Mannequin a Day

Ana Miller (aka Neon Ninelives) in Sydney, Australia is creating Mannequin a Day, during her pregnancy. It's a daily photography project, centering on her mannequin Magenta...

Why did you decide to do this project? Inspired by your work & comments on your blog for others to get cracking via Skull-A-Day and after the realisation I can’t work on my other project (revamping a pre-loved Barbie doll house, ‘M’ rated as it’s out there) as it requires a lot of glue gun action.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? My shiny new project has brought back my creative mojo! My head is continually buzzing with ideas, each day is a full spectrum of go go with a spoonful of obsession! Plus it’s helping me forget about the complications with my pregnancy so it’s all the colours of the rainbow. I feel this project will also intertwine with other projects in terms of revisiting areas that had question marks.

See all of Ana's creations HERE. 

Want to see the benefits of your own daily practice? Get the new book Creative Sprint: Six 30-Day Challenges To Jumpstart Your Creativity.

365 Sticky Notes

Michelle Genders in Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia is creating 365 sticky notes...

Why did you decide to do this project? I just completed the April CreativeSprint. During the sprint, I decided to continue making something every day and got hold of your book 365: A daily creative journal. I’ve decided to begin with a Post-it note a day. I just wanted to keep up the momentum. It may change in time.

When I started the sprint I was going to only use ink and paper but soon I was making with other things. So I’m open to evolution. Having said that, Post-it notes made sense because I wanted to keep it simple, fun and not too daunting while I’m putting a lot of hard work into my other art work.

I know from studying jewelry at art school that small is not always easier, but being bound to a relatively small scale means less labour and being someone who tends to make ridiculously labour intensive art I definitely need a labour limit. Other advantages: I can carry a Post-it note anywhere, they are relatively cheap and I already have lots of materials to use with them. I’m interested to explore the possibilities within this small scale.

I've completed two "creative challenges" in the past: Academy of Emergency an art exercise where you create two things per day for two weeks in response to the newspaper. And The Artist's Way a twelve week programme to support your creativity. You journal daily and complete other exercises on a weekly basis.

Both of these experiences:

• evolved my art practice to another level 
• developed confidence in my ability to create 
• where the generation of a few seeds that grew into other projects 

How has doing a daily project changed your life? During the April creative sprint, I found that lots of ideas that had been floating around vaguely in the back of my mind for ages had a chance to come into being. This either:

• allowed me to get it out of my system and move on 
• see the potential in this idea to go further 

and this was very useful! I want to see what else will show itself if I continue with this discipline.   

See all of Michelle's sticky notes HERE.

365 Days of Shakespearean Word Art

Anna Thursby in Brisbane, Australia is creating 365 Days of Shakespearean Word Art! She explains, "It's calligraphy meets illustration. Every day I'll be posting a Shakespearean coinage (a word now obsolete or a phrase now commonplace) drawn in ornamental lettering. Ideally in such a way as to reflect the meaning ... or at least that's the intention."

Why did you decide to do this project? You mean aside from the cliché of seeing 30 barrelling toward me like a runaway express train, and becoming suddenly desperate to accomplish something, anything, and having serendipitously found the Make Something 365 book in the library, and figuring that was as good a place to start as any?

Last year I surrendered to the weight of opinion insisting that my drawings are good enough to share with the world, and a no-pressure project like this makes it easier to start doing that. It's 365 baby steps; practice at putting my work out there for all to see, and because it's just a bit of fun and experimentation it doesn't matter whether people like it or not. (Plus these glorified doodles will probably make my "real" work look good in comparison :)

I'm hoping, too, that it will help me to detach myself from perfectionism. There's no room for it here: whatever I draw, I post, even if I'm not happy with it or I think of a better idea as soon as I've finished.

As for why Shakespeare ... you can blame Stephen Fry for that one. At the beginning of January I was desperately casting around for ideas when I caught a repeat of a Bard-themed episode of Q.I., which featured some Shakespearianisms which never caught on. Boggler. Carlot. Kicky-wicky. It was love at first geeky glance. I rushed to the computer, found http://www.shakespeareswords.com/, and dived straight in.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It's deepened my appreciation of Shakespeare. Everything of his which I haven't read had risen to the top of my mental list of Books I Simply Must Read, and half of those I have are now on my mental list of Books I Must Read Again Soon. A comprehensive list of his reputed inventions shows what a profound effect he had upon the English language, and is catnip to someone who loves words for their own sake. (I wonder if I could resurrect a few...?)

The need to set up a blog for all of this art-sharing has set me off on a self-directed crash course in HTML and CSS, which is something I would never have thought myself techy enough to manage; but I am managing. I'm teaching myself how to use GIMP, too - I've actually rather impressed myself. And art-sharing is actually much less nerve-wracking that I'd feared.

Most importantly, I'm creating every day, and learning how to take Jack London's advice and go after inspiration with a club. Or a pencil, as the case may be.

See all of Anna's words HERE.

Page-A-Day

Trekessa Austin in Queensland Australia is creating a Page-a-day. She explains, "I have a 365 page book to write something in every day of the year. I am basically doing whatever comes to my head at the time. Mostly I write thoughts I came up with during the day or were relevant to my situation. I also draw, paint, and use other mediums."

Why did you decide to do this project? I think it was a spur of the moment idea I got when I found a 365 page book in a store.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I've become way more creative so far and also more aware about my feelings. Unexpectedly, I have learnt to recognize when I'm about to take an emotional fall and what things trigger it, all through expressing my emotions at the end of every day. It's been a heap of fun as well :)

See all of Trekessa's pages HERE.

Momentum

Nat Grant in Melbourne, Australia created daily in her project Momentum...

She explains: Every day in 2012 I worked on an experiential blogging project called Momentum, tracing the development of a cumulative, yearlong musical composition. This work, the practical component of my PhD, comprised mixing and re-mixing daily using digital, electronic processing of instrumental and found sound improvisations, field recordings, and pre-existing samples, submitted for this purpose. The project has since grown to include a month-long overseas version as well as four live performance versions.

Day 29 - marble in a ramekin in a bowl of water

Why did you decide to do this project? I have always enjoyed creating large-scale and durational sound works/installations, and the scope of the PhD gave me encouragement to attempt one of this size. Also, I wanted to spend some time reflecting on my compositional processes in order to improve my skills in this area, and I thought that a year would be a decent enough period of time in which to really reflect on my art and my processes and to be able to put into practice any discoveries I made or lessons I learned along the way.

Day 119 - kids on bikes with bells

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Momentum has definitely affected my life and the way I approach lots of things. By practicing making my art every day for a year I have solidified technical skills, and changed how I listen to the world. I thought I already paid a lot of attention to the world around me, but by having to find something new to record every day I paid a LOT more attention and noticed so many more sounds everywhere! And by making something small every day I was able to accomplish a huge amount of work - the task of creating a 4 hour long, 12 movement sound art piece would have seemed really daunting otherwise. And now, I feel like I'm more open to trying things I never have before, like home maintenance or painting or photography, and I know that I'm not "bad" at these things, I've just never spent any time practicing them.

Day 297 - Nat with kettle

Listen to all of Nat's project on her blog HERE or on Soundcloud HERE.

An Ordinary Life

Susan Korrel in Brisbane, Australia is creating “An Ordinary Life”. She explains "I am following the Creativity Journal, although not creating something every day because life, work, study, family all have a habit of interrupting. My themes are: words and/or fabric, and must not create clutter. Some days I use both themes in two separate items; some days they are combined and some days the “must not create clutter” is the only theme I adhere to. My catch phrase is “my creativity, my rules”. As a recovering perfectionist I try very hard not to let the journal become a unwieldy law book."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I am a creative being, as I believe we all are. It is very easy; however, for the other priorities of life to overtake and chew up all my time. When that happens I end up stressed and edgy. Although I am not 100% committed to physically creating something every single day, I am committed to eventually finishing all 365 days (only on Day 10 at the moment).

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I try to read the journal idea for the next day so I can sleep on it. I find myself looking at the world and my daily routine through a different lense when I’m conscious of the challenge for the day. Instead of seeing just ordinary objects I’m constantly thinking “Can I use that? Can I manipulate it? Is it relevant?” Even on days when I have no tangible creativity to record or blog about, I am actively being more creative, simply by viewing my world differently.

In blogging about my activities I am also trying to look at the challenge a little deeper than just the creative output. One of my themes is words. Although not a writer, I am an editor and I am concerned with not just the readability of words (what words are chosen and how they are ordered) but also with the legibility of words (the look and structure and physicality). My creative efforts are often focused on the legibility – how can I use words as an art form. In many ways, my blog is an opportunity to develop the former - what can I write about the theme today? For example, Day 10 was work with or be inspired by water. The link between water and poverty has been a pet topic for me for a long time. Although that topic was only linked to my creative efforts by the ‘water’, that’s what I blogged about.

See all of Susan's projects 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.

365 Days of Creative Canning

Megan Forsyth in Perth, Western Australia is doing 365 Days of Creative Canning. She explains it as: "A new canning-related creation each day. Preserving fresh fruits and vegetables. Delicious jams and jellies. Lovely relishes and spreads. Healthy soups and stews. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks. Photographing stages from ingredients to method to final product. These photographs accompany a review of each recipe with the source listed so anyone else can follow what I have done."

Why did you decide to do this project? For many years I have made jams and the occasional chutney or sauce. Only a few months prior to beginning this challenge, I learnt how to safely process (hot water bath canning and pressure canning) more produce - so when fruits and vegetables are in season I can preserve them so our family can enjoy them year-long! Undertaking 365 days of canning was important to me to teach myself more about these canning methods and to learn to use local, fresh produce.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It hasn't been too hard to incorporate into daily activities - I find it quite relaxing pouring over a recipe and seeing the final creation, photographing stages to share and inspire. Every day we are using jars of something I have canned - whether it's puree fruit for my youngest, canned fruit for my four-year-old or meals and sides for dinner for my family. I am learning more and more every day, it is very exciting to see what you can can and makes it very handy after a busy day working! I have made so many friends and connections worldwide from sharing my experiences and exploring more about this craft.

See all of Megan's canning projects HERE.

Another Day Another Dollar Follow-Up

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

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

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

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

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

    Day 254 just worked for me, I usually take many photos for a given image and select just one. this was the first shot and that was it.

Now what? What indeed, I really want to do something like this again, I am already feeling like something is missing. I am currently putting a photo book of the site together but that will probably only ever go into a print run of one for myself. also I have made a few enlarged and framed prints of my four skulls image for gifts.

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

Read Oscar's original 365 interview HERE.

    On day 363 I used a photograph that I originally took for day 154 but never used. I always liked it so it finally got an airing.   

And see all of his dollars HERE.

Another Day Another Dollar

Oscar Fox from Melbourne, Australia was inspired by 365 & Skull-A-Day to create the daily project Another Day Another Dollar in which he will "add just one lousy buck each day to an ever increasing pile of dollars." and document it...

Why did you decide to do this project? Another day another dollar is done purely to see if I can stick to a simple task for a year, the subject is not a mind bender but I hope to execute it with some imagination and creativity. The general consensus is to donate the $365.00 collected to a local Dog rescue center when the task is completed.

How has doing a daily project affected your life? So far the process hasn't driven me to drink (anymore than usual) but time will be the teller.

Watch Oscar's pile of money continue grow on his site HERE.