Rebecca's 365 Creative Creations

Rebeca Ludusan in Yorba Linda, California is also making 365 Creative Creations...

Why did you decide to do this project? It's a challenge... It's something new and a new adventure.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  I feel like its getting me ready for a job.

See a calendar of all of Rebecca's creations HERE.

Yara's 365 Creative Creations

Yara Almouradi in Brea, California is also making 365 Creative Creations...

Why did you decide to do this project? I am a creative person, as are my friends, so as a group, we decided to have a new year's resolution that we could stick to. We decided to take a photo of our creative creation every day and post it on your individual websites. I am an art major-drawing & painting concentration, so this year-long creative commitment is a great experience, and it helps me build my portfolio as well.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It forces me to think of something creative on a daily basis, whether it is a photograph or a painting. It also helps me stay on track and organized by having a daily deadline.

See a calendar of all of Yara's creations HERE.

Jessica's 365 Creative Creations

Jessica Pruitt in  Bellflower, California is also making 365 Creative Creations...

Why did you decide to do this project?  I needed to get the creative juices flowing, and motivate myself to try new things.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It makes me think of all the creative things I already do, and gives me ideas for neat projects. Also, keeping track of all the things that I do gives me a sense of accomplishment.

See a calendar of all of Jessica's creations HERE.

Lorina's 365 Creative Creations

Lorina Daiana in Brea, California is doing 365 Creative Creations...

She explains...
While working on my architecture portfolio I started thinking of the power of practice. I remembered when I first got Photoshop and was overwhelmed with the program and after trying it again and again I now can’t see myself without it. It has helped me so much, and that goes for my art, photography, architecture, etc. The more practice we have the better we get, it is proven in our lives and around us daily. There is one thing that stands in our way; commitment! If we do not plan to do it, most likely we will not. Therefore I came up with this idea; to do a project a day for 365 days. This will help me improve my creative thinking and my portfolio. After mentioning this project to a few of my friends, they quickly decided to join me and that is how this team project came to be what it is!

Why did you decide to do this project? Ever since college started, I had a busy life and always seemed to run out of time to try out creative projects. I am very interested in how things are made & work and any art media therefore I wanted to use this project to explore art of all sorts, practice & improve in art, and inspire others as I inspire myself.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It has helped me relax during my hectic schedule and look at life through a different view, finding art in everything. It also helped me improve my skills in multiple areas {sewing, photography, design, & webdesign}.

See a calendar of Lorina's creations HERE.

And stay tuned for more from this group all week!

Kara365

Kara "near" Boston making a sketch every day in kara365...

Why did you decide to do this project? After going to college and grad school, and finally getting a foothold in the working world, I reflected and knew that the one thing that really kept my interest was anything to do with graphic design. So I decided to go back to school to pursue it. I took a drawing class this semester and I really enjoyed it, but I learned that drawing is a skill that disappears quickly if you don’t practice it frequently. I had occasionally seen sites where people did something everyday for a year, so I did some research and found lots of great examples (including this site).

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am only to day 31, but I told myself that if I made it to my first 30-day goal I would submit my blog to this site. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. The fact that I have actually made it to my first goal has really boosted my confidence – in both my slowly developing artistic skills and in my ability to stick with something, which I always have a hard time doing. And it can definitely be frustrating at times, especially after a particularly long day, to think “oh, I still have to do my sketch” when all I want to do is go to sleep. But it’s beginning to take a place in my daily routine and even when I am exhausted I still like to do it. I have set myself an additional goal for my next 30-day period: to spend at least 15 minutes on each drawing. Some of my very first ones are embarrassing because I spent all of 5 minutes (at the most) on them. So, I am devoting more time to it in increments as I go along. So far, it’s been incredibly rewarding! I am excited to see where this will lead me to in the future.

See all of Kara's sketches HERE.

Jessica Mack's 365 Project

Jessica Mack in Canberra, Australia has invited her friends to join her in taking on a 365 Project...

Why did you decide to do this project? I'm fairly new to the world of creating, and when a friend told me about the 365 book I figured it would be the perfect way to encourage me to try new things and create on a more regular basis.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It is certainly helping me to get more done. Usually I um and ah about things and then don't end up doing them. Or I'll start something, find it isn't working out perfectly and abandon it. The 365 project is teaching me to just have fun with it and get busy creating!

See what Jessica and her friends are up to on her Brown Paper Bunny blog HERE.

Behind The Chair likes 365

Congratulations to Rikki and her A Scissor(s) A Day project for the recent mention in the hairstylist magazine Behind The Chair!...

Through My Eyes

Jenny Hays of Naples, Florida is spending a year sharing her world in Through My Eyes. She explains, "This project is to document life lessons I’ve learned (the hard way, through others, and ones I’d like to share with my future children one day) as a person with Asperger’s Syndrome."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project as I believe that my life is an important journey that I should document!  Isn’t everybody’s?  However, as a person with Asperger’s Syndrome, my take on things can be a lot different from the perspectives of others...but they are what they are and by doing this project, perhaps I will open doors for others who are on the Autism Spectrum as well...I may not communicate like everyone else, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have anything to say...I have PLENTY to say, but the best way for me to say it is through my art (something I’ve enjoyed doing all my life).   Through photographs and art, I am able to communicate more than even some people without AS.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am only four days into this project, and am having some difficulty keeping up, but it is amazing how much less anxiety I feel, especially while doing the art.  I hope that it will let my family and others see my life and the lessons I’ve learned through the eyes of someone with Asperger’s Syndrome...my eyes...and perhaps even change preconceived notions about people on the Autism Spectrum.

See all of the things Jenny sees HERE.

The Thirty-Third Project

Megan E. Evans in the Denver Metro area, Colorado is doing The Thirty-Third Project. She explains, "I turned 32 in March. So while I live through my thirty-third year of life, I decided to create daily for one year."... 

Why did you decide to do this project? I just recently did some pretty extensive (and sometimes touchy, feely, but helpful) personal investigation with a career counselor and found that I thrive on variety and creating. These things are almost a life force for me, and I haven't been focusing on them at all. So for this year I decided to explore, with no real frame of reference other than just to create, whether that be painting or photography or mixed media or food—I would just think about it one day at time and do it.

A while back I wrote this about why I write (as I'm a novice fiction writer, too). But it also applies to art and craft creation:

Why I must create: It is within me. It is given to me—it is beauty I must give.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I've been doing the project now for 60 days. I love that each day there's one thing that I've done that I can say "Hey, I did that" no matter how wonderful or really crappy it is. (And some things come out pretty crappy.) It helps me shed some of my perfectionism. It also helps me realize what I'm good at and what I want to explore even further. It's therapy for me in a way. And I'm excited to see what things will come about as I continue throughout the year. Who knows… I have no limits (other than time) and that's exciting, too.

See all of Megan's 32nd year HERE or HERE.

Happy Feet 365

Carol Esch in Pittstown, New Jersey was inspired by Skull-A-Day & 365: A Daily Creativity Journal to document her Happy Feet 365...

Why did you decide to do this project? It is difficult for me to remember to do the same one thing EVERY DAY and I haven't been successful this time either... but I try. One time I tried painting a PEAR a day... didn't work.  Then I tried doing a doodle every day... didn't work.  So I had to find something simple to do every day that I could accomplish.

I have always loved painting pictures of my feet and I love photography, so I put the two together.   The pictures will remind me where I've been... with my happy feet.  I love traveling and I love walking...  At the end of the year I hope to print the 365 pictures on fabric and make a quilt with them...

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have inspired quite a few people to try the 365 Day Project doing various things..........I just love the concept!

I DO brush my teeth every day!

A Postcard A Day

Claressa Wilcox of Smiths Station, Alabama is making A Postcard A Day...

She explains...
I'm making a postcard every day for a year. I started on January 5th, and my sister teased me for not beginning with the new year. But now I'm nearly half-way through my year of postcards. I have used different mediums and found inspiration in places I certainly would not have expected, from things that make me laugh to things that make me angry, kids' cartoons to classic literature, exotic animals to my mom's glasses. I've learned a lot along the way: such as how to ride a bike, make a fantastic soup, draw with painting software, and cut kirigami.  I've also discovered things about myself, that I'm more motivated than I thought I was, that I'm more flexible, and that manila is my favorite paper.

Why did you decide to do this project? I wanted to test myself and push myself to really do something creative. I'm starting college in the fall, and I wanted to see if I had the discipline and maturity to take on (and keep on going) a project like this. To be honest, before I bought the Daily Creativity Journal, I'd heard of this kind of project before, but it never occurred to me that it was something I could do. I was inspired to start my own year-long, daily art project as I flipped through the Journal over the sales table at Barnes and Noble. That was over 130 days ago.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It has become a regular part of my routine, even if that means staying up later than I'd planned three nights out of five. So far this is the longest single project I've ever worked on (except for school, of course), and I've been doing it so long that my day feels incomplete if I'm unable to make a card. It has also made me practice art daily and forced me to stretch my creative muscles in trying to think of new things to do every day. I can definitely see my art improving, even if that just means it's getting cleaner and more "professional". By making postcards my medium and theme, I intended to use this project to connect with my family and friends and even strangers. But so far I've been so busy making the cards that I haven't been sending any out!

See all of Claressa's postcards HERE.

365 Days and Painting

Natalia Buitrago in Atlanta, Georgia is doing 365 Days and Painting.

She explains...
I am painting on a mini 3"x3" canvas every day for 365 days. I love going to book stores and reading different books, usually about anything that has to do with the arts. I literally picked up your book because it was in front of me and the cover caught my attention. I read it and became super excited about doing a project. It was the end of December 2010 so it was perfect timing for a new project to start in the new year 2011. no silly new year resolutions.. but instead a daily project documented in a digital blog that everyone could see. The ideas about what to do started to flow.. I finally decided to combine two of my favorite hobbies, Painting and collecting Pinky St (which are 4 inch tall figures). So I decided I would paint a mini painting every day of whatever I wanted that day and would take a pinky st and serve as a model for my painting. I sometimes coordinate them together and sometimes not. I am really enjoying this project, family and friends truly keep me motivated to keep going.

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because it looked challenging as well as fun and interesting. Also to improve my creativity as a graphic designer.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Doing a yearlong/daily project has affected me in a very positive way, I truly appreciate my family and friends for following my blog and always writing positive and encouraging messages. Being committed to doing something every day is not easy and consistency is the key to any successful project. I really like the idea of challenging myself to make something new each day.

See all of Natalia's days & paintings HERE.

A Year and a Day of Mythical Poetry

Mythica von Griffyn in Denver, Colorado is doing A Year and a Day of Mythical Poetry. She says, "A year and a day used to be the amount of time for an engagement in the old days. It is considered a year of commitment."...

Why did you decide to do this project?  After seeing the movie "Julie & Julia" seeing how a year project affected her life, and became a movie, I decided to do write poetry for a year and a day. Also another poetry critic had said that American poetry only reacted to the environment rather than created something we could strive for. Thus began my journey on September 13th, 2010.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? After the first 100 days I then realized that I had also not had a migraine since I began the project! That in processing my emotions through the poetry I greatly reduced the frequency and severity of the ones I did get, now only sporadically due to something in the physical environment. I have had many people tell me through comments on the poetry website how the poetry has helped inspire them as much as it has me. My poetry website has grown from 2,000 hits a month to 5,000... and I have been FLOORED & deeply touched by the faithful following.


Read all of Mythica's poetry HERE or on Facebook HERE.

I Am Not A Real Fish

Gail Griggs in Cheshire, UK is doing a project called I am not a real fish. She explains that her goal is, "to take a new photo every day which features the same small orange plastic toy goldfish. Why the fish? Because it’s the first thing I came across that was small enough to fit in my handbag, wouldn’t break and could be easily cleaned. And because I like orange too."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I needed to take more photos, more often and I guessed this would make me do so. After a short career break to have a baby, I felt I’d lost my photographer status and needed to get back into some sort of work routine, which is hard when you’re freelance. I also needed to get my creative juices flowing again and claw back some me-time every day. I’m so glad I started the project. I’ve got so much more than I anticipated out of it. It’s amazing how agreat comment from a complete stranger on one of my images can make me smile all day.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Well, I’m now four months in with over 120 photos and it has made me realise I don’t have to have a few hours a day to create a fab photo. Often those that I took in two minutes are the ones that get noticed, while others I spent days planning and getting right just pass by uncommented. I do feel like a photographer again, and I feel others now see me as that again too. It’s hard for friends and family not to when I’m wandering round their house looking for somewhere interesting to photograph my fish!

I was also really shy of my work and scared about putting it out there for everyone to see. But, I’ve found sharing my work on the internet isn’t such a scary place after all – I’ve learnt to just stop thinking about things and get on with it. I’ve even made quite a few print sales of my images. You never know unless you try.

See all of Gail's fish photos on her Facebook page HERE.