daily heART

Ellen Petti in Denver, Colorado is making a daily heART...  

Why did you decide to do this project?  I was stuck in a rut of putting my creative life on the back burner.  My days fell into 2 basic  categories:  1. Chores and Responsibilities.  2. Creativity and Fun.  Creating is something I’ve always felt I could do when time allows, when I’ve finished the mundane tasks of the day, a reward of sorts.  The older I get, the more I realize it falls under a new category called What Makes me Tick, or, better, Essential Elements to Fulfillment, Peace and Happiness!   It is a Must for my mental (and probably, physical) health.  I knew that to Make Something 365 was the kick in the pants I needed to commit to creativity, rev up my artistic juices, and to grow in skill, confidence and creative thinking.  The instant I saw Noah’s Skull-A-Day,  a heart-a-day popped into my head and 3 days later with some trepidation I took the plunge.  The appeal of a heart and the simplicity of the shape seemed attractive.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? 277 days into the 365 challenge I already feel victorious!  Creating something daily takes guts, discipline, and commitment not only in making it, but thinking and planning it .  I avoided looking at Noah’s skulls so as not to be unduly influenced.  When I ran across 365: A Daily Creativity Journal in the bookstore, I caved in and quickly flipped through it, discovering www.makesomething365.com, and, caving in again, devoured the website.  The purist in me is still committed to creating original designs; I don’t go surfing for ideas.  I made a few simple rules for myself:  1.  Each day’s heart must be made that day.  Even if it’s 11:58 p.m.  No stockpiling and no skipping days!  2.  Every heart must be created, not found.  I have only one exception, the heart-shaped cloud which was such a gift I could not NOT include it!  Sometimes a small manipulation is all it takes to transform something found into a created heart.  3.  I can redo a heart if my photo turns out badly or if my heart desperately needs a refinement.  The ideas my right brain has churned out have surprised me!  My hearts have grown enormously in complexity and creativity.  I am fascinated especially at being able to visualize new and complex ideas and work out their execution in my head.  I have discovered a new inventiveness I didn’t realize I had.  After the first few months and the first 9000 temptations to quit, I have also been pleasantly surprised to find that I love the challenge, the discipline, and the happy collection which has resulted.  I no longer get scared that I won’t have an idea one day, because the more I create the more I realize there will always be another idea.  There are endless ideas.  The well never dries up.

Ellen's currently building a blog to share her hearts and you can find them as they are posted HERE.

A Heart A Day

Phoebe Berg in Brooklyn, New York is making A Heart A Day. She explains, "I quit smoking 5 years ago. To commemorate this monumental event, I am starting a yearlong art project. Starting May 1, 2011, for 365 days, each day I will create a heart and post the photograph here. There are no rules beyond that. It can be in any medium, or found, and may or may not be permanent."

Why did you decide to do this project? I heard about Skull-A-Day through my boyfriend who is friends with Noah. I thought it was a great idea, especially because I love skulls, but I didn’t think about doing it myself until I heard Noah speak about his book and the project. He talked about the benefits of creating something every day, and how it had a profound impact on his life. But what really inspired me was when he said that while he was doing this project he was excited to get up in the morning. That cinched it for me, seeing as I’ve woken up in a bad mood every morning of my life, the thought of actually be excited to wake up in the morning was huge. That night I created my blog and the very next day I posted my first heart.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Amazingly enough, today is only day 12, the affects have already been incredible. First of all I have HEARTS and remnants of hearts all over the house, little cut out pieces of magazines, letters, scrap fabric… My work area actually looks like I’ve been working in it! Also, I’ve been wanting to create an etsy site for years now but have wavered mainly because I wasn’t sure if there would be any interest. All those ideas are in my head but I have not been able to manifest them. My first heart was a hand sewn heart on a wife beater and now many of my friends want one.  The positive feedback is exactly what I needed to get the ball rolling.

I’m surprised to find that over the course of these 12 days it has become easier and easier to come up with ideas. The first day was such a struggle, kicking around ideas all day, but yesterday, the idea just came to me. Just image what day 100 will be like! But the really wonderful affect of this daily project is the feeling of accomplishment I have every day because I created something, however simple, and put it out in the world.

See all of Phoebe's hearts HERE.

daily heART Follow-Up

I'm periodically checking back in with some folks who have completed their 365 projects...

Ellen Petti finished her yearlong daily heART project on January 8th, 2012...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project?  I learned that my imagination could be stretched far beyond what I knew; how much power and possibility is in the imagination.  I also discovered that what I can visualize I can usually make happen.  I spent a lot of time thinking of new mediums or techniques to use and was mostly able to pull off a new heart along those lines.  I already knew I like detail work but doing this project really reinforced that awareness, as well as reminded me that I can be overly perfectionistic.  I had to learn to let go of that tendency and allow myself to have days when the heart just got done, good or bad.   I found I loved looking at some random thing and asking the question, "how can I make a heart out of that?" and facing the challenge of taking everyday, normal or quirky objects and mediums and manipulating them into hearts.

 
In what ways did the project change your life?  I now have more confidence in my ability to create, and to be original.  This project encouraged me to trust my instincts and believe in myself.  
 

Now what?  Publish a book of hearts!

Read Ellen's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Ellen's hearts HERE (she started the blog after her project began, so they're still being posted daily).

Heart of the Day

Anette Bäck of Skövde, Sweden is creating one heart daily in 2019 for her project Heart of the Day...

Why did you decide to do this project? A few years ago I got the book 365: A Daily Creative Journal by Noah Scalin from a dear friend. A perfect opportunity for me to challenge my creativity. In my professional life I am the head of an IT department, which is a fulfilling and challenging job in many ways and I think I'm pretty good at it. But it isn't the most creative job.

I wanted to start the project on January 1st. But... for several years I had forgotten it, but not this year. This year I started my project. I am going to continue as long as it is challenging and fun. Hopefully I will reach the finish line at December 31st. But if the "want feeling" is replaced with a "must feeling" I have promised myself to change the plan. I don't need any more musts in my life!

I chose hearts as my project for two reasons:
1. It's quite a simple shape
2. I associate it with positive feeling and hope that it will help me carry on if (or rather when) the inspiration comes. 

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have just started my project and so far I have learned that I can't bring myself to destroy books. This project is also teaching me to settle with "good enough". Normally, I am kind of a "good girl type" that always wants to do the best (preferably to perfection), but the time restraint when creating one heart every day while working and taking care of everyday stuff doesn’t leave room for perfection. It is a really valuable experience for me.See all of Anette's project on Instagram at @heartoftheday and on her site HERE

Heart A Day

Lori Mulligan in Fairport, New York a Heart A Day...

Why did you decide to do this project? I was out of a creative routine , was fresh out of inspiration and needed a kick in the pants - thought this project would solve all three.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I love knowing I have to get my brain working and create each day! ...maybe not on those' out of town late nights', I may panic slightly but I feel a sense of accomplishment once I complete the days project. I really try to make the heart each day but there have been times that even in the middle of the woods - a heart will appear - feel like I've been given a gift (this happened twice, the latest being day 35). Maybe you can always find the things you want if you're committed to them.

See all of Lori's hearts HERE.

Interview: Thomas Fuchs - A Heart A Day

Thomas Fuchs decided to create an image of a heart every day …

Why did you decide to do “Heart A Day”?

I just started at some point with a few random heart ideas, realized there's a plethora of images that just have to be created and simply kept going.

On average how much time did you spend on each piece?

On average maybe an hour.

How much/how often did you make similar creative work before this?

Many times, there's a whole bunch of similar series in my back catalog- I tend to work well in that format.

Had you tried making a yearlong project before (and if so did you complete the year and how did that experience compare)?

Not yearlong, exactly. On and off a few that stretched over a few years.

What did you expect to get from this experience and were your expectations met, surpassed, dashed? How?

I didn't really expect anything other than fun, so that expectation definitely was met.

What have you learned about yourself in the process of doing this?

That I'm inside my own head way too much, it's scary in there.

How has this process affected your creativity/skills/style?

I've definitely gotten more efficient at Illustrator/Photoshop.

How do/did you stay inspired?

By anything around me and by not trying to hard to get inspired.

In what ways did doing a yearlong project transform your life?

Having to post on the blog everyday- that seriously cuts into the beach time :)

What is the best thing that has come from doing this project?

The best thing would probably be that this particular project has opened up a few possibilities of applying my work which I hadn't really considered before.

Any advice for people considering starting their own yearlong project?
Don't overthink it.

Thomas Fuchs was born and raised in Germany. After finishing his studies in Graphic Design and Illustration at the Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart with an MfA in '97, he moved to New York in November of the same year. His work has received awards from The Society of Illustrators (Gold Medal, Advertising and Institutional Category), American Illustration, Communication Arts, Print, SPD, The Art Directors Club NY and Germany (of which he is a member) and SND (Silver Medal). He currently lives and works in New York.

www.AHeartADay.com

Heart-A-Day

Analisa Jaros in Geneva, Illinois is making a Heart-A-Day...

Why did you decide to do this project? I did this project because during the activity portion of your presentation [at Etsy] where you challenged us to make 10 shapes in 20 minutes I had so much fun!  I had one of those a-ha moments running around the house making hearts out of thumbtacks, necklace chains - I had been stuck in a real creative rut with my jewelry (I design, make and sell jewelry on Etsy) but this activity sparked my creative side, got my brain thinking outside the box and I realized this kind of project would benefit my work and my general well-being.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I'm only on day 5 but I've already learned a new craft (paper chain cutting) and I've realized how blogging about it is really going to help develop my photography skills - it's almost like a 365 photo project as well.  I have already had a project fail (my heart snowball just wasn't going to happen with brittle, dry snow) but it inspired a new idea.  I love how having this daily task makes me focus my to-do list.  It forces me to work on time management (not my strong suit) and it really pushes my brain, gives me permission to try something, attempt an art or craft I wouldn't have otherwise.  I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!

See all of Analisa's hearts HERE.

Sanne's Hearts Project

Sanne Swinkels in Helmond, The Netherlands is doing a Hearts Project...

Why did you decide to do this project? It was february this year when I decided to do something funny. Back than, I hadn't even heard of this phenomenon of 365 days projects. I just wanted to do something a whole year long, something that kept me creative. It was actually february 14, and what fits better than a heart on Valentines day? Moreover, I've loved the shape of a heart my entire life, so that's wasn't difficult. That evening I made my first picture and since than I've made more than 180 pics.

How had doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? This project has brought me so much interesting insights, for example that when you ask people for something, they love to give you that. But you do have to ask for it! Because otherwise they won't recognize your need. Because I ran out of hearts the second month, I asked my familiy and friends to help me with collecting these hearts. The result? Bags full of hearts, you can't even imagine! It took a while for everyone around me to get used to it, but nowadays I still receive postcards with hearts and even more bags of familiy and friends. Even strangers send me messages, for example some Dutch artist Sietske Ridders who had made a heart on her own window and sent me some material to make my own hart on my own window. How sweet! I also got asked for an interview on the local television show, and that call for hearts lead to so many postcards and mail, that's really amazing. 

See all of Sanne's hearts HERE.

She's also been collecting other people's 365 projects and sharing them on her site as well! Check em out HERE and see a short video she's made (in Dutch) about them HERE. 

Melissa's Heart A Day

Melissa Jander in Woodinville, Washington is making a "heART a day" and posting it to her Facebook page...

Why did you decide to do this project? I need a jumpstart in my artwork, and saw your book at the bookstore today. It looks like so much fun - I just can't resist. I've always loved and collected heart things, so I know I won't get tired of the theme. Also, I'm looking forward to posting heARTwork to my FB friends!

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  I will let you know! <3

She's not the only one making daily hearts, check out some others HERE.

Geekhearts A Day

Rebekah Lock in the UK is creating Geekhearts A Day for a year. She explains, "I’ve decided to create a heart each day based on something that inspires me that day. By this I means that if I have an idea already that I want to do – I can only do that if I combine it with a daily inspiration…for example this could be a decaying fruit, a new artist I discover or resource I find online. Alternatively I may  be instantly inspired by something I see or new media I wasn’t to experiment with."

Why did you decide to do this project? I wanted to make sure I give myself some ‘me time’ everyday and allow time to grow, learn and indulge in my passion to be creative. I get caught-up in the ‘perfections’ of my profession and I suppose this is me breaking free from the grid and playing with my inner-creative-child!

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I started seeing hearts everywhere a couple of weeks in, it felt almost obsessive but now quite natural. I’m often up late working right-up to the last few minutes in the day. I get excited about creating the ‘heart art’ every day. My greatest achievement so far is inspiring people (family, friends, people I’ve never met-just connected with online) to create hearts and send them to me…which led me to set up the ‘heart donors page’ on the blog. I’ve produced other artwork through newly discovered techniques-which I wouldn’t have done before.   

See all of Rebekah's hearts HERE.

The Sweater Project

Janda Ferris in Southern California is spending a year doing what she calls: The Sweater Project. She explains, "I am addicted to felting (or 'fulling') sweaters to upcycle them to other items such as stuffed animals, pincushions, brooches, purses, and a multitude of things with a heart shape! Since I am one of those people who overthinks and procrastinates on actually doing the projects--wanting to make them as close to perfect as possible :-/--I haven't actually made the items I have been dreaming about. Until now! Your book suggested writing a blog to keep the 365 idea going with support, encouragement, and accountability. Though I don't have many people checking into my blog it has given me somehow the on-going motivation I need to keep up every day."...

Why did I decide to do this project? I wanted to have a fire lighted under me to get myself going on making the projects I have been wanting to create. I have been THINKING for the last 2-3 years, so it was time I buckled down and started to stitch. My goal for this is to just sew my heart out and see where this leads for me. I have thought about selling my items, or writing tutorials, or teaching classes, but I am only going to let time do the work and enjoy the journey.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? My life has become so much happier. If I am doing something creative, it changes my whole approach to life. My days are more energized, enthusiastic, and there is way less non-important time-fillers than previously. I am a night owl anyway, and this just gives me a reason to have something mind-exercising to do in the evening. I find myself racing with the clock at times to get my blog written by the stroke of midnight.

I realize also how much I love to write. A few years ago I went to Alaska for a month to work with someone who raised and trained sled dogs for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Every night I sent an e-mail to family and friends about my daily adventures. That was really a blog in a more "primitive" form. That was very therapeutic for me, and I find this blogging to be that as well.

I am today on Day 30 and going strong. I feel that the blog is helping make me accountable and is keeping me on track.

See all of Janda's projects HERE.

The #griefheart Project

Anne Moss Rogers is Richmond, Virginia is creating The #griefheart project.

Why did you decide to do this project? On April 11, 2016, I started posting a heart a day to help me heal on my grief journey since my son Charles’ suicide June 5, 2015. He was 20. 

The purpose? To give suicide loss survivors like me permission to remember a loved one that died by suicide. The #griefhearts represent the state of my heart in the grief journey, a memory of my son, honor another who died by suicide, show support from others or makes a point for the purpose of suicide awareness. Others are encouraged to be part of the project and I have published guidelines. 

It’s about all of us telling our stories and allowing us to share memories of our loved ones that died by suicide. This has never been encouraged. We are allowed to speak their names without whispering, share our memories without shame or judgment and honor our own grief journey.

Learning to live without the person that was my purpose is probably the hardest part of my grief journey. After my son died, my creativity did, too. I wanted a project that honored his memory, opened up conversation about suicide because it saves lives and rekindle my own creativity to remind me that I am alive and have a purpose. I saw Noah speak at a local event about his Skull-A-Day project and it hit me that day what I needed to do. 

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have discovered so many things about others and myself. I didn’t expect the outpouring of support. I didn’t expect that others would want to honor their loved ones with a #griefheart. I didn’t expect young adults to write me and thank me for bringing attention to a topic that is often swept under the rug and ignored.

I have learned to accept help and support with grace. I have learned to accept that some days are good and some are still very hard. I have connected with others who have lost a loved one by suicide or otherwise. I have learned that I’m not always the captain of this journey.

And yes, it has rekindled my creativity. But it’s done so much more than that.

Since I started it, I have been able to complete a school program of suicide prevention for schools that is unlike any other out there. Piloting in Virginia soon.

See all of Anne's #griefhearts HERE. 

365 Days: In the Mourning

Regina Wahl in Osnabrueck, Germany is creating daily as a way to think about grief and loss in her project 365 Days: In the Mourning...

Why did you decide to do this project? It was the final day of my second Creative Sprint in October 2017. This time, I stayed relaxed and optimistic throughout the whole challenge. And this gave me the courage to do a yearlong project inspired by Noah Scalin's book 365: A Daily Creativity Journal.

People who know me weren't surprised when they heard about the theme I chose for my project. Last year I saw a printed shirt with this sentence on it: I am a mourning person. This is so right! I am a mourning person (to be honest I think everyone is). I think I always was. I cannot count the things, places, dreams and of course people that I lost in my life so far. And since I was a young girl I am interested in death and grief and their effects on people and relationships and systems. I know, this sometimes seems like a very scientific view...this is a part of my coping strategy I think: Trying to understand the incomprehensible, trying to stay in control,...all these things.

However, I always tried to not stay detached but to get closer to my own grief and to the grief of others. Two years ago I became a qualified grief counselor. I am a hospice volunteer. I made a lot of good and appreciative friends in the field of grief counseling and hospice care. It is a very supporting and caring community (like the Creative Sprinters!). I am very grateful to get to know a lot of wonderful people coping with loss. And if there is one thing I learned in recent years: Mourning and grieving and coping with loss is an art itself and we are all raw beginners...

This is my way to learn something about life. This is my way to live one year with eyes and arms and heart wide open.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  I learned a lot of things during the last months. The most important thing I learned is: There is always an idea! I feel very confident for the last couple of months that good ideas are always on hand. So far I never panicked that I can´t find anything to do.

At the beginning of this journey, I thought I´ll stick to the daily inspirations in the book for a while, see where it leads me from there and maybe work on my own prompts. But after a few weeks I learned to enjoy the daily prompts from Noah's book as what they are: on the one hand I don´t have to think about a new technique or material to work with every day. On the other hand, I am forced to leave my comfort zone and try new things – which I probably wouldn't do that often if I would have to think about something on my own (I would probably paint with water colour or pencils every day ;-)

That said, I really try to not be super rational about the prompts and projects and to avoid planning the prompts in advance (which is really hard, I love making lists and staying in control): Head AND heart AND hands and all that. But sometimes I concede myself a day of rationalizing and working with techniques and materials I am comfortable with – it´s all about balance, right?

I also learned to not have to be 100% satisfied with the outcome to post a picture of my art. I like that there is always the next day to make something better or more pointed or wittier… And that my English in the caption of a picture doesn´t have to be perfect to be understood.

During the last months I also became more courageous: Not only in terms of techniques, but also about the themes of my daily projects: Grief and death is not nice and proper and I feel it is quite liberating to share my rage and the ugly or tabooed things, too.

Well, and sometimes it is hard: The people close to me (my family and close friends) read and look at the things I do every day. And my grief is often their grief (I lost my grandparents, my parents lost their mums and dads…), which sometimes makes it very difficult for me to express what I feel: I know when they see my project, it makes them sad, too. But it is also a new way to talk about our grief! One day I draw a picture of my great aunt with soap on the mirror and captured it with “I am thinking of her so often these days!” and when my mum saw the picture, she told me: “I am also thinking a lot about her lately - I didn't know it is the same for you!”

Finally I want to share, that currently I enjoy doing the daily projects just for me. And this took me and everyone else by surprise. When I first started the “365 Days: In the Mourning”-Project my friends and family asked me: “Are you going to collaborate with others?”, “Are you going to involve people?”, “Are you planning an exhibition at the end of it?”,… And I was sure, I would do that, being sometimes very driven and a real limelight hog when it comes to doing the things I like to do and talking about the topics I am interested in. But up to today I have no need to show my art on a grand scale or to go public…And I think part of it is, that I stopped demanding such high standards of myself, which is great progress for me and took all pressure off. However, let´s see where this leads to and what other surprises are around the corner!

See all of Regina's project on Instagram at @365.days.in.the.mourning and on her site HERE.

365 Project - Birds

Julie Grimes in the United Kingdom is creating daily in 365 Project - Birds...

Why did you decide to do this project? To support my very talented daughter to get back into a more creative life which is so very important to her. I have such belief in her talents and felt she was stumbling and had lost direction after university. It seemed a small thing to do to show my total support......though it took a bit of badgering on her part to get me going.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Well in the beginning it was no small feat! Every day to produce a bird of some description,......some days it seemed just too much to try and think let alone actually create something which could be put onto my pin board .... As time has gone on I have really got into it and love being creative again, I have accepted that the finished daily bird does not need to be perfect as this is a journey back to creativity not about a polished finished daily piece. The project has stumbled periodically but through it all it was the thought of not letting my daughter down that kept me going, now we neither of us cannot believe we have reached day 200.

We have both grown from the discipline, we have leant on each other, learnt from each other and  through mutual support and encouragement we have both reignited our love of art and the creative process. My daughter, it turns out is more than a very talented artist! She has succeeded in helping me once again find my creative heart. Although Pintrest may not have been the best place to put the daily piece,  the first time one of my birds was re pinned was the most wonderful feeling ever! It was also wonderfully simple to pin birds whilst on holiday!

See all of Julie's birds HERE.