal, Quebec are collaborating on the logically titled daily photo project forest & kerosene which they describe as, "Two childhood friends, thousands of miles apart, sharing their worlds with daily snapshots."...






Why did you decide to do this project? 

forest: I was reunited with a childhood friend via the internet, she proposed doing the project.  I thought sharing daily snap shots would be a fun and creative way to get acquainted again.  We get a peak into the 'world' the other is living in.

kerosene: We were friends in grade school, so to connect as adults seemed exciting to me, but I'm curious about the mundane. Living on different coasts, both being busy with contracts, family and life, the idea to compare daily snapshots on a blog seemed like an easy and interesting way to share. As they say: if you want something done ask a busy person.




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

forest: I have had mixed feelings about the project.  Daily postings can be trying.  I don't take things lightly (especially creative things) and probably put way too much time and thought into my photos and comments.  So at times it feels like work.  It's also a challenge when your schedule changes or you're in a completely different time zone.  However, I have really enjoyed seeing how every once in a while, we seem to be on the same wavelength with our subject matter.  A connection on a different level. 

kerosene: A year long project has been a challenge with a lull after the first few months, but it's a really great feeling getting close to the end. And doing something daily has forced me to loosen up both in subject and execution. I had hoped doing this would help us get in touch with our individual creative likes and perhaps that will happen upon reflection of the year's work. Instead the project has taught me a lot about my friend: how easy it is to work with her, to create with her, and her great sense of humour. Checking the blog for her photo is so much fun! And it's inspired my other friends to do more mundane daily tasks, like flossing teeth.





See all of their photos HERE.