Dragon-A-Day

Phillippe St. Gerard in Brooklyn, NY has created a Dragon-A-Day since 2009!

 

Why did you decide to do this project? Dragons have always been a passion of mine, artistically as well as in general, and I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil. When I went to art school, drawing became synonymous with 'work" instead of "that thing I do for the sheer pleasure of it." Basically, my focus shifted so that I was only making art in order to get work (updating my portfolio, making new marketing material, stuff like that) or to complete the projects that I had gotten. When I fell into a dry spell, my work suffered but I didn't realize it. A friend of mine suggested a cool idea that I should draw, so I (gasp!) actually tried to do it in my spare time. I then realized how rusty my skills had gotten and decided that I should draw every day, regardless of what else I was doing. I knew I needed a theme that I wouldn't get bored with, so I chose to do dragons. 

 

 

 

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It's robbed me of a lot of sleep.

 

But seriously, people are often impressed by the fact that I'm still doing it, or they're really impressed when they hear that I've been doing this for more than 5 years when they hear about it for the first time. This isn't to say that I haven't learned a few things, though.

 

One of the first things I learned was that I do best with some kind of feedback, but I don't really need it. Once upon a time when Facebook integration with RSS feeds worked better, people I knew paid more attention to Dragon-A-Day, and I took their suggestions and jokes and ran with them. As it slowly became phased out I found myself talking with myself more and more, and Dragon-A-Day sort of became this one-sided dialogue with myself, with a small recurring cast to help illustrate these conversations.

 

Also, since it went from open forum to one-sided self-critique, I've come to look hard at the artistic crutches and conventions that I find myself relying on, and have been trying to wean myself off of them. It's not like I've been doing any sort of "year in review" or anything; I just realize things like "hey, I've been drawing scales this way on a lot of dragons," every so often, so I start trying to draw them differently.

Stuff like that.

It's also made me a bit philosophical, sometimes having (shorter now) discussions with myself about what a dragon even is, because of the various interpretations across cultures and media- I'll freely admit that my perceptions were colored a bit heavily by Western pop culture and the obvious Asian influences with little room inbetween. I've been trying to dig up less-widely known legends in my spare time looking for draconic creatures, and have not been disappointed.

Reading your site made me realize that I've been using the same media (mainly pencils with the occasional array into the digital realm), so I've been trying my hand at pens. I've kind of fallen in love with ballpoint pen drawing. Thanks for that.

Finally, the last and probably most important thing is that inspiration can be found any old place, as long as you're willing to let it. Dragons based on all kinds of things from my daily life have come to fill my little sketchbooks, and subsequently the internal/external dialogue I've been having with my readers and followers.

See all of Phillippe's dragons HERE.

Daily Type Grind

Denton Pretorius in Cape Town, South Africa created Daily Type Grind, a 26 day challenge to improve his creativity and type design skills...

Why did you decide to do this project?  The decision to start the Daily Type Grind was entirely spontaneous, and perhaps a practise run for the 2015 ’36Days of Type’ Instagram event. Every day I produced an upper-case letter of the latin alphabet consecutively for 26 days exploring form, technique and art direction, whilst simultaneously improving speed and my own processes.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Completing this project was a huge achievement for me. It required intense discipline to not make excuses and to schedule time aside from client work and socialising. I also started to recognise creative patterns of a system that would work best, that I could now bring into new projects. The feeling of momentum was what kept me going towards the final more difficult days and when the end goal started to visually present itself, it felt rewarding. I have definitely improved my knowledge on type form and the endless possibilities of type design, as well as now having a handful of potential designs to explore and refine into useable typefaces.

 

 

See all of Denton's letters HERE. 

Daily Story Seeds

Scott Walker in Los Angeles, CA is creating Daily Story Seeds. He explains, "DSS is a free daily email containing a story seed: an idea for, or the beginning of, a potential story. Daily Story Seeds usually include an element of the fantastic, even though they’re often inspired by factual posts/podcasts I’ve come across."

Image by Conor Mayling

Why did you decide to do this project?

It was a gradual, and almost unintentional, decision.

I often come across articles in Feedly that spark ideas for stories. In late February, I read a post about a Buddha statue that was found to have a mummy inside it, and I thought it would be so easy to grow a story out of this little seed. So I shared the idea over Twitter:

"Today's #storyidea 'Scan Reveals This Buddha Statue Has A Mummy Inside' http://bit.ly/1EhuNgl"

By the next day, I had decided I would tweet a story idea each day, changed the hashtag to #storyseed, and posted this:

 

“Today's #storyseed: 'The Grand Godzilla Hotel.' Godzilla is the new bellboy at a distinguished hotel. http://bit.ly/1AGvtJx“

A few days later, I realized these daily tweets were getting lost in the the Twitter stream, and I was also hitting the 140-character Twitter limit. So I talked to a few folks who had responded to my daily tweets and asked them if they would sign up to receive them via email. They said yes, so I set up a Mailchimp list, worked up a serviceable logo, and officially launched Daily Story Seeds.

I would say this started as an idea I had to share publicly and formally (i.e., a Daily Story Seed) something I was already experiencing privately and informally (i.e., I would have inspirations for stories each morning while going through my RSS feed).

While it took me a week or so to figure out exactly what Daily Story Seeds should be, the decision to turn it into a 365 project happened almost instantly, and the reason was simple: I have long been searching for a 365 project that was (a) manageable, (b) fun, and (c) potentially interesting to other people. I feel like I stumbled into just that with Daily Story Seeds.

 

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? (feel free to include some specific examples of new/unusual things you've experienced)

It’s still relatively early days (the official launch was March 4th), but I love the fact that I feel obligated to stick with this project. And sticking with this project has already helped me find new confidence as a creative. And *that* has given me a ton of inspirational energy to tackle additional ideas I’ve long wanted to complete (one of them is another daily project!).

Get Scott's Daily Story Seeds in your inbox by signing up HERE!

#CreativeSprint

Need a creative boost? 

 My art & innovation consulting company Another Limited Rebellion is offering a free 30-day #CreativeSprint to anyone who wants a fast, fun way to get their brains in shape this spring!

The challenge starts April 1 and all you have to do is sign-up HERE for our daily email prompts!

Stuffed Animal A Day

Rebecca Jackson has quite the creative family! She sent me the following note, "Inspired by his brother Den’s Lego a Day and my Robot a Day, my 11-year-old Rylan has now been working on a 365 project. He has a myriad of stuffed animals that he writes lengthy stories about (one such story is 51 pages long)—they all have names and personalities. So he’s featuring something to do with his stuffed animals each day." So without further ado, here's Rylan's project...

Rylan Jackson of Baldwin City, Kansas is creating a project called Stuffed Animal A Day!



Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this because I had great ideas and my brother and mother were doing it so I decided to do it. I also have over 80 stuffed animals so I have plenty of things I can do.

How has doing the project affected your life? It has affected my life by me doing it. Every day I do my blog in the morning so I can be done with it and I don’t forgot to do it. I do it right when I get up and that is why it affects my life. It makes me feel like I just can’t stop and I have to do it right away. And it’s fun to make something with them every day like them getting stuck or them just being funny.

Follow Rylan's progress HERE.

ArtFoodWine365

Katerina AKA Plateresca in Madrid, Spain is creating ArtFoodWine365...

Why did you decide to do this project? The funny thing is, I decided to get into a large and time-consuming project because I was overworked. I knew that such a project would make me find that ever-eluding time to spend with my art and writing, and when my husband gave me 365: A Daily Creativity Journal as a Christmas present, I plunged into it that very evening, and by New Year we had my website up and ready for the first 'real' post and the first prompt!

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have only been doing the project for less than two months now and I hope that you ask me again in a year and I can boast some significant career changes owing to this project... But right now I can tell you that it is true that if you can stick to one habit, it makes it easier to go on with all the others. I was trying to draw daily last year, but missed several days almost every month. Since I've started my ArtFoodWine project, I haven't missed a day of drawing, though my blog doesn't always require me to draw something for it!

I do hope to find new friends via this project.

I think that daily blogging teaches us humbleness, too, because you have to share something even if you don't really think it's great, and it's not a bad side effect.

And I just like doing it, I feel more whole when it is my daily task to create and share something. Starting this blog was like coming back home for me!

See all of Katerina's posts HERE.

A Bird A Day

Stripygoose in London created a bird a day for a year from September 1st 2013 to August 31st 2014!




Why did you decide to do this project? I came across mailart 365, thanks to working alongside its founder, Andy Hoang, for a while, and was immediately interested. So I started making and blogging mailart every day for a year, and completed my first 365 in March 2013. I loved it so much I knew I wanted to repeat the experience and decided, as I’m stripygoose and drawing and collaging birds makes me happy, it had to be a bird a day. I was really tempted by the challenge of having a single theme for all 365 postcards.



How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? It’s brought me a tonne of enjoyment and connected me with mailartists all over the world. Now, other mailartists send me bird art in the post and that’s wonderful too.

The happy-sense of achievement is a great feeling. The daily practice has a surprising and liberating effect, in spite of it being a routine. It also guaranteed that I spent time every single day doing something I like doing. That can’t be bad can it - sometimes it was only a few minutes, sometimes longer, but always worth it.

Inspired by all of this, I have started going to a fantastic, local community arts group and am amazed to say I have exhibited some of my art in galleries too. I’ve rediscovered a love of art.


See all of Stripygoose's birds HERE and HERE.

A Year in the Trees

Alycia Helbling in Portland, Oregon is creating A Year in the Trees.

Why did you decide to do this project? My main career involves helping others, and art is for me. I care for myself by spending time in nature, with trees, and by appreciating the Earth through spending time observing and translating natural things into art. Choosing to do a project every day has given me even more of an excuse to take the time to mindfully experience the natural world around me. Trees, in particular, have always been exceptionally important to me . They give me strength, oxygen and wisdom.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I see more. I notice every tree on my walks to and fro. I notice how the branches grow in different directions on different trees. I feel calmer and happier having spent more time observing and creating. I also have tried new mediums I had never thought to use, or have been nervous to try. Doing art every day has helped me dive in and get my feet wet more often and more freely. I am really grateful for what I have experienced so far and I am looking forward to the rest of the year.

See all of Alycia's trees HERE.

A Painting A Day

Matthew Langley of  New York,  New York  is making A Painting A Day!

Why did you decide to do this project? 2014 was a really creative year for me. Without expecting it, I started on a new body of artwork that has been received far beyond my modest expectations. At the same time it got me thinking about my work and how I have been pursuing new images in my work. I realized I was plowing through ideas at a fast pace and I got really energized by that.

This last December I had a show of my artwork at a gallery and had a great experience. One of the things I was able to do during the installation process of that show was to develop a deep conversation about painting with a fellow artist there. These conversations were very unlike other artist conversations. They were full of detailed technical approaches and open honest questions about the approach of both of our works. In short, they were a feast of knowledge gained by actually making art and listening to others.

I have become determined to expand this knowledge and I've decided to push it as hard as I possibly can for the new year. I have decided to do a painting every day of the year.

These artworks may come as quite a shock to people who have always viewed my work as being exclusively hard edged. During the course of this year I am trying to focus on approaching this work with openness, eagerness, and a lack of preconceptions of the final outcome. I’m hoping to find new ways of working and discovering qualities about my work that are currently unknown to me.

 How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  As far as life changing experiences go, I’ve been into this now for one month, so it’s very early to tell. While nothing has been exceptionally groundbreaking, there has been a sense of understanding of the tasks at hand and a freedom that has allowed me to loosen up my artwork and to let more in – as opposed to parsing more out. Currently that has been the biggest change – getting out of my own way and letting the artwork flow.

See all of Matthew's painting HERE.

 

Phobias

Matt Gruenfeld in Chicago, Illinois is creating a yearlong project about Phobias!

Why did you decide to do this project? I am a high school art teacher, and was given your book by my co worker (another art teacher who is also taking the challenge). I am primarily a 2-D artist that specializes in figurative work. I chose Phobias since there are so many (over 500), and I have always been interested in the quirks of the human mind/personality

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  I think that this has really helped me focus on creating something daily.  I love coming up with new solutions to the creative problems posed.  It has also helped in my idea generation outside of doing pieces for the book. For example, I have started a series based on the major arcana of tarot cards.

See all of Matt's phobia's HERE.  

365 Spoons

Sonya Penn in Louisville, Kentucky is making 365 Spoons in 2015. She explains, "I recently started experimenting with making different spoons with clay. They are intriguing in that they are very personal items that have the ability to bring art into every day life. Spoons are probably the first utensil used by babies and will be used throughout their entire lives. My idea is this: Create one spoon a day for the entire year of 2015. 365 spoons is A LOT of spoons!"

Why did I decide to do this project? I wanted to come up with a daily practice in creativity that had the capacity to hold my interest for the entire year. I also was launching a new website and I wanted some daily content that I could feel good and confident about. I had been making clay spoons here and there and found them to be interesting and versatile. The possibilities are endless! I find myself actually having to hold back and not make a bunch of spoons all in one day. At night I go to sleep thinking about what the next day's spoon will be.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have only just started the project and I am nine days in. I know there will be days that I really won't want to make a spoon. I have already had to force myself to make one at least one time. I let it get late and was tired, but I overcame the human tendency to procrastinate. I expect to find discipline and I expect to be able to explore many possibilities with styles and creativity.

See all of Sonya's spoons HERE. 

365 Buddhas

Julian and Vickie are creating Buddha inspired images and texts daily for a year in 365 Buddhas. They explain, "The writings and visuals may match, clash or coordinate...all up to chance!"

Why did you decide to do this project? Looking to break out of artistic boxes by exploring new methods. 

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life?  we are only 2 days in but I am loving how creation is becoming a daily habit rather than a break from habit.

Follow their progress 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.