Get Unstuck in 30 Seconds with John & Sherry

My friends John & Sherry from Young House Love, who are interviewed in my upcoming book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio explain how they get unstuck in 30 seconds...

Be sure to also watch the Unstuck in 30 seconds video from Improv Everywhere's Charlie Todd.

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.

Doomer

Arthur Doomer an illustrator in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil (whose work I have previously featured on my Skull-A-Day site) is making daily drawings...

Why did you decide to do this project? I draw everyday, as my job, to have fun or, even if I don’t want to, for involutary convulsions. So I just decided to put it somewhere on the internet. Honestly, it’s really a normal thing in my daily routine and has been almost 3 years drawing everyday. It deals with matter of daily practice and discipline.

 How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Everything. Can you imagine making everyday something you really love? Your body and soul thank you. The work with illustration itself is really great. It’s about meeting interesting people, it’s about travelling and it’s about doing mysterious connections. I mean, taking a look to the illustrations on my blog, some other day, my dear friend Josh S. from Bode Preto, visualized a complete publication,  and now he’s gonna put out my 1st book through his underground label Bode Preto Records. Can’t wait to see it on paper.

See all of Doomer's drawings HERE and follow him on Twitter HERE.

Get Unstuck in 30 Seconds with Charlie Todd

My friend Charlie Todd from Improv Everywhere, who is interviewed in my upcoming book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio 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.

365 Freestyle Zentangles Project

Yvonne Kettner, a Dutch woman living in Germany, is doing a 365 freestyle zentangles project...

Why did you decide to do this project? A few months ago I saw your 365 project Skull-A-Day and I knew immediately that I wanted to do such a project by myself. I didn´t need to think long, because I really love to make black and white drawings, so I started on 1-9-2011.

I have  posted my freestyle zentangles on facebook: driehonderdvijfenzestig kunstwerken  since then.
Because I needed a URL to share my 365 project with you, I have made a Blog today and filled it with the freestyle zentangles I have made till now, 52 total.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I make a lot of art, in different categories; collages, sculpture, "Crazy hearts" and "Strange birds", to name a few and although I work on those on a regular basis I had never worked on something on a daily basis, that's something different.  It needs discipline, but after a short time I mastered that very well.

I'm surprised that it is not boring that I "must" draw every day and very surprised that I can come up with a different drawing every day!

And I reallly like the feedback I become  from everyone.

People tell me what they see in my drawings and  a musician even asked me to draw a freestyle zentangle for his CD-cover!

I love to work on my project and will go on, hopefully for a long time.

See all of Yvonne's Zentangles HERE.

And to find out more about Zentangles go HERE.

Johanna's 365 Creations

Johanna Wilk in Stockholm, Sweden is making 365 creations. She explains, "Tried to decide to do ONE thing or style, but couldn't, so now I do 'an act of art' every day. Could be anything, a drawing, painting, installation, stop-motion etc. The only criteria is that it shall not be of any function at all, no 'second meaning' than just...art-something. Art for art's sake."...

Why did you decide to do this project?  For about 3 years I have done no artistic things at all, for different reasons. All inspiration and motivation went down the drain. Couldnt find one single reason to do anything that didnt bring me money or had some ”value”, art felt just like adding to the stack of ”unusable things” that doesnt do anyone any good.

On the other hand... when I was younger, and during my life, art has been the thing I do when Im down, or up, or as a gift to people I love, or to amuse myself, or just because I have that idea, or... And now is the time to wake that in me again, in short; Thats me.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  Ok, today I'm on day 6:-) I have fun! It helps me to let go of the worst part of that inner judge that has stopped me doing this for quite a while. Which is a bit hard, 'cause ”you get good at what youre doing” – and I havent done any drawing or painting for a looong time.... But the only focus now is to get it done, what, how or level of achievement is totaly irrelevent. And that will most certanly do something with me – after 365 days!

See all of Johanna's creations HERE.

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.

Swirly Doodles

Ashley in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is doing a year of Swirly Doodles and explains "this is a simple project that is just small drawings that swirl back and forth between themselves. Each doodle starts with an almond-shaped base in the center and expands from there using parallel lines. They are always symmetrical, either bilaterally or radially."

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project mostly as a motivational tool, and to see if I could keep it going as an indication of whether or not I'm mentally prepared to tackle a more time intensive project I have an idea for.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Since this is a rather simple project it really hasn't affected my life. I can usually multitask well enough, and each doodle only takes a maximum of 3-4 hours if I'm not giving it my full concentration. A few times I've come down to the wire and had to whip up something I wasn't particularly proud of, and those have sometimes kept me awake a little longer than I might have stayed up normally with college classes in the morning, but over all I'd say it's been a low impact and enjoyable experience. I think so far I am going to proceed with my other project idea starting on January 1st. I don't think the overlap in ideas will cause too much trouble since as I said before, this is rather low impact and simplistic in comparison.

See all of Ashley's doodles HERE.

A Butterfly A Day Keeps The Boredom At Bay

Emme Roberts a student at Bangor University in Bangor, Wales, UK is doing a project inspired by my book that she calls A Butterfly A Day Keeps The Boredom At Bay...

Why did you decide to do this project I decided to this this project as i am currently a third year history undergraduate and found that i was lacking in a creative outlet. I have always loved arts and crafts but have not felt able to do any in the past 2 years. I discovered your book whilst looking for 5 year journals and am very happy that i did.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  As i have not been doing the project long I cannot tell how much this has affected my life, however so far it has made me feel more enthused about life and about my university work. I want to get my reading done for the day so that i can complete that days challenge, it gives me something else to think about instead of stressing about exams and essays. It also has given me a reason to get out of the house/library occasionly to find inspiration, materials, or even to complete the challenge (I am on day 4 today and will be going out for a walk later). I have really enjoyed the thrill of thinking creatively again and am very grateful for your book and for all the links to other peoples challenges on your website.

See all of Emme's butterflies 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. 

Wild Animal Flowers

Elena Watts (the daughter of yesterday's featured 365er Luke Payne!) in Cary, North Carolina is doing a daily poetry project she calls Wild Animal Flowers...

Untitled Thirteen


I’m moving from universe to universe,
and each one swirls around me,
and there’s little for me to do but watch.
People are strange,
I’m reminded everyday.
Because they formed these worlds,
and what ever the great plan was they formed in their minds,
I’d love to know.
They are structured, hectic, violent, and gray.
They are wild, inventive, and misshapen.
And they are everywhere.

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because my dad was talking about doing it, and talking about the elements of it that made him nervous. And I first I was like, oh, no it wouldn't scare me to post a poem or something on Facebook where all my friends could read it, and I just thought the only hard thing about the project would be to make yourself do something every single day. But I think maybe a part of me knew just how wrong I was, because I felt the urge to try to put my money where my mouth was. So that's why I'm doing this challenge, plus it's fun.

Free Time


May be a little overrated,
because, really, how many of us use it well?

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I think the biggest way in which this project has affected my life is how much more aware I am of everything around me, and also all the things that run thought my mind. Now I go through my life aware of everything and anything that could inspire me. Even something as simple as noticing how lovely the leaves of an oak tree are the for the first time, in passing, I catch myself doing. And then it gets my brain going, and I start writing the poem in my head, and then I get so exited to get on my computer and bring it to life. Also, I think I relate to people differently too, a little bit. I'm still in grade school, and until this year I've never had any serious extra circulars, so people would ask me what kind of things I'm into, and I would never really know what to say. I've got hobbies, but I've always had a lot, and had never been super serious about any of them. But now I have something to say, now I can tell them that today I'll be writing my ninety-fourth poem.

Theatre


I think it’s all in the glasses,
or maybe the hair,
I’m not sure.
Either way,
I’m enjoying the show.

Read all of Elena's poetry HERE.

LukePayneMusic

Luke Payne in Winston Salem, North Carolina is spending a year making music videos in lukepaynemusic...  

Why did you decide to do this project? I wanted to see what I could learn from it.  Posting videos was scary at first.  I feared being judged.  I wanted to overcome that fear.  I also wanted to get a clearer picture of who I am as an artist, what my strengths and weaknesses are, etc.  I decided that collecting all this data would empower me as I go forward, that I'd make better choices as a result of being better informed.  I also wanted to give the universe a chance to experience my work.  If not now, then when?  I also thought having to meet all these short term might help me get organized.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? The fear is more or less gone, and that is liberating.  I do not always have time to create things that I am thrilled with, but I do find that I can always come up with something that I feel is worth sharing.  The well is deep.  I don't think it will ever run dry.  This project has given me a stronger conviction that creating is really simply a matter of making time to create.  No more, no less.  I have learned a lot about making videos.  I am getting a picture of where I have been, what things I have gathered over the years, and how they have coalesced to make me into the artist I now am.

See all of Luke's videos HERE.

Kreativitetskalendern!

I recently got a copy of Swedish edition of 365: A Daily Creativity Journal! It's called: Kreativitetskalendern: 365 sätt att förändra ditt liv...

This is the first time I've seen one of my books translated to another language and it's a delightfully odd experience! Hopefully I make sense in Swedish.

If you happen to be a Swedish speaker I hope you'll pick up a copy, it appears you can find it in many online bookstores and I'm sure your local bookstores can order it for you as well.

Now I'm just waiting to see the Chinese edition!

365 Days of Star-Gazing

Lena Josfeld from "mostly" Jena in Germany is doing 365 Days of Star-Gazing...

Why did you decide to do this project? Lately, I have felt a great urge to be creative in some way, but no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to work for me. In times like that, at some point, my brain always discovers the 'emergency switch' - and once more, like so many times before, the idea surfaced to start a long-time project. (To tell the truth, I was not very enthusiastic about it, then.)

I spent some time pondering different subjects for this project, many of them sounding quite fancy: I liked the subjects as such, but they didn't exactly trigger creativity. Then I thought of stars. And I thought what a boring, predictable subject that was. Until my brain suddenly started working on ist own accord and bombarded me with ideas, keeping me awake until 3 in the morning. For some reason, those stars got me really excited and I was completely taken. I didn't ask why. I simply accepted the challenge.

Later, I found some very good reasons why I should pick stars as my constant companions for the next year. Here are some:

• It's a subject that may be simple enough to make it possible for me to work on it every day for an entire year.
• It also offers a lot of possibilities to make this challenging and creative for when I feel like it (and when I find the time - full-time university student, me).
• I have actually been interested in stars (those real shining objects out in the night sky) for years which even got me to learn some physics along the way.
• They are always there - whether we see them or not. I like to be reminded of that.
• Then again, many stars are not there anymore. What we see is really a window to the past. - Also a very interesting notion.
• You cannot have sunshine in your life every single day. But how about a little more starshine? After all, there isn't much of a difference.
• There seems to be no limit. No human mind could possibly conceive the limit of the number of stars out there - should there be one at all.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? With a whole lot of excitement! There are moments when I cannot sit still, I just have to work on it. On the other hand, I'm beginning to relax more and not be as perfectionist about my work as before - which is a good thing! And I'm just getting started...
 

What I really love about this challenge is how many different and new techinques I can try now - and I don't have to spend hours wondering what exactly I'm going to make using these techniques.

See all of Lena's stars HERE.