Atiliay noun, a play off the French word “atelier”; a workshop/studio, esp of an artist or designer; my creative space

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At the start of 2023 I started a project called "Year of Marks". The idea was to visually document the entire year by taking a piece of paper, splitting it up into 12 sections, and filling one in at the end of every month.

After 12 months of working on my Year of Marks, one section at a time, month by month, it's complete!

I was inspired to do this by embroidery artists who create year of stitches and Karen Turner who hand embroidered a section of cloth every single day in 2022 (365 seems like quite an undertaking so I decided to do each month instead :)) This is my version and interpretation of that idea.

 

I went with a loose approach where the squares blend into one another and used a variety of different mediums. I was inspired by the things I created each month as well as major events that happened in my life.

 

I really really enjoyed the slow pace of this project, figuring out what I was going to do next, and seeing it all come together! And as someone who doesn't journal or document things daily, this was an approach to that idea that worked for me. Maybe one day I'll do a 365 mark project!? (OK as I type this I just had the idea of doing one mark a day based on something I'm grateful for that day--because I've tried to keep a gratitude journal and just cannot do it!) but until then, this works :) It's such a fun way to capture your year and I think I will be making one of these for every year going forward! I can't wait to get started on 2024 and if you're connecting with this idea, I'd love for you to make your own Year of Marks!

 

I put together the materials, tips, and suggestions into this YouTube video and if reading is more your thing, you can find all the details in this blog post!

The other thing I love about this project is that you have an entire month to think about what you might want to add and then you have the whole following month to work on it. Another approach is to add a little bit here and there throughout the month.

 

Either way, I think this timeline is very doable and we can find 15 min to an hour each month (you can totally break this down into smaller chunks!) to sit down for some reflection and visual documentation.

 

 

Time seems to go by so fast and so many things happen! It's nice to collect some of the special moments and memories in one place. 

 

I hope you'll join me this year in a Year of Marks journey!

PS: I typed most of this email while it was snowing outside! We are currently in Santa Fe, New Mexico and while I knew it was going to be cold, snow was a lovely surprise. I've never opened up the door in the morning to see everything covered in fresh white powder and this is the third time in my life seeing snow fall from the sky! It was so beautiful. Here are a few pics. I'll be sending out one more email at the end of this month with shares and a longer update on our road trip and where Val and I have been lately!

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