Hungerpaints

Natalia Dinsmore in Brookline, Massachusetts is creating daily to "help cope with whatever gets thrown at me" in Hungerpaints...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because I needed motivation to help me in my recovery process from an eating disorder. I love art but I found it hard to actually sit down, and seperate time to do it. So by creating this blog, it forced me to find a break in my day to do something positive for myself.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? My eyes are open a lot more. I look around and see what I can photograph or make instead of  just moving through my day, monotonously.

See all of Natalia's projects HERE.

Visible Gratitude

Rebekah Sherwood in Dallas, Texas is documenting things for which she's thankful in her daily in her project Visible Gratitude...

Why did you decide to do this project? In 2011, I kept a gratitude journal. I tried to write down every day ten things I was thankful for from that day. I wanted to cultivate a heart of gratitude to God for all that He has blessed me with each day. Once the year was over, I didn't want to just stop being intentionally thankful. So, I decided to carry my gratitude over into picture form. I'd been toying around with the idea of doing a 365 blog, so it worked out well to put those desires together.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? So far I've completed 98 days. It has been good for me to continue to find things in my life every day for which I'm thankful. The more thankful I am every day, the more joy I find in life. Doing this project has also helped my photography skills improve!

See all of the things Rebekah is thankful for HERE.

Waking up in Berks County

Danielle Nuhfer in Reading, Pennsylvania is creating Waking up in Berks County. She explains, "My project is a photo project where I take one picture/day of anything that is in Berks County.  It doesn't have to be a specific thing, it just has to be something that lives, breathes or is located in the fine place where I live."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this project because Reading, PA was deemed the country's most poverty-stricken city in the United States in 2011.   I started to get very concerned that all of these things were going on around me, yet I had no real perception that this was the case nor was I doing anything to help the community.

I was ashamed that I lived a moderately comfortable life, completely oblivious that I was living within a community that was among the poorest in the country.  I was so desensitized to my own surroundings that I didn't even recognize all the pain in my very back yard.  This really shook me.  I realized that I was not living a very present life.  So, my project has a two-fold purpose. First,  I am using it to make sure that I make an attempt to stay present in my daily life.  By taking a picture every day of the world around me, I am forced to stop all those things I THINK are important and wake up to reality.  Second, it is helping me to see the reality of the world I live in.  I am able to capture the beautiful, the mundane, the ugly and everything in between.  Only from a place of presence will I be able to move forward and give back to this community that I have called home for over half of my life.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Well, I'm only in the second month and it has been really interesting.  I am learning that eventually every day something will inspire me to take a photograph but I sometimes I need to look for those opportunities.  The first few days were simple but then I started to run out of those BIG things to capture.  I made a promise that I was going to try to conduct my life as naturally as possible and not go driving all over the countryside to take a picture from various remote locations every day.  I wanted to stay true to reality...not what I create for a blogging/project opportunity.  So, I have settled in and taking a picture is something I do every day.  I'm not completely consistent with the uploads, but behind the scenes the pictures are being taken and the information is being logged.  One thing that I love is that my eyes have a new purpose, there is a heightened sense of duty.   One day at a time I am becoming active and invested in my life....all through taking a picture.

This seemingly simple process has now given me even more ideas for ways to incorporate this concept of "waking up in Berks County".  I have started to use some of the pictures I've taken in multi-media collages that I create.  I couple the pictures with cutouts of local articles to create a truly unique piece of art that on all dimensions is inspired by Berks County and created in Berks County.  It's important to me to be an active citizen giving back and this is the way that I'm finally starting to fill that purpose in my life.

See all of Danielle's photos HERE.

180 Degrees

Tiffany Parris in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is creating 365 Postcards in her 180 Degrees project. She explains, "I am taking mail that I receive, some of it pretty yucky (read the description on the blog), and repurposing it into new postcards. I am opening the project up to any readers to send me mail and if they choose, I will send them a 'repurposed postcard' in return."...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do this because I am in a season in my life when my mail really sucks. I hate opening my mail. I wanted to turn it around into something positive.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I actually enjoy looking into the gruesome mail slot these days. I know that whatever financial, emotional, and spiritual struggles I am currently in right now will not last forever. There is a light at the end of the PO Box. I enjoy these little moments of creative energy. I am not setting out to make a piece that will be sold or that will ever hang in a gallery, but it makes me happy to unwind and just tear and glue paper.

If you'd like to send/get some "happy" mail from Tiffany contact her through her site HERE.

HaikuDawg Follow-Up

Danielle Durkin and Maria Ayoob finished their joint yearlong HaikuDawg project on March
5, 2012...

Dull ache behind eyes
Sisyphus taught me today
Lift and step forward.
—D.D. #10 3.16.11

 The chickadee’s call
Delicious sound of morning
Taste the mellow notes
—M.Y.A. #110 6.24.11

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project?

Dani: I reveled in the regular communication and sharing of creative energy with others. I created a small group of folks I would send haiku to each night and it was mutually inspiring. Having a place to go once a day to focus a thought and/or feeling allowed me to crystalize experiences in my day or week in such a way that I felt  more connected and mindful of my surroundings.

Maria: I think I became a little braver. There is satisfaction and fun to be had in using my 'voice,' but to get it I have to give up my fear of being heard - and of being judged on my mistakes, my silliness, my mediocrity.

Old friend embrace me
No matter the roads we walk
I will see you there.
—D.D. #49 4.24.11

 The freshest morning!
Bliss is cool air on bare skin
Light-white-blue on brown
—M.Y.A. #125 7.9.11

In what ways did the project change your life?

Dani: My friendship with Maria has strengthened and deepened because we are doing the project together and our haikus are like a wonderful, ongoing conversation. Due to my illness over the last several years, I've felt isolated and at a loss as to how to reintroduce creative outlets to my routine. Consistency with this simple haiku art has reopened up a tiny window of light and communication I've craved. It's profoundly healing.

Maria: My friendship with Danielle has grown profoundly this year. Our haiku-conversation has been accompanied by many phone and email conversations, single word text messages asking for help or offering support, and the pleasure of getting to know each other as we are now. My relationship with depression has changed too. I've found some words to describe this very private experience. Re-reading those words has given me some ideas about what is consistent about my depression, the ways it manifests physically for me and how it reflects the seasons and colors my perception of the world around me. Finally, the project has taught me to be delighted by what I see. I love my city, my neighborhood, my walk to work, the little changes in the weather much more because of it.

I lift myself up,
Flutter moth-like to life’s light,
Stretching my burned wings.
—D.D. #68 5.13.11

Fall begins like this
A cooler afternoon light
One spiraling leaf
—M.Y.A. #199 9.21.11

Now what? We've decided to do another year of HaikuDawg together, starting April 1st,
2012, as well as try to publish our haikus for a wider audience. A lot has happened for both of us in a
year and we suspect our complex lives will be reflected in the new batch of haiku.

Laughter is the thread,
Knotting our hearts together,
Joining our loose ends.
—D.D. #290 12.21.11

I want my mind clear
My skull empty, echoing
Like a cave of bone
—M.Y.A. #220 10.12.11

Read the original HaikuDawg interview HERE.

Walking off the cliff,
Feeling wind yet not fearless,
Breathing into flight.
—D.D. #324 1.24.12

November, blue-gray
I was born in this cold month
Its shadows hold me
—M.Y.A. #266 11.27.11

And you can read all of Danielle and Maria's haiku HERE.

Rebecca's 365

Rebecca Grace Jones in Shepherdstown, West Virginia is doing a daily creativity project inspired by 365: A Daily Creativity Journal...

Why did you decide to do this project? I found your book in our wonderful, local independent bookstore, Four Seasons Books, Shepherdstown, WV, at the end of December last year and got very excited about the idea of starting this yearlong project right away in the new year. I love assignments. I loved them when I was a student and later when I became a commercial illustrator. I enjoy the challenge of taking someone's idea and seeing what creative thing it leads me to do.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I am on my 92nd day. I've been posting each thing I do on my Facebook page. It is enormous fun to have my friends give me feedback and comment and tell me how they relate to what I do. So it has become a great way to share and interact with my friends. Sometimes I get an idea of what I want to do immediately, sometimes I really struggle, sometimes I don't like the project idea and don't want to do it! But the funny thing is that those are the projects that usually come out the best. Each project seems to push me and increase my creative vocabulary, either with new media, new techniques or just making me think. I just wish I had more time to spend on them! I can give myself only a few hours a day tops because I make my living as an artist and need to 'make product to sell'. Sometimes that influences what I do, because I think if I make something I can use for my Work work, then it justifies the time spent. But mostly I just have fun!

I've also noticed a difference in my confidence level. For example, 'ask a stranger', I was unsure about doing and it ended up being the best fun! I'm tempted to gush with detail about all this, but I know you are a busy man and must get many emails to read. So just suffice it to say...thanks! I didn't realize I needed to 'change my life' when I started your book. Now I see how this works!

Follow Rebecca's progress on her blog HERE.

Eats and Reads

Deborah Moore in West Valley, Utah is doing a yearlong project called Eats and Reads. She explains, "Every day I pick a different childrens book and make a snack that goes along with it."...

Why did you decide to do this project?  I've already been doing Eats and Reads, but I wanted to do something more consistent.  I love to cook, make healthy snacks and getting kids excited about current books.  

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I started doing sporadic Eats and Reads over a year ago as a way to have something to blog about.  It's helped me learn what picture books are out there.  As an aspiring author this is important, but by making treats to go along with the books it's more entertaining for me. I've recorded some of my creations, but I've never been 100% certain how the snack would turn out.  Creating and rushing toward possible failure has given me a chance to get over some of my hang ups and try a few unusual things.  For example, I made a Chihuahua out of peanut butter, graham crackers, and banana's.  It turned out cute, but I had no idea if it'd even work when I was doing it. Other times I'm made a cute looking snack which my kids absolutely hated.  One highlight was when I let S.A. Boden, author of "The Compound" know that I made a snack for her book.  She thought it was a fun idea. 

I wrote my first rough novel (in submission, but it hasn't been picked up by any agents yet) by forcing myself to write a little every day.  This helped me work past the creative blocks and discouragement.  I love the fact that your book provides little prompts and has realistic support for creative and artist types.

See all of Deborah's Eats and Reads HERE.

Marieke's A Flower A Day

Marieke Rolloos in Delft, the Netherlands is making A Flower A Day...

Why did you decide to do this project? I wanted to do a year project to inspire myself. I choose to make flowers, because they make me happy. I want to share with other people, that's why I put the flowers somewhere in Delft. Other people like it and give positive feedback. It makes them smile!!!

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? Because of this project I came up with new ideas and projects. I am giving creative workshops and this project inspires other people as well. That is very nice! It is a positive project with "good news", it makes people happy. I think the world can use that! ;-)

See all of Marieke's flowers HERE.

Janetpalooza

Janet Lundy in Richmond, Virginia decided to attend 31 musical performances in 31 days and document what she experienced. She called it Janetpalooza...

Why did you decide to do this project? The project really started as an accident.  I work with local community radio station WRIR, and there happened to be a lot of really good bands playing in town during their fund drive.  So I decided to use that fund-drive week to see as many performances as I could.  After seeing 8 shows in 8 days, and after realizing that, coincidentally, I had started this on March 1st, my husband said that I should try to see 31 shows in 31 days - one for every day of the month.  I laughed at the idea at first, but then after seeing a few more shows over the next few days, another friend pointed out that I was already almost halfway there.  So what else could I do but try to complete the challenge?

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? This project has really forced me to move outside of my comfort zone.  I tend to have a bit of social anxiety, so I've been working really hard to not just keep to myself when I go out.  I've had conversations with people I hadn't met before.  I've formed stronger friendships with people I previously didn't know that well.  I've danced in public.  And I even hugged a total stranger who kept watch over my phone when I accidentally left it on a table at a club.

I've listened to music I probably wouldn't have listened to before.  Learned about bands I wouldn't have heard otherwise.  Renewed my love of genres I thought I had outgrown.  Learned that shows rarely start on time around here.  Saw that some of the best bands can be some of the most overlooked.  And stayed up way too late for too many days in a row!

I also learned that if I ever decide to do something like this again, I need to PLAN better.  Laundry, showers, and hot meals are nice things to have and can easily get shoved aside when you're trying to cram a few more hours worth of stuff into an already busy day.

Read about all of Janet's musical experiences HERE.

Daily Mini Sculpture Project

Rachel Dorn in Yakima, Washington is doing a Daily Mini Sculpture Project, for 80 days...

Why did you decide to do this project? I decided to do the project as a way to get back into the studio during the school year (when I teach). Additionally, I was curious how it would compare to do a directed piece (like those I require my students to do) compared to a free, open-ended piece, given the same amount of clay and the same amount of time to plan and to work.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I haven't been doing this long enough to answer question two very well. I plan to assess the quality of the two groups of works and the end of 80 days. (it has been about 18 days as of March 26). The one certain change is that I have been in the studio everyday at home (not just teaching in the studio at work).

See all of Rachel's sculptures HERE.

Year of The Tshirt

Brian Shevlin in New York City's Lower East Side has been creating Year of The Tshirt since 2010. 

He explains, "Every Day, I wear a different tshirt, take a picture, and post it online. Many website are about selling cool tshirts, showing off cool design, or products to buy... This site is simply about the love of great tshirts, new, vintage, homemade or available everywhere, curated by one person... As well as sticking to a simple idea, and doing it every single day. We now have different people take the website for 3 months each, and wear a different tshirt every day for their 3 month duration. So that we have a different persons perspective and collection shared every 3 months.

Why did you decide to do this project? It probably started with my love of tshirts, my large collection, and that I just wanted to do something. I wanted to do something that would help promote the art collective that I had just started, called Con Artist. It was a simple idea that I thought would be fun. It's grown and expanded over the past few years to what it is now... which is a pretty big website on tshirts within the tshirt geek circle. It's also been a great catalyst to begin discussions with some awesome and very creative people, as well as a lot of free tshirts.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? A daily project has been much harder than you first image. To do something, everyday, is exhausting. In the end though, you learn so much more about something when you force yourself to do it everyday. As well as the sense of accomplishment when you stick to such a big project. It's made me really pay more attention and planning to any kind of travel, or even how I plan, or where I sleep and what I do each day.

In the end, it's been one of the greatest experiences I have ever had even if it is something as simple as wearing a tshirt every day.

See all of Brian's T-shirts HERE.

Bridget's Drawing A Day & Paperdoll A Day

Bridget McAlonan in Topsham, Maine did a Drawing a Day 2011 and  Paperdoll a Day 2012....

She explains, "For the month of March I'll be doing a Feminist Paper Doll A Day. Who inspires you? I welcome your suggestions of feminists who are striving to undo oppression currently or in the past.

I had intended to make a paper doll per day (or more) through the month of January. I have a problem with becoming obsessed with things and I do believe that the paper doll issue is the latest personal obsession."

Why did you decide to do these projects? For Drawing a Day 2011, I began this project out of frustration with myself. I was stuck. So on a whim on January 1, 2011 I made a resolution (which I never make): I'd do at least one drawing per day. I gave myself rules: I had 30 minutes or less to complete the drawing. Once that 30 minute mark was hit the drawing was done. In addition, to keep myself honest, I would post the drawings on my Facebook page, Inventing Trees within a couple of days of creation (if not that day). The drawing did not have to be good...I just had to do it. I did not create perimeters around media.

For Paperdoll A Day 2012, I was very interested in paperdolls and decided "what the hell."  I am currently still doing the Drawing a Day project but on a private basis.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? The result is that I have created a daily habit. I feel weird now if I haven't done a drawing. My family also has accepted that this is part of my routine. I have done the drawings while travelling, regardless of sickness and despite overwhelming other demands on my time. I have created at least one drawing everyday over the course of the year.  The spin out of these projects is an increased ability to focus and think outside the box.  My graphic skills have increased as well.

Read more about Bridget's drawings HERE and paperdolls HERE.

Get Unstuck at the New York Public Library

I will be at the New York Public Library this Saturday to lead their Hand-Made Crafternoon!

Saturday, April 14,  2 – 4 pm

New York Public Library

Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Margaret Liebman Berger Forum

 

We'll be doing some of the exercises from my new book Unstuck along with a classic craft from my Skull-A-Day project!

The event is FREE and open to the public, though they do recommend making a reservation since space is limited. All the details can be found HERE.

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

Drake Designs 365

Samantha in West Hartford, CT is using my book to inspire her 365 day creativity project...

Why I decided to do this year long project? I needed something to get my art moving, a direction, a purpose. Although extremely creative, getting started can be a challenge for me.When I came across the book at 'Paper Source' in Boston I felt that it could be a great start. I thought by the end of a year I would have a better idea of where to take my art and have fun in the process.


The project of the day directs what medium to work in. Photography and paper cutting are the two that I like the most.

How has the daily project changed my life? The way my life has changed is really amazing. As a result of posting the project everyday, to my blog and Facebook, I have a confidence in my talent and art that I never had before. I am discovering ways to be creative that I never gave myself permission to do before, as in fun ways! My life long dream has been to support myself by doing art. By starting the journal that dream is quickly becoming real. It also inspired me to finish my BFA. Currently I am applying to the The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

One of my early pieces from the journal was posted on the 'Electra' bike blog on Valentine's day, that was a proud moment for me.

See all of Samantha's projects HERE.