Sheila365

Sheila in Austin is documenting her life daily in Sheila365...

Why did you decide to do this project? I had this moment where I came up for air from my never-ending, busy schedule to realize I was 40 something and that days and weeks are simply flying by and I can't stop them.   I wanted to pause long enough to capture and reflect on one moment from each day.  With this, Sheila365 was born:

I’m struck by almost daily reminders that my life is passing by much too quickly. It is food for the soul to stop and savor moments spent amongst friends, family, natural beauty and even necessary moments of solitude. These moments collectively serve as my source of joy, laughter, love, sadness, wonder and appreciation for all that I have in my life. This photo blog is my journey to record a moment from each day in a year of my life. 

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It's been FUN, rewarding, inspiring and motivating, all at the same time.  At first I started it and didn't tell anyone.  Over time I told family and friends and have enjoyed interacting with other bloggers that I encounter online.  The Wordpress site made it incredibly easy to get started.   I know lots of people start a 365 photo blog with the goal of honing their photography skills.  That wasn't my primary objective, but I have really enjoyed learning about my camera as I use it every day.  I have learned about photo editors.  I have learned about photo-challenge meme's.  I even got my own domain name somewhere along the line (I KNOW!?).  I'm pretty sure that when I'm done with this challenge, I will buy a fancy-dancy camera to enjoy and experiment with.  And I will definitely keep blogging.

I'm proud that I have stuck with it.  And though some days' posts are ho-hum, there are some that I enjoying going back over from time to time.

See all of Sheila's days documented HERE.

Looks Good From The Back

My friend Adrien Hamilton in Richmond, Virginia is working with her friend Marianne Canada, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, to document their daily fashion choices in Looks Good From The Back. She says, "We both decided to rage against the style bloggers who're always picture perfect and bring a little real-life style into the mix. We don't do coy poses, pigeon toes, or Photoshop out our flaws."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I started for a few reasons: The first, my personal blog was starting to feel a bit boring. Second, I was already taking photos of my outfits of the day (aka OOTD) and posting them on a fashion forum, a trend that I love. I wanted to be able to document them in a better way. Third, it seemed like a fun collaborative project to create with my friend Marianne, who I only get to see once a year. We were emailing each other constantly about fashion/clothes/outfits anyway, so we thought we might as well channel that into a real project.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Well, it tends to make me run late every single morning, but so far no speeding tickets! Mostly, I had no idea how often I was wearing the exact same thing over and over again until I was forced to be creative. I also learned really quickly what makes for a good photograph. My initial efforts were very, very bad.

See all of Adrien & Marianne's outfits HERE.

365 Days | 365 Creations

Morgan Chonis in Tempe, Arizona is making something every day in 365 Days | 365 Creations...

Why did you decide to do this project? As a recent graduate of photography school, I have done a lot of reflecting. One of the main things that I have a desire for is to experiment with things that I didn't get to in school. I came across this book and decided that it was the perfect solution and perfect plan for the new year. I have decided that my only goal for 2011 is to make something everyday. It doesn't have to be anything beautiful or wonderful - just make something. I have accepted ahead of time that this will not be a process of creating masterpieces! It is to experiment, it is to create, it is to have FUN! I will be posting the process on my blog and if you happen to be stumbling across this, I welcome any feedback. I understand that some days will be harder than others, but as the book states, I will do the best I can. After all, this isn't for a grade! Boy am I excited to say that!!

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Well I am only in my first month and I am completely in love. This is the best idea. As a photographer, I have never thought I was good at drawing, but it has actually been really exciting to see that most of the ideas I have are to draw. I have a lot of great ideas for the coming months and of course am also using the book for inspiration! It has definitely been entertaining for me thus far!

See all of Morgan's creations HERE.

A Face a Day

Robin Selby in Richmond, Virginia is making A Face a Day...  
    

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do the project because I have been feeling blocked creatively and couldn't force myself to go to my studio.  So, I felt that a commitment was exactly what I needed.  I ordered the book months ago and bought a groupon coupon for our local Visual Arts Center.

The book arrived and the expiration date for the class coupon was upon me, so I enrolled in a class and began my year long journey. 


As a psychotherapist I see lots of faces each day.  An endless source of inspiration. I have been drawing faces since I was a child, so it seemed a natural choice.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am on day four and already I find myself more alive, excited and scared!  I am carving out hours of my day in either the process of creating, or dreaming and scheming what face is next.  I have been posting my creations on my Facebook page and am getting lots of encouragement.  I am trying to get together others to share this journey with me.  I feel a little lonely in this but hope that over the next 361 days a community will grow.  If not I love feeling this alive!!

See all of Robin's faces on Facebook HERE.

Things that were Good

Chris Hopf in Harper, Texas is documenting Things that were Good for 365 days...

Why did you decide to do this project?  Plenty of places document the bad things that happen in a day. Here we celebrate the good things through photos, art, video, writing, and whatever else might be handy.

This project started in my journal about six months ago.  I found I was writing about the bad things that happen to me way too much.  That helped to get things off my chest, but I felt there needed to be some kind of balance.  So I started making a list of about 5 things each day that were good, then I started incorporating drawings or other kinds of art that had to do with them.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I made the blog in hopes of other people contributing and getting positive effects from giving attention to the positive things in their life, but I'm also using it to encourage and expand my creativity – a very welcome side effect.

Read about all of good things Chris has experienced HERE.

Photo A Food A Day

Fran Smith in Richmond, Virginia has made Photo A Food A Day her project for a year...

Why did you decide to do this project? Read your book, liked your philosophy, thought a break from my work related blog postings and various academic tasks would offer a nice (and creative) break.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I've had some followers and that seems to grow :) I've found that some days it is a delight to carve out time for this and on other days it can be a burden if I have too much to do. However, I believe that making time for creative expression is very important for us all and am committed to keeping to this task!

See what food Fran has been photographing on her site HERE.

Freehand Profit likes 365

Check out the lovely review of 365: A Daily Creativity Journal from fellow 365er Freehand Profit...

Read the entire review HERE.

365 Faces

Kaylee Moss in Deer Park, Washington is making 365 Faces...

Why did you decide to do this project? One of my new years resolutions was to make more time for art. I was hoping to find some sort of online group to join, or just something to keep me motivated. I accidentally came across a blog post on Etsy about your skull-a-day project and book 365: A Daily Creativity Journal. It was exactly what I needed! I was so inspired that I immediately started a blog and project called 365 days of creativity, which quickly turned into 365 Faces.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It has been so awesome to make art a priority! As an adult, and especially since I've become a mom, it seems that there are so many responsibilities to take care of that there really isn't enough time to create. This project has allowed me to give myself time to do what I love, which feels amazing and makes me really happy. I'm also excited to see how my abilities and creativity develop throughout the next year.

See all of Kaylee's faces HERE.

365 Dolls

Darlene Cumbe'Ramirez in Florida is "taking time out to play dolls whether looking for new ones, reading about old ones, dressing, or making clothes" for a year in 365 Dolls...

Why did you decide to do this project?  I decided to do this project because in the past I have had a hard time balancing what I wanted to do, with what I had to do and often gave up my personal time to help or enable others.  Picking this theme was simple, as I am the only female in the house. 

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? So far giving myself time for me has helped me be there for others.  Not just physically but meaningfully able to interact and create a better awareness of purposeful interaction with others.

Read about all of Darlene's playtime HERE.

Neenah Likes 365

Neenah Paper featured an interview with me on their Against The Grain blog...

Read the entire article HERE.

Project 365

Mel Arrington in Redding, Connecticut is following the prompts in my book for Project 365...

Why did you decide to do this project? My daughter gave me this book for Xmas. She thought it was right up my alley, as I am all over the place creatively. AND I was already on a mission to live more creatively, and to make use of the 15415445 craft supplies I already have. I was already blogging about THAT and when I embarked on this project, some of my friends suggested I do a blog on THAT.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Sometimes I have trouble finishing a task. So this is cool, I have one to complete per day.

See how Mel's year is progressing HERE.

Sneak Preview: 365 Merit Badge

Just got these in the mail today and wanted to give you a sneak preview! Details on how to get your own soon...

Find out more about Nerd Merit Badges HERE.

[UPDATE: Giveaway details can be found HERE]

Creative Fusion of Tarot and Verse

Kelly St. Claire here in Richmond, Virginia is doing 365 Days of Tarot and Verse. Which she says is, "A dynamic marriage of Tarot and verse. Every day, for 365 days, I will choose a card, or a card will choose me, and I will use the image in a photograph. I will then create a short Haiku or verse to match both the card, and to offer a snapshot of my life that day as expressed through the lens of my camera, and the Tarot."...

Why did you decide to do this project?  I love writing, and I love the Tarot.   The reason I decided to do a 365 project was that I saw it offered me the opportunity to merge two of the things I am passionate about, to create something new and dynamic



How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It has just begun, but so far, it has stocked my creative pond with a seemingly endless supply of fish!  I can see that by doing even a little bit each day, it keeps the vein tapped, so I am more available for my other projects.   I also want to mention that this whole act of joining others who are all a part of the same project/movement builds community, the kind I want to be a part of. One that is brimming with people who are supportive of and celebrate each other rather than competing against each other.

See how Kelly's year has fused HERE.

What Will It Be Today?

Kate Civiero and her friends in Ontario & Winnipeg, Canada and Barbados are making a yearlong project called What Will It Be Today?. She says, "We actually rarely see one another (and a few of us haven't even met before) but we're all feeding off the creativity of eachother!"...

Why did you decide to do this project? Personally, I decided to do this simply because I needed an alternative outlet for my creativity.  I am a glassblower, and I used to sketch and draw a great deal, but over the years, I find that I now work through a lot of my creative process while in the glass studio, instead of hashing out my ideas on paper.  However, instead of drawing glass objects every day, I wanted to give myself the freedom to draw whatever I wanted, as long as it has nothing to do whatsoever with my main medium of glass!  The only guidelines I am following is that I use a post-it note, a marker pen and my John Bull Printing Outfit No. 12 Stamp Set!

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  By doing this, I have been coming up with tons of new ideas in the glass studio, simply by giving myself the time and the freedom to be creative outside my normal realm of being a glass artist.  It's really interesting to see how some of the post-it drawings are translating themselves to my glass.  I'm planning to post some of the glass I'm making as well on our blog as it gets finished.

A selection of images from the other participants...

See what it will be today on their blog HERE.

My Shoes of The Day

Susan Bryan in San Francisco is photographing her shoes for a year in My Shoes of The Day...

Why did you decide to do this project?  I love shoes have a lot of them. This started out as just something silly to put on Facebook. I started posting them as "Shoe of the day" and have been doing it everyday since October 21, 2010.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? A few friends have given me shoes after seeing the posts - and that makes me happy - a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes. I have discovered that several of my friends also have shoe and/or foot fetishes. And then there have been some interesting propositions here and there. I am curious to see where this will go.

 I feel more and more compelled to try and make this last for an entire year but don't know if I can pull it off.

See all of Susan's shoes HERE.

365 Days of Craft

Bronwyn Bowerman in Melbourne, Australia is doing 365 Days of Craft...

Why did you decide to do this project?  due the desire to be more creative. I work full-time as a clothing designer (and have done for 5 years) for very commercial fashion labels such as "Mossimo", "No Fear" and various licensed clothing labels. Although the work is good, it is not very creative. I guess most people would think that working as a "fashion designer" sounds like an extremely creative and glamorous job! the reality is designing for commercial companies is very creatively restrictive. Companies want to copy what is happening "overseas" or what is selling in a higher end sector of the market, interpreting that into their own label.

My other incentive is that hopefully this will lead me towards a form of work where I can be more creative (and paid well enough to pay the mortgage!) perhaps i will go on to teach craft classes? write a book? be paid to do a blog?? have an column in a newspaper or magazine??? hmmm maybe all of the above would be nice HA HA HA (just "putting it out to the universe" as my aunty jude would say!)

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? so far it has caused abit of chaos after work... my house is certainly messier... but I am starting to get more organised and think ahead. I also find throughout the day I am constantly thinking more creatively, looking at every object in the home or workplace considering how I could reinvent it, recycle it or recreate it. I have made it to the 2 week mark and I am excited to see what the next 50 weeks bring.

See all of Bronwyn's crafts HERE.

In-Animate-Me

Illustrating Rain in the UK is documenting 365 inanimate objects in a variety of techniques and calling it In-Animate-Me...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to partake in the project because it was an ideal way to obliterate any space for excuses why something creative hadn't been done in a day.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am fresh in and four days strong and even now I can see how without the commitment it is so easy to make sure you do everything under the sun, other then what you really want to do. So it is making me prioritise what I love doing which can only lead to good!

See all of Illustrating Rains's objects HERE.

Eat More Bikes

Nathan Bulmer in Brooklyn, New York says, "I enjoy entertaining people and making them laugh. So, I create a new theme every week and try to do a humorous drawing or comic around that. Monday through Friday I’ll do a drawing based off of the theme. Saturday is a ‘whatever comes to mind’ kind of day for drawing. And on Sundays I post a song and a drawing based on it."  His project is called: Eat More Bikes...

Why did you decide to do this project? When I was in school I was drawing and working on my comics every single day. Part of this was because I knew there were deadlines I had to keep. And knowing that some of my veg-out tendencies were waiting for me once I got out of school, I decided I needed to create some of my own deadlines.

The daily blog has been perfect and it ensures that I am putting pencil to paper every single day and coming up with new concepts constantly. I feel obligated enough to post to it that it feels like a real deadline.

I know the term deadline makes it seem like a daunting task, but it isn’t, I swear! I love drawing and creating new work and wracking my brain for new ideas.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It’s helped me arrive later to events and spend less time hanging out with my girlfriend. Which is great?

It’s been interesting trying to find ways to lay out the course of a day around making sure I get something posted, especially if I’m travelling. I tend to do my work the same day I post it and don’t really have a back log of stuff, which has left me in a couple pickles already.

Needing new material daily has forced me to keep better track of my ideas. I try to write my thoughts down places now since I know I’ll have to fill up hundreds more days with ideas and themes. I’ve also become more aware of the things I learn and conversations I have, as they are rich sources of material.

See all of Nathan's drawings on his site HERE.