My Daily Tree

Brenda in northern Illinois is doing a "journal of art, creativity and exploration" she calls, My Daily Tree...

Why did you decide to do this project?  I have been trying for a while to start up my artwork again. (I used to do the art fair circuit as well as be an art therapist)  Nothing seemed to motivate me but when I picked up this book after Christmas, my interest was peaked.  It took me a while to get started but now I am having a great time!  I'm creating a tree each day following the guidelines in 365: A Daily Creativity Journal.  I chose trees as my theme because I've always had a connection to trees and the seasons.  It's always shown up in my artwork, but I've never done anything quite like the trees inspired by this book!

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  Well, I believe in myself a little bit now; frankly, I think I've been scared to start creating art again because I thought I wouldn't be able to do it.  I've proved myself wrong :)  Being creative daily has brought me new energy, new insights, and joy.  My family looks forward to seeing what I do and they've also gotten involved.  Putting myself out there with the blog took some courage on my part; I panicked a little bit after I did it.  But I've gotten great feedback and I can't wait to see where this year takes me!

See all of Brenda's trees HERE.

A Granny A Day

Dana Beach in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is crocheting A Granny A Day...

Why did you decide to do this project? One of my friends got me the 365 book for Christmas. I was fully inspired and ready to go along with the book at the beginning of the year but at the last minute decided to do my own crafty thing and crochet a granny square a day starting on my birthday, January 21st. I knew if I wasn't fully invested in the idea I wouldn't complete it.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? This daily project has been more fun than I thought it would be. At first I thought it would turn into a task after a couple of weeks, but I've been thinking ahead about the finished blankets I will have because of this project and how special they will be. Now that I've completed a little over a month, I realize that this is a part of my life now. A habit – not just a task.

See all of Dana's grannies on her site 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.

[BONUS] Rich's Skull-A-Day Book

Recently Rich spent a year making a skull a day and now he's created a lovely digital book of his entire year as a free downloadable PDF! Get your copy HERE.

The Daily Cootie Catcher

My friend Michelle Taute in Cincinnati, Ohio is spending a year creating The Daily Cootie Catcher. 

She says these old school paper fortune tellers, "are [mostly] for adults and they cover all kinds of topics (Valentine’s Fortunes for the Chronically Single, Will You Reproduce?, Tattoos and You). Each one is available as a free PDF that you can download, fold up and start having fun with right away."...

Why did you decide to do this project? First, I’m a big fan of Skull-A-Day and your book! They both made me want to do a daily project. Once I started thinking about ideas, I remembered how much fun I had with cootie catchers—those little paper fortune tellers—in grade school. So, I thought, why can’t adults still have fun with those? One of my designer friends made me a template, and I started writing fortunes on a different theme each day.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I’m a busy freelance writer, so my personal projects often get pushed to the side by client work. This forces me to do a little of my own work each day. It’s also helped me be less of a perfectionist. I can’t think about the copy too long if I’m actually going to make a fortune teller every day. Also, it loosens me up because I know I’m going to make 365 of them. If I don’t get it right today, I’ve got another shot tomorrow. And the next day, and …

Download all of Michelle's cootie catchers on her blog HERE.

365 Book Event – April 30, NYC

Hey NYC friends, I will be doing a book signing/talk/workshop at Brooklyn's Spacecraft on April 30th!

Saturday, April 30

Book signing: 4-5pm FREE

Talk/Creativity Workshop: 5-6pm  $5 materials fee

Spacecraft

355 Bedford Ave.

Brooklyn, NY

718.599.2718

If you're in the NYC area I hope you'll plan to come by and say hi!

The Sweater Project

Janda Ferris in Southern California is spending a year doing what she calls: The Sweater Project. She explains, "I am addicted to felting (or 'fulling') sweaters to upcycle them to other items such as stuffed animals, pincushions, brooches, purses, and a multitude of things with a heart shape! Since I am one of those people who overthinks and procrastinates on actually doing the projects--wanting to make them as close to perfect as possible :-/--I haven't actually made the items I have been dreaming about. Until now! Your book suggested writing a blog to keep the 365 idea going with support, encouragement, and accountability. Though I don't have many people checking into my blog it has given me somehow the on-going motivation I need to keep up every day."...

Why did I decide to do this project? I wanted to have a fire lighted under me to get myself going on making the projects I have been wanting to create. I have been THINKING for the last 2-3 years, so it was time I buckled down and started to stitch. My goal for this is to just sew my heart out and see where this leads for me. I have thought about selling my items, or writing tutorials, or teaching classes, but I am only going to let time do the work and enjoy the journey.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? My life has become so much happier. If I am doing something creative, it changes my whole approach to life. My days are more energized, enthusiastic, and there is way less non-important time-fillers than previously. I am a night owl anyway, and this just gives me a reason to have something mind-exercising to do in the evening. I find myself racing with the clock at times to get my blog written by the stroke of midnight.

I realize also how much I love to write. A few years ago I went to Alaska for a month to work with someone who raised and trained sled dogs for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Every night I sent an e-mail to family and friends about my daily adventures. That was really a blog in a more "primitive" form. That was very therapeutic for me, and I find this blogging to be that as well.

I am today on Day 30 and going strong. I feel that the blog is helping make me accountable and is keeping me on track.

See all of Janda's projects HERE.

A Face A Day

Nelleke Verhoeff in Rotterdam, Holland is making A Face A Day...

Why did I decide to do this project: I love faces, masks and expressions. It's an endless inspiration for me. Every face has it's own story. I also love collections. So I decided to make one about my favourite subject: faces. This face project-idea came to me on the first of December 2010. I didn't want to wait till the 1st of January 2011, cause the inspiration was bubbling already. I decided to start in December, so maybe it will be 365 days and one month :-)

How has it affected my life? It's a good impetus to be creative every day. Making faces is my passion and this project is a nice excuse to make a lot of faces. To experiment in different styles; It's nice to see the characters emerge. Every day it is a surprise what face will show up. It gives me a lot of fun!

See all of Nelleke's faces HERE.

Smale Scale Sewing 365

Teresa in Minneapolis, Minnesota is doing a 365 project making things from "scraps and leftovers", as part of her blog Small Scale Sewing...

Why did you decide to do this project? I don't consider myself to be a particularly crafty or artistic person or driven to make things (even though I work in the arts), but there are definitely some projects I’ve wanted to try and have not made the effort.  I've been feeling a bit "stuck" recently and an endeavor such as this may be just the prescription I need. I hope to try things that are out of my comfort zone.  I’m interested in how I feel about the projects.  I might not think it is worthwhile, for instance—why do I think this?  Does that matter?  I’m interested in when things work and when they don’t work.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It has only been about three weeks but I have already done some projects that I would not normally have done.  I’m learning to let go of the notions that it has to be practical, that it has to be perfect, that it has to be “art”, and that it has to have significance.  Just do something.  It can be big or small, easy or complicated.  The hardest part is posting on my blog.  I lack some knowledge there and have a pokey, old, slow computer that makes it more time-consuming than I’d like.  It is still an important component of the project as it teaches me something new and learning new things keeps life interesting.

See all of Teresa's work on her blog HERE.

Grow 365 – Do Something Creative Every Day

Grow from Chicago "through California en route to London" is doing a project called Grow 365 – Do Something Creative Every Day...

Why did you decide to do this project? it was kind of on a whim, actually. a whole bunch of threads that had been laying dormant in my mind finally intersected on new year's eve, when i didn't really want to go to the party (which of course turned out to be lovely.)

but while i was being cranky and pondering what i wanted the new year to look like, a flash of inspiration flared in my brain, routed through wil wheaton's rather epically titled: Project Do Something Creative Every Day for the Rest of the Year. and i thought, i could do that. something creative every day for a year. that's doable.

and then i realized how tired i was of feeling like a consumer all day, like at the end of the day i didn't have anything to show for it. and how this might  prove to myself that i have creative muscles, and stretch them and use them so they get back into practice.  and it might combat the Fearsome Twin Dragons of Apathy and Sitting on my Ass All Day to boot.

and then i thought, i might need a theme, in case i run out of ideas. which is how it became grow365 [pics or it didn't happen.]

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? looking back on the past forty days, it's kind of astonishing to see how much has clarified, already. some realizations so far:

• wow. i haven't run out of ideas yet. though i'd say "grow" has turned out to be more of a personal/self/work theme than an art/work theme thus far.
• my stated "goal: stop taking yourself so seriously" is proving to be both harder and easier than i imagined. 
• thus far this has been a solo project. ironically, all my formal training is in art that best involves more than one person (theatre, dance, choir, spectacle) 
• i miss collaborating. i want a tribe of people in real life so we can throw each other against the wall and laugh and cry together. (the chicago < california < london timetable is currently in the way of this.)
• i feel keenly that i am jane of all trades and master of none. and that if i want to level up to Epic Masterpiece, i'm going to have to buckle down and commit to one or two. which is terrifying. 
• that said, i'm surprised to find that i think some of my photos kick ass.
• other people seem to validate this in the comments. i'm even more surprised at that. 
• it is so simple and easy to totally make someone's day in the comments. 
• some of the pieces i almost didn't post have gotten the strongest response, and some of the ones i wish people would show more love just languish in oblivion. 
• do i care what other people think? why?
• i'm also confronting the part of me that thinks Epic Masterpiece is necessary. and the part that thinks becoming a Youtube star is secretly desirable. what do *I* want?

also, i have a ton of respect for people who are curating spaces of connection (like this) and bringing people (like me) out of their shells.

for the record, as of this listing, thus far the blog holds:

1 piano composition
1 piece flash fiction
20 photo sets
2 meta questions
1 manifesto
3 poems
4 pastel drawings
1 handmade envelope
3 a cappella layered recordings
1 pretentious art house film
4 sets notes taken in ink
3 doodles in pen
1 poetry reading
2 collages
1 sumi-e painting experiment
1 whiteboard stop motion film
1 song played and sung
3 confessions
1 pictionary clue

See all of Grow's creative works HERE.

Daily Shotgun

Esahn Dulin in New Orleans, Louisiana is making a Daily Shotgun, but it's probably not the kind you're thinking of. He says, "Everyday, I draw/paint/create a new shotgun house, which is a particular type of house in the south, particularly in New Orleans, my home."...

Why did you decide to do this project?  I chose to do this Project because I have always found Shotgun Houses to be very interesting structures. The ones in New Orleans vary in design and color scheme yet all seem to have the same narrow build and symmetrical doors and windows in the front. I thought creating different Shotgun Houses gave me a great level of both control and creativity.
Also, I wanted to make something that had to do with New Orleans. Although I am not from this city, it has had a large impact on me and I find it very inspiring.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? On an artist level, this project has made me more resourceful and creative. I tend to spend much of the day looking for what could look like a shotgun house or a new, unique way I can make one. I tend to create my most interesting pieces when midnight is very close.

Another affect this project has had on me is actually by improving my memory. I tend to be very forgetful, but I always remember I need to have a new house everyday. Over the past month, I feel a lot of other things in my life are easier to memorize. I feel it's a direct impact from doing this project.

 See all of Esahn's shotguns HERE.

Life In A Bell Jar

Larisa Feliciano in Melbourne, Australia is spending a year creating Life In A Bell Jar.

Why did you decide to do this project?  I love crafts, photography, painting, and sculpting.  I ran out of subjects to photograph one day and decided to take a photo of this toy mouse I just bought from an antiques market.  I placed him in this bell jar I had.  At first it looked so bare, and the mouse looked so lonely I just had to do something with it.  So in the end, I made him a home.  It was so fun to do I started making other worlds in other bell jars. And from then on I got hooked.



I'm trying to make one bell jar in 1-2 weeks depending on how intricate the details are. It's a year long challenge to me to constantly think of new themes and create most of the miniatures I use.  It's not easy to assemble since some of the items I make from scratch... i.e, fairy doors, flowering trees, tiny cottages, tiny gnome manned hot air balloons, etc. It takes hours, but it's very rewarding when finished. 

The theme differs depending on what I feel like doing.  So a typical week of mine may start with me weaving a tiny clay basket the hot air balloon project, to making clay flowers for a cherry blossom tree, to creating a new fairy door. Doing it in bits and pieces makes it more enjoyable,  I think.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I just can't sit still.  I just have to create something.  My mind is on overtime thinking of all these things I can make and my hands just can't keep up with it.   It is a great stress reliever. I imagine by the time the year is over, I'll probably have a room full of bell jars.

See Larisa's progress on her jars HERE.

365 Days of Soap

Holly Crandall in Tempe, Arizona is making 365 days of Soap...

Why did you decide to do this project? I want to expieriment with different soap making techniques and styles.  I decided to do this to bring my creativity to new heights, and see what new items I can come up with.  I also have wanted to learn how to do different techniques, but have yet to push myself and this is the perfect way to get me started.

2. How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I'm on day eight, and so far I have been so inspired to craft.  I want to make soap all day long, but I can't because I don't want to run out of ideas.  To fill my soap making void I've been sewing, making jewelry, and all kins of other stuff.  It's really been great :)

See all of Holly's soaps on her Facebook page HERE.

Gary's 2010 Photo A Day project

Gary Griffin  who lives in Middletown, Delaware and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania spent 2010 taking a photo every day and posting it on Facebook...

Why did you decide to do this project? I've always been intrigued by photography and wanted to explore that further. Also, I wanted to document my life for a year in photos. I was influenced by seeing a similar project done by someone else who lived in Miami a year or two earlier.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It affected me in several ways. First, I saw more of Philadelphia in 2010 than I had in the prior 19 years I worked in the city. I learned that Philadelphia is the city of murals - and saw hundreds of them. I found that the murals brought beauty, community involvement and pride to even the poorest, most challenged neighborhoods. I also saw some much more of the city - both its natural beauty and its incredible architectural wonders.

Second, it was a real challenge. I promised myself that I would do all I could to find new things each day to photograph. This promise tested me, especially in Philadelphia, as I work a 8 to 5 work day. The thing that made it all possible was that I work in Center City and had easy access to Philadelphia's two subway systems and the regional railroad lines.

Third, I was able to really develop the adventurer and explorer side of my personality (which is not something I can do very often as I'm an accountant)! I would plan most of my daily walks in the city and have a route I traveled by foot and by subway or rail. I became more aware of the world around me. I was deeply afffected by the people and places I saw. For example, I could see and feel the high level of unemployment in Philadelphia. I found that I often spoke to God as during my walks and photographed the beauty I saw.

Finally, I was able to document my large family and how they changed over the course of the year. It was wonderful.

See all of Gary's photos HERE.