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

Notes plural noun, a brief record of facts, topics, thoughts written down as an aid to memory; a short informal letter

 

The 100 Day Project is happening again with Day 1 officially kicking off on Sunday, February 23rd! Will you be participating this year? What are you thinking of doing for your project? And can someone please tell me where February went?

 

I'm such a fan of participating and always encourage people to try it out! What's the best that can happen? You might…do something that brings you joy, rediscover an old passion, find new interests, friends, and a community, learn and grow, challenge yourself, and feel a sense of accomplishment (just to name a few things :)).

 

And worst case scenario? You decide it's not for you and you stop--which is totally ok and you still learned something! 

 

One aspect I really like about the project is that YOU get to decide what you'll be doing and you get to make your own rules. I happen to really enjoy visual arts so that's what my projects reflect but there are so many different ways to create--writing, taking photos, making music, cooking, blogging, etc. One of my favorite projects I've followed was on decluttering!

 

This will be my 8th (!) year participating! My first project that I finished was lettering alphabet connections (aa, ab, ac, ad, ae, etc. repeat for each letter of the alphabet). My main focus had been brush lettering but the year after, I felt the pull to find my way back to painting and it was actually the 100 Day Project that got me back on that path! I decided to make 1 mark a day on a canvas that had been sitting unopened in the garage for too long with some black and white paint I had lying around. That project changed so much for my creative practice and art! Because the format of a single mark a day really worked for me, I've continued to follow that framework while adding some different variations. This year I'll be…

Last year I taped up 100 sections and filled one in each day inspired by something from that particular day (it's in the background in the pic above). I was road tripping across the US with Valentine during that time, so there was a lot of new things that gave me ideas. But I also had plenty of regular days where we had our standard routine of walking, working, running errands, etc. And I realized that because I was looking, I also found so much to document on those “boring” days--that there's still wonder and beauty in the mundane if we look for it. (One of my favorite sections came from a very typical day using a rubbing from one of the tires on my car!)

 

This year, we are settling in Washington and I anticipate many more regular every days than adventure days. But it's something I welcome! A “boring" day means Valentine is doing well, that our routine is working, and things are steady. And even though it might seem unexciting, I welcome the challenge of looking at the park we go to twice a day with a new sense of wonder, to notice the changes in nature as we move into spring, to be more present and aware, and to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. We also still have so many nearby places to explore and things to do so there will be some mini excursions here and there :)

 

My canvas for this year is taped up and ready to go! The tape creates a border for each section and on the last day, I'll remove it to reveal the finished piece. I'm excited to begin documenting and working on this visual diary! (The tape and Strathmore paper I use are both in my Amazon storefront if you want all the details! I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase from my links--thank you!)

Throughout the years, I've been sharing project ideas, calendars, prompts, and more in my newsletters and blog posts. You can find everything in one place now on this page:

 

 

Here are a few of the things you'll find on there:
 

 

I hope you find them helpful!

The challenge will continue as usual with new prompts and ideas shared every month! If you're making a 100 Day Project, feel free to use any of the prompts as part of your project. 

 

 

I'd love to follow your project on Instagram so please don't be shy and reply to this email to let me know your IG handle and what you'll be doing! I'm looking forward to hearing from you :)

Take good care and talk to you soon,

PS: If you're new here from the podcast, welcome and thank you so much for listening! :) I'm very excited that you're here and looking forward to connecting more! (And if you're looking for the Creative Spark Challenge prompts, you can find them here.)

 

PPS: While I have loved every experience that came with each project, my favorite might be the 100 Day Collage. About half way through, I started asking folks on TikTok to share what brought them joy so I could translate it into a piece to add to the collage. I had so much fun interpreting and reading all of the different things that were shared! There was dance, animals, the wind blowing through leaves, the holidays, friendship, making my loved ones laugh, and so much more. It was a really beautiful experience and I love how the piece came together! Below is a pic of the original beside the print (Art Printer in West Los Angeles does such an amazing job with scanning and printing!)

PPPS: The PS section usually includes some Valentine news so I had to add that you can watch her begrudgingly helping me with one of my marks lol

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