The Amazing Link Follow-up

Cheryl Colee recently hit the 2 year mark on her daily project documenting the adventures of The Amazing Link the cat...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? I learned that it was really easy to find the time every day to create something that was important to me.

In what ways did the project change your life? The project taught me to prioritize, daily. To create enough time in my daily routine to create something that I've discovered makes me happy as well as others who view my drawings.

Now what? I'm going to keep drawing Link every day, searching for interesting and fun things for him to do (or at least until my friends and family get tired of me asking for ideas). I would like to get The Amazing Link published; kids seem to be incredibly intrigued by Link and his adventures.

Read Cheryl's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of The Amazing Link HERE.

365 Days of Cats

Grubby Grrrl in Upstate New York is making 365 Days of Cats...

Why did you decide to do this project? I have been wanting to add something creative to my life for the last few years and bumbled about trying things. I never fully committed to one idea so I would start one, drift off into another and yet another and not really progress with any one project. (I am a Gemini. Can you tell? He he.) I heard Noah Scalin interviewed on The Accidental Creative Podcast and loved the yearlong challenge idea! And loved receiving guidance from someone who had walked the path already and had great ideas. I believe that everyone is creative and we all need to create to be really content. I also love how if you give 10 people the same raw ingredients with the same assignment to create some piece of art, you will get 10 unique pieces.  I was curious what mine would look like.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Hmmm, I am actually surprised how only 4 weeks in, it is having a pretty big effect on my life. Making the commitment has forced me to get something out each day.  So it makes me ignore my normal drive for perfection, which is a BIG stumbling block for me and which I have used as an excuse to back out on other ideas before. I like how I am a little uncomfortable every day, worried if I'll get an idea, worried if I can get a cat done, worried if it will be good. And yet I need to ignore that and come up with something every day and end up with a feeling of accomplishment at the end of each project. Especially as I look back, already weeks of cats accumulating! Doing a little at a time, we can all achieve so much. This has also pushed me into learning how to set up a blog which is actually fun. And now I'm following other blogs which creates a sense of community for me. It has been both fun and helpful to watch other people's 365 projects and sometimes they are a source of inspiration.

Doing the cats and wanting to enjoy the process also teaches me to focus on producing things that I like, without worrying about what others think. Practicing in different mediums is really fun because I've been away from art for so long I don't even know what I like to do anymore and there are so many options. I let my posts go out to Facebook, so people I don't expect surprise me by commenting that they actually like the cats.  Someone at my workplace had suggestions for making a cat, which I'm going to take her up on. It's just fun to have others involved. And I have gotten two other people to "drink the Kool Aid" who are starting projects which I find so exciting! I want to see what their work looks like! On the Make Something 365 blog, I read that others improved their time management skills with this project and I had hope, but I'm still bad at that. Yet it is amazing that I make the time to do a project every day.

The only down side is that I get less sleep but even that hasn't effected me as much as I expected. I feel energized by this project. I have to work to keep my focus on the cats, because seeing how much I am accomplishing with this level of focus and daily commitment, I have other things I want to make a daily commitment to, but they will have to wait for the future. 

See all of of Grubby Grrrl's cats HERE.

The Many faces of Link

Cheryl Colee in Logansport, Indiana is creating The Many faces of Link. She explains, "I have a cat that I love very much. I posted on Facebook that I had found a photo album that he had hidden. I have been drawing a picture of him each day as an actor, musician, artist you name it. Each day I decide who or what I would like to draw. I then photograph the picture and post it on Facebook. I have been doing this now for about 3 months and I look forward to what I will draw every day."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because I love to draw and doodle and I really wanted to find something that I could pour my creativity into. I felt the need for some direction in my drawings.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? A lot of times when I have had something to do every day it has been overwhelming. With this project I can spend about an hour a day with just me, doing what I want. It is always a challenge to draw , but also it gives me a spark every day. I can wake up and ask myself, “what will Link do today?”. It has given me an idea of what I can do and it also seems to make people happy when they see Link as a character. It gives me a chance to feel like a kid again, with no rules. I mean, whoever heard of  Salvador Dali as a cat. Well, now you have.

See what Link has been up to lately HERE.

365 Two Headed Cats

Pixie in Los Angeles, California is creating 365 Two Headed Cats...      

Why did you decide to do this project? I started this project to kickstart my creative juices again. After quitting methamphetamines I found myself in an inspirational lull. After a few months my brain was eager to begin working on art again but I had no idea where to start. I needed something that was small, but huge at the same time. Miraculously, I stumbled upon the 365 book at the right time.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It's only been 12 days, but my project has already made a huge difference on my world! I find myself inspired again, learning to do new things and gaining a sense of achievement every day. I've also began to be social again, making stronger bonds with my new friends. This project is teaching my that sobriety can be fun and that I can be an artistic genius without drugs. And most importantly, it's helping me find myself.

See all of Pixie's cats HERE.

365 Cat Ladies

Susan Faye of Willamina, Oregon spent 2009 documenting 365 Cat Ladies and "a few Cat Lads too" in watercolor and gouache!

Why did you decide to do this project?  I was new to Etsy.com and had begun to sell ACEO trading cards of my watercolor artwork featuring women holding cats.  I was inspired by The Daily Painters website and thought painting one a day would be a great way to get a little extra attention, and to become more disciplined as an artist.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  I'm certainly more disciplined now and the project drove more sales to my Etsy shop as desired.  What I didn't anticipate was the joy I've received from making friends with hundreds cat ladies and animal lovers from all around the world, and getting to tell their stories on my blog!

See all of the cat ladies (and lads) in slideshow that appears in the sidebar of her blog HERE.