365 Days of Pugs Follow-Up

Isabelle spent all of 2013 making 365 Pugs...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? A new skill, though I would say "skill" is a bit of a stretch, is digital drawing. Since I can't draw, (looking back at some of the early pugs, I would say that they've gotten a tiny bit better) it's great to have the digital undo button.  As for lessons learned, there are a few: I have the perseverance to do a project a day, the creativity to adhere to most of the assignments and still make them pug-related, and to have fun and not take it too seriously. Oh, and how to get a pug to do just about anything.

In what ways did the project change your life? It gave me an outlet for a long-untapped creative side. Blogging the project also opened up a whole world of creative and interesting who I wouldn't of found otherwise and built a global network of pug-lovers.

Now what? I will definitely keep doing some sort of project routinely.  Right now, I'm thinking it will be a primarily photo based weekly project, still focusing on but not solely related to pugs.  Since it will be more photography based, I plan on learning more about digital photo editing. 

Read her original 365 interview HERE.

See all of Isabelle's pugs on her blog HERE and also in this fun video she made...

365 Days of Pugs

Isabelle in New York City is creating 365 Days of Pugs...

Why did you decide to do this project? My friend Toby did this last year.  While he is inifinitely more artistic and creative than I, I kept thinking about what I would have done instead.  My ideas inevitably involved my pug, Eloise, who is quite a character. I work in a corporate job but studied art history in college and have always been passionate about photography.  My hope was that I would be able to utilize/develop my creative side a bit - and have some fun along the way.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It has made me more spontaneous and less critical/detail-oriented.  In my career, being meticulious is a necessity.  This project has given me an opportunity to accept that not every effort is going to be successful.  It's also made me look at EVERYTHING with pugs in mind, like Day 177, the Pug Robot.  Finally, and the most surprising, it's exposed me to - literally - a whole world of pug lovers, most of whom are as crazy about their pugs as I am.

See all of Isabelle's pugs HERE.