The 100 Day Challenge

 

I’m doing it again but a bit different than in the past. Picasso said Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. So I’m going to be working but not posting.

My project is to spend at least an hour every day making art but this year I won’t be sharing on social media. Sharing on social media shifts my intention from fun to making good or at least halfway decent works.  The pressure builds, the joy fades and the work shows it.  This time it’s just for the fun of doing the work.  I will still be posting my quick morning sketches but that isn't part of the project, that's just what I do every morning to start my day.

My intention is to start the morning asking myself what I want to make today.  It could be working on something new – or maybe finish one of the many starts I have laying around.  I could be drawing or making a paper clay bowl.  It doesn’t matter what and it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, only that I do it just the fun of doing. I'm on day 5 and have already had fun ripping up canvas strips from a painting that I finally decided was not working and wasn't going to because I didn't like any of it.  I do like the strips I got from the ripping -- now thinking about what I can do with them.

 

Art Is Everywhere

 " You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water"

And you can't make a painting simply by looking at your paints.  But you can do a quick sketch every morning and you can do art so many other ways.

You can do art other ways as well.  I was reminded of that this morning as I was reading an email sent to me by one of the Gallery Uptown artists, Chris Brown. He wrote: "To me art is every day. I may not do my oil pastels today, but I may cook dinner, trim a few bonsai's, drive to the lake or farmlands and take few photos. Art is everywhere."

I was reminded of my smile this morning as I looked out at the shadows the sunshine was making on the snow in our back yard.  It's rare, sunshine in winter in Michigan, and much appreciated when we are lucky enough to get it.

Looking through images for inspiration is another way of doing art, sometimes one stands out, sometimes not but the looking at images of things that have inspired me at one time or another is enjoying art so that counts.

Breakfast with friends is another I think.  Sometimes the conversation -- or the art on the walls --or the decor on the tables.  Sometimes it's just a bush waiting for Spring when it will begin to bloom again.

Parts of this one may be my morning sketch tomorrow.  I usually post those on instagram and sometimes on Facebook.

And speaking of posting and Chris Brown, I got the email from him because the Gallery Uptown is bringing back it's blog.  The Gallery is celebrating 50 years in business and among other things the blog will be featuring a bit of artist history.  We're doing interviews via email and I got a return from Chris this morning.  Watch the gallery blog for some interesting reading.

It's The Month For Hearts

 So I made one for my spouse.  He doesn't read my blog or Facebook so he won't see it until it's time.

I love the penmanship.  I have several letters from Paddy to my mother and I am stingy with them but had to use one for this.

Dancing, choir practice and my morning sketches were pretty much all the creativity this week.  One sketch I posted and said I might add color when I did my afternoon journal.  I did and here she is along with this morning's quick one --

 

These morning sketches are done very quickly, anywhere from one to five minutes.  I do them in a daily journal that I write in at the end of my day in the studio. As you can see from these two, some come out decent, some not so much.  But it is a good exercise.

The rest of the time was sorting, purging and finally finishing taking down Christmas.  So much for my plan to work on at least one painting this month.  Oh well, the month isn't over yet.