A Diario // Daily Hand lettering

Laura Páez in Bogotá, Colombia is creating A Diario // Daily Hand lettering. She explains, "As a designer I feel that every day I have to push my creativity, drawing letters is one way. Every day, no matter how busy I am, I draw letters with inspiring words, or songs. This project help me to relax before I go to bed."

Why did you decide to do this project? I found the book one day when I was stuck on the same idea, so I start making exercises and because of my love for Typography, Calligraphy and lettering, I decided to draw letters every day, to get practice and be better every day, I know at the end of this year, my lettering will be better than the first day.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It has been a great experience, because I start to share it on Instagram, and I receive a lot of likes and comments that I never imagine, then I shared it with my friends making a blog. I had to stop for a while because God give me the news I was waiting for: my pregnancy, so i was really busy between working, doctor appointments, and sleeping :) I opened a new instagram account just for the project (adiario) because it seems to be the easiest way to share it online. This project will become in something else...

See all of Laura's Lettering HERE.

365 Dresses Follow-Up

Jeannie Crockett finished her yearlong daily project 365 Dresses on January 27, 2013...

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

1. Doing something every day builds skill, and inspired my creativity. Pleasing myself was more satisfying than trying to please others. I resolved to not take ideas other suggested, as I wanted this to be completely my creativity in action. (I made one exception to this when a friend suggested I create a maternity dress. And I liked it! 
2. Time involved in making the dress was not directly related to my satisfaction with the posted dress. Sometimes the quickest pleased me the most.
3. Ideas generate more ideas. I considered going for an even 1,000 but decided to pursue other directions instead. I still think about little dresses, and the temptation to create more of the same is strong.
4. Recognition and praise are addicting and terrifying. I was featured on some other blogs, and even in a hard-copy magazine. It blows my mind that with little to no effort on my part, my blog was looked at nearly a 100,000 times. 
5. A little glitz makes me happy. Maybe I need to glitz up my life a little bit.
6. Every dress gave me ideas for other projects. 
7. 366 is a lot of little dresses! Mounted on 5.5" x 7.5" cardstock they take up a lot of physical space!
8. Blogging about a commitment is a great motivator. There was no way I was going to let my blog friends down! Moving from Baltimore to Paris in the middle of the project was a big challenge. It was the only time I made dresses ahead of time, and I did two weeks ahead before we moved. When I discovered I'd left a bag of ribbon and trim pieces out of my luggage, I nearly quit. However, a dear friend sent me a care package and the pieces in there lifted my motivation again. Near the end, I thought about quitting. Sort of like hitting the wall in a marathon, I think. But I couldn't quit. Not that close to the end! So I carried on. 

In what ways did the project change your life? Doing the project changed the meaning of "happy hour." Happy hour was the time each day when I made my dress. The project also made me more creative, more observant, and more tolerant of variances---by that I mean that I realized that every dress was NOT going to be the best ever!

Now what? Well, I presented my project and what I learned to a work group last week. The reception of my dresses and the recognition and appreciation were quite gratifying. I have another speaking (paid!) engagement in England at the end of February, and another back in the States when I return. I'm writing a magazine article presenting the idea that these little dresses are a better design tool than sketches to try out ideas and combination. A book? Yes, I think so. Other products? Well, cards are obvious. How about fabric? These days it is possible to design and print your own fabric. Lots of other ideas.

Read Jeannie's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Jeannie's dresses HERE.

Book 365

Amy Morse an Artist and Writer based in Bristol UK is doing a project called Book 365.

Why did you decide to do this project?  I made a commitment to myself to do something creative every day and it was friend who is doing a 365 project on boats that inspired me.  All I needed then was a theme.  I chose 'books' because as a writer, it combined my passion for art and writing rather neatly and also gave me permission just to play.

The first book I cannibalised for the project was from a charity shop, but still, taking apart a book did feel criminal.  I have a quiet reverence for books, in themselves they are an object of beauty and satisfaction, their smell, feel and texture, they are a gift you can open again and again - but once I took craft knife to paper I had crossed that line and there was no stopping me.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I started it on 1st January, it seemed fitting to do it over a calendar year and sat well with the new years resolution to be more creative.  So far, I've not had any difficulty making myself do it, in fact, I have neglected other things in the spirit of my creative discoveries, if anything, I have to discipline myself not to make a meal of it at the expense of getting other things done. 

My second piece was an art journal and I carry it around with me and jot down my ideas so that if I ever do get stuck for inspiration, I have a reference point (although so far I've not got stuck, if anything, I've struggled to decide what to do next!).  Where possible I am trying make things that have a practical purpose.

See all of Amy's books HERE.


 

Jag's 365 Illustrations Follow-up

Jag Nagra completed her year long 365 Illustrations project on January 28, 2013...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? I think with some more practice in illustration, I'll be able to convincingly call myself an Illustrator.  That's basically what this project set out to do…challenge myself in something I didn't know how to do before.  I had only very briefly dabbled in illustration in the past, and I was fascinated with trying to break things down into their simplest forms.  How few geometric shapes does it take for something to be recognizable?  That's what I set out to discover every day.

In what ways did the project change your life? One of the most important things that I will take away from this project is that I learned how important self-intiated projects are.  It's so easy to get caught up in your day job, and you end up feeling like your creativity is sometimes muddled.  This was a really important experiment for me, and I was able to create and develop my own unique style, and got to see what my voice is as a designer.  It also taught me a lot about commitment.  It wasn't easy working on this each and every day, but especially since there was an internet audience out there, I couldn't stop half way through despite how challenging it was.  It was worth it in the end, now that I see the full series.

Now what? Well, I don't think I'll be starting another 365 project anytime soon, ha!  I think there is opportunity for that in the future, but for now, my goal for this year's self-initiated project is to complete a cookbook of my mom's Indian recipes.  I started it last year, but didn't have a lot of time to dedicate it, so it's just sitting on the back burners right now.  But I will be designing the book, writing out her recipes, and taking photos of her dishes.  I also plan to include lots of illustrations in it.  I want it to be something that would look as good on your coffee table, as it would on the kitchen counter. She's an amazing cook, and I think it's important to document and honour her recipes.  You should try her Pakoras :)

Read Jag's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Jag's 365 illustrations on her site HERE and in this video...

Jenny's 365 Day Project

Jenny Eggers in Ocala, Florida is doing a 365 day photography project...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to start this project as a challenge to myself as a photographer. I am hoping to grow my skills.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I'm only on Day 34, but I have found that I am able to make time in my day for this project. I thought that it would be more difficult to find the time, but when you do something that you love, you make a way for it to fit in. Also, my confidence is growing as part of this project. As a result, I am putting myself out there for constructive criticism on various photography sites…something that I only THOUGHT of doing before. I'm feeling very good about it and am excited to move forward each day!

See all of Jenny's photography HERE.

365 Names Follow-up

Lauren in Canada completed her 365 Names project after 366 days on January 31, 2013! She says, "I still cannot believe that I managed to make it through all 366 days and had a different name every single day! I still have ideas on my original list that never got made!"

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? I've learned that creativity is endless. Even though there were many days that I struggled with a new fresh idea and had to resort to something a little "less" creative, I still did something different each day. About half way through the project I also decided that, as a huge CFL fan, I would create a Winnipeg Blue Bombers-themed name on every game day in honour of the team. Creating a total of 20 football-related names was not easy! I loved that it pushed my creativity in another new way! This project has made me look for new ideas in the strangest of places.

In what ways did the project change your life? Well, I don't like the name "Lauren" anymore. Kidding! :) I began this project as a way to appreciate my birth name and learn to love it in a way that, I guess, my parents had always intended me. I love my name even more now. I love seeing it on book jackets, movie credits or those keychains that you find in souvenir shops! This project also taught me that I really do have the capacity to be committed to a project like this. I never thought it would be possible because I'd attempted 365-projects before but this one I was passionate about and it just worked.

Now what? Now, it is time to take a break from creating "Laurens" every day! I loved it but these last two months have really stretched me and pushed my creativity and I need to focus my creativity on other projects that I have going. I'd love to take on something like this again--I just need to find an idea that I'm passionate about. In the meantime, I'm working on my Project Life album that I began on January 1 and am looking forward to putting in a little more time and creativity into it now that my {365}Names project is complete. This was an absolutely amazing experience and one that I would highly recommend to anyone needing the challenge!

Read Lauren's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Lauren's names HERE.

Love One Another Follow-Up

Cathryn spent all of 2012 sharing the message "Love One Another"....

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? One of the biggest lessons and purposes of this project was discipline. It's not easy to be creative on demand especially after a busy day and you want nothing more than to relax. They weren't all masterpieces, but I accomplished my goal of making something everyday and I'd like to think I helped someone.

In what ways did the project change your life? I was able to connect with other artists online who were doing their own projects and I thought it was great how supportive people were of each other. I hope to continue making connections with other like-minded people and using my experiences to reach out to others in need of encouragement and inspiration.

Now what? Now, I'm trying to focus on building up my portfolio and coming up with some cool and interesting blog posts some of which will incorporate this message.

 
Read the Cathryn's original 365 post HERE. 



See all of Cathryn's posts HERE.

Illustrations365

Kelly Canby in Perth, Western Australia made a year's worth of art in Illustrations365...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because I felt a little bit like I was disappearing. I've always been a creative person, I was a graphic designer for many years and I painted/illustrated in my spare time. When our son was born in 2010 my focus started to become all about sleep times and routines and poopy nappies and burp cloths and pureeing food and the other million things involved with having a baby … I decided I wanted my son to grow up knowing that I'm more than just a pretty fab mum and that, although he is my main priority, there are other things I can do quite well too. He has basically done this 365 project with me as when I painted, he painted, when I drew, he drew, so its been fun for both of us and I no longer feel like I'm losing a big part of what made me who I am.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It has affected my life in SO many ways! For one, I learnt a whole lot more about being disciplined. Discipline was never really one of my strong points. I learnt how to blog, thats been pretty cool. I discovered that I do actually have an illustration style of my own, which is huge because I went into this project feeling as though I was the only artist on the planet that had no distinctive style, and as a result I've become more confident in my work and I really feel as though I "own" the stuff that I do now. I wrote a book too! Kind of. For years and years I dreamed of writing and illustrating a children's book and over the course of the last year I've been able to develop a character and write some words. Now that my daily project has ended I'm going to put all my effort into getting the story and pictures as perfect as I can and then (keep your fingers crossed for me), I'll try my luck with some children's book publishers. What else? Oh! A whole new world has been opened up to me this year. That's exciting. I discovered artists and illustrators that I never knew existed, then through them I discovered even more artists and illustrators that I never knew existed! I've been inspired almost daily because of them and I even signed up and became a member of SCBWI Australia (The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). Without a doubt, this last year has really put me on a path that I've wanted to jump on for a very long time, all because of my 365 Illustration project, really.

All up this is probably the most creative year I've ever had, including the years I spent studying art and design, because I was just living it. Everything I did became more creative, seriously, the food I cooked looked prettier, the places I went to were more interesting and my ideas just seemed ...bigger.  I can't imagine not living the way that I live now, and the best part about that is that my son is in for some great fun times!

See all of Kelly's illustrations HERE.

Julie's Daily Project Follow-Up

Julie Thomas spent all of 2012 creating a collaborative daily project with her daughter (who started the project at 1 1/2 and is now 2 1/2)...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? In doing our star project, there were so many teaching/learning moments. I was able to teach my daughter a vast array of things, such as shapes, colors, painting, as well as things like creativity, and committing and finishing a long term goal.

In what ways did the project change your life? The project encouraged creativity in both myself and my daughter. For me it pushed my creativity in coming up with the daily projects, and for her it was in actually performing/making the projects. It inspired us to do things that we otherwise would not have and we spent wonderful time together doing it. It was a blast! My little girl also met her now best friend on Day 78 when the book idea was "Make something and give it to a stranger." We made a star wand and gave it to her. They have been friends ever since. How amazing is that!

Now what? Now we continue to do projects (okay, maybe not daily). Perhaps we will repeat the year long project when she is older and see what new things we come up with.

Read Julie's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Julie's projects HERE.

365 Days of Pattern

Lacey Volk in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania creating 365 Days of Pattern...

Why did you decide to do this project? I was really inspired by Lisa Congdon's 365 Days of Hand Lettering on her blog, Today is Going to be Awesome. I used to draw every day and fill sketchbooks up with regularity, and the past few years had been pretty void of that. I was in a place where I thought, well, it's never going to amount to anything so you should be spending your time on other things. In 2012, I spent a lot of time feeling busy, overworked, and stressed, and I just realized that it wasn't working for me and I really wanted to push myself to get back into the creative habit

I've always been drawn to doodling patterns and as both a knitter and quilter I think about them a lot. I've often wanted to setup a small screenprinting operation in our basement to print fabric patterns, but just could never justify the start-up expense without a clear backlog of ideas. I decided to blend all of these things together and embark on a project to produce a pattern repeat in each day of 2013.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? The biggest thing I've noticed so far, at just 1 month in, is that it makes me feel as if there are more hours in the day. Something about being able to produce something tangible each day just makes it feel like it's possible to do even more. Usually I only have 30 or 45 minutes to finish a piece, so I have to think about it ahead of time and do a bit of planning. When I do have extra time, I can easily spend a couple of hours or more working on it (or re-drawing the same piece over and over until it's just right).

I've also learned that not every day produces a polished piece of work that I'm proud of, and that's totally OK. Ideally I'd have everything "finished" to the point where it's a seamless, repeatable design – but in reality, I don't have the time or technology on hand to make that happen. The first week or two I wasn't really happy about that, but I've gotten more comfortable with the idea of this being a sort of sketchbook and an ongoing process of idea generation.

See all of Lacey's Patterns HERE.

Tender Hearts

Sadie Ussery in Iowa is helping to bring awareness to eating disorders and working on prevention as part of her yearlong project Tender Hearts...

Why did you decide to do this project? I had the book for quite awhile. Being a mom of 5 girls I find it hard to use my creative side. Normally my creativeness is trying to figure out a new way to make Mac and Cheese. I really wanted to be able to use it for my blog and find a way to help moms reach out to their daughters. I use most of the prompts to make something with my girls. They love being able to create with me and I love getting my creative mind working again!

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? So far I have learned that I shouldn't limit myself and that there is always something new I can learn from my daughters. At first I was thinking that it would be easier to do the project by myself (And honestly it probably would be) but doing it with my daughters brings up conversations and questions that get me thinking. Everyday has been full of deep meaningful honest questions that help me know how I can help them better. Having struggled from an eating disorder I want to prevent them from struggling and this project has really made that possible!

See all of Sadie's Tender Hearts HERE.

Uma mandala por dia - One mandala per day

Cândida Campos, a graphic designer in Portugal is making Uma mandala por dia - One mandala per day.

Why did you decide to do this project? In early November a friend showed me your 365 site and suggested i could do a mandala per day. And without thinking it to much, i dived into it. Although at the time it wasn't a rational decision, I realized this is an amazing creativity exercise. I took the challenge exactly to get unstuck. My criativity was a bit lost in the last years and i've decided to do something about it.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? This is a daily challenge. I have kids, work to do, a house to take care. Sometimes i have a previous idea I want to develop. Sometimes it almost midnight and I have no clue of what to do. But, every day, it arrives from somewhere. This flash idea that flows, something that keeps growing inside of me and a new mandala is born. Sometimes I'm so tired I just want to go to sleep, but this daily responsibility is huge and has a life of it's own... so I look at my blank canvas and get to work. And this is giving me a lot of happiness. I feel creative, more active and I'm receiving a great feedback. All together, its giving me more confidence and makes me feel like an artist instead of just a designer. It makes me have an excuse to explore art mediums, play with shapes, geometry, colours and try a bunch of new stuff. And have a "me-time".

See all of Cândida's mandalas HERE.

365 Limericks and More

Uli Chapa in San Antonio, Texas is creating 365 Limericks and More...

Medication recycling 

"Myrtle, have you seen my pills?"
Barney to his wife yells.
Myrtle stopped pouring coffee
Wondering why Barney is getting huffy
Then realized with a start --
Yesterday she planted seeds
That were Barney's pills indeed.

Myrtle's eyesight is failing.

Why did you decide to do this project? I like limericks. They are witty and often irreverent. I like putting words together. Limericks reflect the way I see life: with a sense of humor and ready laugh.

Because we are so pressed for time, a limerick can be written anywhere and quickly read. Also, since it is my first time participating in a 365 project, I didn't want to overwhelm myself but have fun from the get-go. I might change it up a bit with other projects as time goes on.

I had planned already do something for 52 weeks, when I found your web site. I ordered the book and was even more inspired that I shared it with a friend. I'm a writer stuck on writer's block. Writing and posting something every day, like limericks, seemed a good way to get out the rut. At the same time, I stay amused and entertain others.

Sin pantalones! 

Young man with his pants low
Had to walk really slow
When suddenly the bus passed by
Young man really had to fly
Run, Forrest, run
Hobble, bobble, wobble
Oh, how embarrassing it was
to fall on his paws
In the end his trousers lost.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? When I started this project, I had to think hard what to write. Now the limerick/poems come from what I see/hear/smell around me -- life – and my imagination. I look forward every day to creating on. I also noticed that I share my project with people; my self-esteem is up. I may not be the greatest poet but that's okay. I'm in it for the fun and laughter.

Chicken pox is no fun

I had a strange encounter

I woke up with a rash

Raw pockmarks only rounder

Oozing and itching mad

"How could this happen?"

I queried the thin air, and

On the verge of despair

I realized

I sobbed

My, it can only be chicken pox.

Read all of Uli's limericks HERE.

That Which Excites Me Follow-Up

Sarah in Ontario completed her yearlong daily project That Which Excites Me on January 13, 2013...

My brother Peter because this drawing almost made him cry.

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? Commitment.  Finding the gem in the day that somedays felt like a plain old bowl of oatmeal.  There was always something worth reflecting on. 

My son's bubble wrap calendar because he cried when the year was done.

In what ways did the project change your life? I hate the posts where I was feeling sorry for myself.  I have to figure my way around that, express myself in a less pathetic way.  No one wants to read pathetic. 

Our vegetable garden because it was so exciting to take food from the ground into our kitchen.

Now what? I must create every day still.  It feels nice to take a break, maybe, but I still need to create every day.  I have a couple of big projects I have taken on but I still have journals to fill.

My last entry because it meant so much.

Read Sarah's original 365 interview HERE.

Our cat's bum because it is so darn adorable.

See all of Sarah's projects on her blog HERE.