Afros365 Follow-up

Unicia R. Buster completed her Afros365 project on July 25, 2016... 

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? I learned how to needle-felt, create stencils using a hot glue gun and glue sticks, and create with almost anything.

In what ways did the project change your life? During this year-long journey, I discovered ingenuity and willpower. I didn't realize I had them in me, especially seeing all of the unfinished projects laying around my home. I also realized that my work affects other people in a positive and encouraging way. This is life-changing indeed. I have found my love for art again.

Now what? I have started an adult coloring book (I've already drawn 25 pages) which sprung from this project. I have applied to a local gallery for an art exhibition of new work and I am on Day 4 of Declutter 365 of which I am applying the same ingenuity and willpower to declutter and reinvent my home space. I did a poll for a new 365 creativity journey and the results for a theme were tied between natural hair, locs and my echo-line drawings. I plan to do a combination of all three and start that in September.

Read Unicia's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Unicia's afros HERE. 

Spoon-a-Day follow-up

Sonya Penn spent 2015 making a Spoon-a-Day for the entire year... 

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? The biggest lesson that I learned is the immense power the daily routine has in our lives. One small thing each day adds up to something quite huge over a year's time. Generally, it took me a little over an hour each day to form, photograph and post my daily spoon. That isn't a ton of time, but the resulting body of work that I see is quite substantial. I believe that even just 15 minutes a day of practicing something that you want to improve upon will give you amazing results over the course of a year.

In what ways did the project change your life? The project made me have a greater focus on just getting in there and making. There is a sign for artists that I have seen from time to time that says "Go to your studio and make stuff." You can't just wait for inspiration. You have to create, do and make to find your inspiration.

Now what? Ha! NOW, I am working on glazing all of these 365 clay spoons! I did glaze a lot of them during the course of the year, but there are still a lot of them to go. I am working to have them ready for a local show in April where people can come see them all as a group and purchase their favorites!

Read Sonya's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Sonya's spoons HERE.  

Art-Food-Wine-365 Follow-up

Katerina AKA Plateresca in Madrid, Spain spend every day of 2015 creating her Art-Food-Wine-365 project...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? 2015 was a difficult year for me. I finally had to accept the changes I had been trying to ignore for a long time, and that was painful. In those difficult circumstances, I managed to do two things on a daily basis: draw and write. This made me realize these two activities were not just something I did for fun, but rather something that I needed to do constantly. This has influenced my life and work decisions a lot, so, in a way, my own blog became my compass.

The other lesson I’ve learnt from creating this blog is that minor things matter. When I had seemingly absolutely nothing to write about, I could find something beautiful and art-food-wine-related in my own apartment or in my neighbourhood in less than an hour. It made me think a lot about how beautiful my life is, and enjoy it more, even when my worries made it difficult.

In what ways did the project change your life? As much as I tried not to write about myself, my personality was present in every post, and at some point I couldn’t hide it from myself anymore that I was a) making art, b) gaining my main income with it, i. e., that I finally became what I had dreaded so much becoming: an artist. I had spent years shying away from this idea, but when the results of what I did lined up in a series of daily posts, it was impossible to keep ignoring them. The impact of this is huge; and, well, I do hope that the following years will prove that this was a good thing.

Now what?  I hope to be able to keep my drawing daily, but I’d like to be quieter about what I do, showing only the best images, recipes and texts once in a while. And I definitely will do my best to keep enjoying Madrid, and sharing its special atmosphere with my readers. 

Read Katerina's original 365 interview HERE.
See all of Katerina's project HERE. 

 

Vickie's 365 Buddhas Follow-up

Vickie Willis recently completed her 365 Buddhas project, creating a poem every day in 2015! 
 

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? I learned to relax. To let go. To make "mistakes" and get over it. My project even morphed quite a bit while I was doing it. I started with a lot of random poems and free verse, then I started experimenting with different poetic forms, and then I ended up writing lots of short forms, specifically haikus and tankas, and then enhancing them with color and abstract textures. Posting each day and putting each poem out into the world was a tremendous thing. People saw it, and even if the poem sucked, the world didn't end, and no one threw tomatoes at me. And I had the next day to write another one. I learned consistency and patterns, not just in writing haikus, but in writing in general. Doing something every day changes the stakes somehow. The more full pages you have, the less power the blank page has to paralyze you. To paraphrase Rainbow Rowell, the more words you stack up, the cheaper they become. Shockingly, people would come up and talk to me about my poems, people at my gym, people at my 20th high school reunion, and I had no idea that so many people were actually reading them. People even have asked to use my poems for other projects of their own! That kind of encouragement and support has been invaluable!!

 
In what ways did the project change your life? I ran a half marathon last November and that same month I finished my first NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Now, these things may not seem terribly related at first. But, as it turns out, running, and running longer distances, is exactly like a 365 project. You have to do a little bit each week, and eventually, you just start to increase your distance. Before I knew it, boom! I ran 13 miles. As I was finishing up my half marathon training, and the year, NaNoWriMo approached. November is National Novel Writing Month, and the challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I've tried for the past two years to do it, and I couldn't get it all done. This year, I did. I think that the habit of writing a poem every day made running every week and writing a NaNo novel so much easier. After having written nearly 300 poems by that point, a novel didn't seem insurmountable anymore. Thirteen miles seemed totally reasonable. I have a PhD in English, so I get setting and achieving goals--that's never been a problem for me. But having a DAILY practice is different. And having a partner, the king of kickassery, Julian Cook, was crucial for me in keeping that daily practice going, in being accountable every single day for creating something and creating the habit of creating. The habit of creating, and of sharing that creativity, is a daily discipline that, much like running, permeates the rest of my life now.

 
Now what? Now I've started another 365–technically 366–project. It's the Leap Year Photo Challenge. My friend (and the wife of my father's cousin), Debbi McNeer, is the brainchild behind this one. She was looking for a good photo challenge for 2016, and ended up asking me if I wanted to write the prompts for one. So I did. After studying many photo challenges, I came up with a list that's more evocative and impressionistic than many of the challenges out there. Our challenge has quotes, foreign words, abstract ideas, photo techniques, parts of speech, you know name it. And October is almost entirely an homage to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you've never watched, you could still participate (but you should remedy that very sad fact immediately). Since I'm going to be revising my NaNoWriMo this year into something that I could possibly publish, I wanted to do a different medium, and I'm a little photo-happy anyway.

Read Vickie's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Vickie's poems HERE.

Julian's 365 Buddhas Follow-up

Julian Cook recently completed his 365 Buddhas project, creating one piece of Buddha themed piece of art for every day in 2015!

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? I learned a great deal about adding discipline to my artistic life - being on the hook to come up with something every day pushed me to be more organized, more open to new techniques, and to better prioritize my days to make creative work a more important part of my life. Trying to use a different media or style daily exposed me to hundreds of new techniques that I would likely not have ever tried, like needlework and some painting and drawing methods. As my project was centered around depictions of the Buddha, I also ended up studying Buddhist art dating back to the time of the historic Buddha to learn about the diverse symbolism and aesthetic traditions. I learned a great deal about photographing my work for public consumption. And possibly most important, I learned the importance of having connections to other working artists, particularly my partner in crime throughout the year, Vickie Willis, who did daily writing and maintained the website with me.

In what ways did the project change your life? Sharing a piece of art daily pushed me to be less "precious" about my work and to let people in to my creative process in a way I never have before. Surviving sharing a few "duds", and realizing that the pieces I didn't much care for other people often liked a lot, increased my confidence tremendously – and of course coming across the finish line did wonders for my confidence! I can feel that confidence improving my work and pushing me to come up with better ideas with less concern about whether every item will be a "hit" or not.





I also embraced the social media aspect of sharing my work this year, a venue i had previously considered only suitable for birth and wedding announcements, identifying friends on the political fringe and food pictures. Through Facebook and Instagram I was able to connect with not only people i know, but also other artists and art admirers, especially during the month long CreativeSprints sponsored by Noah Scalin. Throughout the year I was pleased to hear about how people reacted to the work, often surprisingly.

Ultimately, 2015 was a difficult year for me personally and professionally at my "day job," and the daily creative work involved in this project was often the high point of the day. I learned that my creative work needs to be a non-negotiable part of my day, and that it pays off, every time.

Now what? I have a few requests to finish, and a few pieces that will likely take longer than a day to make, so the Buddhas certainly aren't done! I plan to switch focus to some longer term pieces, I am working on a "religious weaponry" series that I have high hopes for, along with rededicating myself to music making. And I'm finding myself awaiting the next CreativeSprint already

Read Julian's original 365 interview HERE. 

And see all of Julian's Buddhas HERE.

A Year in the Trees: Follow-up

Alycia Helbling spent 2015 creating a A Year in the Trees ... 

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? My patterns of motivation and creativity became more clear to me this year as I continued through this project. I proved to myself that I could not only finish this project, but prioritize creativity in my life even though I have many other life events, obligations, responsibilities and joys. I also learned that I had some shame around any type of behavior that spoke to a "look at me! look at me" approach. Somewhere along the way I learned that it wasn't okay to look for or enjoy external validation. Through this project I have slid outside my comfort zone and requested more attention on my creativity, and have been rewarded for doing so. In so doing, I am trying to nurture my desire for recognition while balancing my artistic intuition when creating.

In what ways did the project change your life? It has, in a sense, rooted me more deeply in my own experiences of the world. I have struggled with keeping my own sense of reality and integrity in the past. As I grow as a professional and personally, I am seeing a stronger and stronger need for grounding and trusting my own wisdom while balancing the integration of new information. Art reminds me that my perspective is valid, real and beautiful. Art reminds me to look around and continually learn and grow. Art reminds me that there is value in beauty and reflection. I am grateful for my investment in art this year.

Now what? Having proved to myself that I can commit and follow through on creative goals, I plan to craft a goal around making and selling some of my work this year. I am upping my adult-ing level and trying to make some big financial changes, so I am thinking of ways that my art can support that - through using more recycled materials, bartering, selling art, and increasing my feelings of well-being to supplement my health! Also, I would like to send more hand-made things to friends and family throughout the year this year. I want to remind them that I celebrate them and am grateful for the relationships in my life.

Read her original 365 interview HERE.

And see all of her trees HERE. 

One Good Thing Follow-Up

On  December 31, 2014 Erin Bunting completed her daily yearlong One Good Thing project...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? Some days my "One Good Thing" 365 days project really asked me to dig deep on how best to illustrate each day's "good thing." I tried to always let the "good thing" lead, and tried to never concoct a "good thing" just so I could use a really great image that I already had. I made myself find a way to visually and creatively interpret the subject without always being literal. For example, one of my "good things" was about "a grown-up" Sushi lunch date with my son, Sam. Instead of photographing us or our food, I used Play Doh to create a whole sushi plate with caviar, wasabi and everything, and photographed that. My intention was to communicate not just the food, but also childhood that has been supplanted by adulthood, and my feelings about a boy who has grown into a fine young man – way too fast.

Doing this project I was surprised and tickled over and over again by how ingenious the imagination is when it has a reason to play, and the space to do it in. I also learned how much I really enjoy photographing miniature objects and toys in ways that make them seem alive and animated. Lego mini figures, Barbie dolls, action figures, finger puppets, bathtub toys, party favors ... I love it all had have accrued quite a collection of great stuff!

As in previous projects, the dailiness and discipline required for creating something every day for a year was rigorous and exciting, relentless and spontaneous, fresh and challenging. This project kept me creatively stimulated and moving, in a constant search for what else I could do, try, learn or practice.

 

 

In what ways did the project change your life? Obviously, as the name indicates, this project had a very positive focus overall. I've done projects in the past that have gotten a little dark, because my artistic animal was dwelling in the darker places at the time. But this time around, I was craving something on the brighter side. I didn't ignore the dark. I still delved into darker and more serious subject matter, but I tried to do so with an eye toward the light.  As I stated in my mission at the project's outset, some days it doesn't seem like there is anything good. Sometimes you have to reach way down into the suckiness and pull out some suck-covered something. And you might not even know it's anything good at first because it's so covered in suck. So you have to kind of rinse it off, scrape it down, "un-suck it," and find the good. That was a life-changing discipline to practice and to cultivate. It didn't preclude me from going to the dark places, it just didn't let me get stuck there.

It was a really great way to celebrate the myriad little daily blessings that I might otherwise take for granted – like the first cup of coffee in the morning, or riding a bicycle – as well as once-in-a-lifetime experiences like a hot air balloon ride or an extraordinary person. And it got me out of the house and into the world, constantly looking and searching for the good.

 

 

Now what? "One Good Thing" was my fourth consecutive 365 days project. I won't be doing one in 2015 for a couple of reasons. One, I didn't have any good project ideas that I felt compelled to pursue. I know that if I just picked something to pick something and forced it into a project, I'd quickly come to regret it. Projects like this can get a little tyrannical, and if you don't love it, you very likely won't complete it. Two, I'm also an actor and will be performing at the Cleveland Play House from January through March, so I need the time to focus on preparing for that work. It feels right. I needed a change of pace. I still feel a little empty pang in the morning when I realize I won't be sitting down to write my blog post. But I haven't sworn off 365 days projects for good. I'll be back. When the idea and the time are right, I'll definitely get back in the ring. And a year off will give me time to work on personal art projects that are less "daily."

 

 

 

See all of Erin's good things HERE.

 

 

 

The Nightly Owl Follow-Up

Tanya Green recently completed her yearlong The Nightly Owl project. Here's her follow-up interview...

When did your project start/end? I started my project on October 2, 2013. I remember that night as clear as can be. I was sitting at my computer checking FB, when I glanced over at my bookcase and spied my copy of your book "365 A Daily Creativity Journal." I obtained your book back in 2012 at an art teacher conference where I first heard your story about your year of skulls. I remember thinking back then, "I could totally do that, but what would my subject matter be?" After pondering it for the weekend and forgetting about it for a whole year, I finally decided that I didn't need to have a specific subject matter...I just needed to start creating.

It took more time for me to create my blog than for me to create my first artwork. I was sucked into figuring out the ins and outs of Wordpress and what my blog would be called. That's why my blog name doesn't match my journey at all! "The Gnomes Studio" is where you can find my Nightly Owl journey, however I didn't settle on owls as my theme until day 3. And no...I was not obsessed with owls before I began. Yes...they are now an obsession...I wouldn't be able to escape them even if I tried. My journey ended October 2, 2014.

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? I learned that our bodies and minds are amazing objects that can be altered and trained. Because I work full time and have two kids under the age of 6, the only time I had to focus and create was between the hours of 8 and Midnight. It took time for my body to acclimate to my new schedule. There were nights and days that I was exhausted and didn't know how I was going to keep on keeping on. Eventually, I hit my stride and everything became routine. Before I knew it, I was counting down the days to 365.

Another lesson I learned, is that I am the one in control of my life and choices. When I started the project, I was hell bent on sticking to the prompts in your book for every creation. I was probably about 2/3 through the journey when I realized that I was the one in control and that I could change the rules if I wanted. What started out as one creation a night ended up with some works taking more than one night to finish.

Along the way I created owls in lots of different ways. I started out creating with media that I was confident in. I wanted each owl to be amazing (which I quickly learned was an unobtainable goal). There were some nights the prompts gave me new media to try that I wouldn't have other wise considered. Oh, and I wasn't always successful either. There were times that my owls failed. I learned to be vulnerable, to be flexible, and to be committed to the process...not the "perfect" end result.

In what ways did the project change your life? One big way the project changed my life is that I started to create art again. I went through a 13 year hiatus from creating my own art. Life had taken over...job, kids, everyday routines...I forgot about me. It's easy to put others before you. It's hard to stop and change the routines, but it's doable. 

Over the past year I've also become a member in a local art gallery and have begun showing/selling my artwork. Nothing has sold yet, I blame the market! ;) My 365 journey gave me confidence in my creative abilities. I probably wouldn't have applied for the gallery if I hadn't started this journey. It also taught me to take risks. I started a new job in November which challenges me daily to learn new things. I am constantly applying the lesson I learned about allowing the process to take place before perfection. I think I've always been that way...ever since I was a kid. I wanted to be good and perfect at everything from the get go. I am constantly reminding myself that it will take time, but I can do it!

Now what? Hmmm.....I know that I need a new commitment...a new goal! I'm not sure what that will be yet. I still have some time to think on it, but I know it's a must! Since starting my new job and ending the journey, I spiraled back down in to my old routines of too much TV and job stress taking over. My days were filled, but I felt drained physically and mentally. Taking the time away from creating helped me realize that the act of creating art was good for my physical and mental soul. It brought peace to my world and allowed me to focus my time and energy on something that would recharge me and make me feel whole. I can't let the last two months happen again. I need to stay committed to creating. More owls? More birds? I'm still not sure....maybe a new Noah Scalin book!

See all of Tanya's owls HERE.

Read Tanya's original 365 interview HERE.

 

10 Thoughts and Lessons Learned from Snake A Day

Brandy Copley recently completed her yearlong Snake-A-Day project and she shared 10 great things she took away from her experience...

1. Discipline – This might seem obvious, but wow did I get to work on my discipline skills.  Guys there were days when I was working an 18 hour day, or my kid went to the ER that day, or I was sick, or etc etc.  I made a snake, even on those days.  I didn’t let any of those excuses stop me.  365 days of anything is a marathon of epic proportions, and for someone who had not done anything visually creative since 3rd grade, this was a huge commitment.  I made it, and it’s given me a certain confidence, of the “well if I managed THAT, I can do lots of  hard things” variety.

2. Creativity – Again this one is obvious, but making something for 365 days will force you to get creative.  Particularly on days, or in locations, when your materials are limited.  Travel and hotel days were the bane of my project- I mean how many ways can you make a snake out of the things found in a bare bones business hotel? I think I found them all.  I think my ice snake is one of my favorites, for exactly that reason.

3. Respect for my family – Oceans of love to my family for their intense support and patience with this project over the last year.  My son cheered me on (“Mom, great job!) and on many occasions provided his toys for snake making materials (“Hey mom, think you can snake this?”).  My sweet husband bought me paper and sketch pads and oil pastels and water colors, which I never got the hang of, and clay and charcoals, which I grew to love.  Neither of them complained when I’d stop in the middle of some family hike or vacation and say “Wait, give me 10 minutes I need to snake that!”  And they never said “oh that one’s terrible” or “Are you really gonna post that?”  As my 8 year old reminded me, Mom there is no right or wrong in art.

4. Appreciation of art – I think I have been to more museums, art galleries, art festivals, and such in the last year than I have in the rest of my life combined.   While I always enjoyed the visual arts, I was more of a performance art type person; the ballet, dance, live music, theater, and such.  This year reminded me that I LOVE looking at art, and I will continue to do more of it.

5. Giving myself credit – Wow I am hard on myself.  It’s in my DNA.  (I’m still ticked about the one B I made in college because that left me with a 3.98 gpa instead of a perfect 4.0.  Really- all these many years later and I can’t get over that?) Well this project was good for learning to get ok with a pass/fail grade.  I set out in my opening post that the goal of this project was not perfection.  If it was longer than it was tall, and had no legs, and any vaguely snakey attributes, it passed.  Which was good, because some of the snakes made under duress- while traveling with very few materials handy for example- were pretty lame.  But they were snakes, and I made them.  Bingo, passing grade. That was a tough lesson for me.

6. Culture – My favorite month of snake a day by far was April, where I explored the potrayal of snakes in different locations, cultures, and religions.  Snakes have so much cultural importance, in so many different ways and places across the globe, and I got to explore, learn, and enjoy those stories.  The art isn’t always impressive in April, but the stories I turned up are amazing.  Including this one- did you know that the oldest consistently worshiped deity on the planet is a snake god in Australia? I love that.

7. Being present, and noticing line and color – Spending every day keeping my eyes open for likely snake making materials really improved by ability to be present in the moment, and notice my surroundings.  I am now so much more open to noticing line, shape and color, and picking up on how those things influence the viewer.  I’ve focused more on what my home looks like, so I’ve added some art from the local art festival.  Even my wardrobe has gotten a second look, as I’ve thought about what message a crisply tailored black suit sends versus a softer, colorful dress, and what outfit works better for which work meeting.

8. I enjoy drawing (even though I am not skilled) – This one stunned me.  I went into this planning to mostly use found items to shape the snakes.  I did not plan to sketch or draw or paint, because I have no training or skill.  But when I slowly started playing with my art supplies- the very forgiving chalks in particular- I loved it.  It’s almost a meditative thing, as you start layering and smudging the colors.  It takes all my focus, and calms my busy mind. I think I will keep my chalks, and draw from time to time simply for the peace.

9. Meeting new people – here’s a great way to meet new people.  Start making a giant 15 foot snake out of seaweed on a busy surf beach at dawn in southern Cali.  The curious surfers come over, asking what’s that?  And suddenly you’ve met 15 new people.  (I went surfing with them the next day.)  This story played out many times over the year, from chatting with the bowling alley owner (What are you doing with the bowling balls?, he asked) to the river rafting guide in Oregon (Hey can I borrow your paddles and life jackets for a few minutes? I asked him), to a glass artist (Hey can I take your art glass class? But I want to make snakes, that ok?) to a fly fisher in Jackson Hole (Why did you turn those leaves into a snake?, he wondered).  I think I terrified a seat mate on an airplane once when I started snaking my food and then snapped a pic of it!  

10. I chose a great subject – The one question that I got asked so many times was, why snakes? Well, they are pretty simple, geometry wise. I have minimal art skills, and could never do something as complex as Noah’s skulls. Also, snakes, like skulls, come pre-loaded with meaning. They are gods in some countries, and pests in others.  Entire libraries have been written about their religious symbolism. They lack a fixed shape, and come in a stunning variety of colors, which gave me SO much optionality in terms of how to create my snakes.  They are instantly recognizable.  When I would leave a snake behind to be found and enjoyed (for example, a snow snake near the ski lifts) I never had to lurk more than 2 minutes before some passer by noticed my work, and the reaction, every time, was a surprised “Cool!” or some similar shocked but pleased expression.

I am already missing my snakes a bit (I admit I made one yesterday just for my entertainment.)  I’ve kept a few of my favorites around.  Syd the giant stuffed animal snake sleeps in my bed.   Because of this project, every day, for a year, I used my creative brain.  That felt like success to me. I loved my 365 day project. 

Read Brandy's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Brandy's snakes HERE.

A Door A Day Follow-Up

On July 28, 2014 Natalie Farr in Bristol, England completed her yearlong A Door A Day project...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? Don't destroy work before you have thoroughly documented it from all angles and in all lights! Do not get stressed if things don't turn out like you'd planned. Beautiful mistakes can happen.

In what ways did the project change your life? I know that I completed a huge project which I set out to do: I accomplished it. It made me look at mundane items differently, everything is a little bit more magical now -  there are more opportunities for creativity.

Now what? Half way through my project, I admitted to myself how much I loved taking photographs, either of doors that I was making or doors that I was finding in the world. So I treated myself to a very good camera. Whatever projects I do in the future, it will contain good quality pictures.

And in November 2014, my vocal ensemble "The Beautiful Machine" will be performing our new show in Bristol, England. Here is our Facebook page.

See Natalie's original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Natalie's doors HERE.