Day 100 of #the100dayproject

On January 31, 2021, I started the 100 Day Project because I saw a Facebook post from my friend MaryAnna Hudson Brown about it. I looked it up online and found out about it.

So at first I thought I would write a short poem or paragraph everyday, but then I was unsure if my observations would be artistic or not. In January I had a huge problem with my writing being either blocked or forced. I read an article by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, that suggested trying a different outlet for creativity if you get stuck in your usual mode of expression. I was blessed to be raised in an environment conducive to being creative--writing, drawing, painting, dancing, singing, were all valued in my family. Somewhere along the way, I lost that part of myself and I used this project to find it.

Taking a really big step for me, I committed to drawing/doodling animals for 100 days. I looked up YouTube videos and began to draw animals. I realized that I was going to share the “good” ones and the not-so-good ones on Facebook for all to see. That made me more nervous than sharing my writing with my online writing group. I had decided to challenge myself to doing art everyday for 100 days and sharing the journey no matter what.. Here are some of my first drawings. I sent lots of hand drawn valentines to friends far and wide. The recipients loved them; I am not sure if my drawings were that good or if everyone just loved getting snail mail during Covid times.

I kept at it and learned to draw other things, too. Here is one day (33/100) where I had some successes and some not quite yet drawings.

I went to Tuscaloosa in March to check on my mom and to reconnect with a retired teacher friend. My friend Kay and I have been friends since the day my nephew Luke was born during one of my technology classes. She and I had a three hour lunch where we caught up on each other’s lives and shared our writing and art. Kay told me about watercolor pencils so I had a new medium to try. After getting a bit carried away with purchasing supplies, I started drawing then watercoloring my artwork. This day filled me with determination to keep doing my art and keep writing. Thank you, Kay, for your encouragement.

One day while I was scrolling on Facebook, I noticed a link that a friend from Tuscaloosa had liked--It was called Tiny Tattered Houses with Jennifer Chamberlin. For just $15, Jennifer would do an online class for three nights in a row to show over 5000 of us how to create our own Tiny Tattered Houses with paint, paper, glue, and more. In my thirties, I had been an avid scrapbooker and missed doing this kind of art and layout, so I got my debit card, paid my $15, and signed up. I wanted to do the house from Anne of Green Gables. I had a copy of the book that I had purchased to create this project with. However, I got into choosing lots of great quotes from the text and using them as my background; I was agitated when I realized that I would be covering up these great quotes with my house.

 

I ended up rethinking this project probably because I was OVERTHINKING it. I thought I wasn’t doing it “right” and I was about to give up. Then, Jennifer, the instructor, reminded the audience to do what makes you happy. She was teaching techniques not a paint or collage by number class. This freed my mind and creativity to do what I wanted.

I made three lovely fairy tale houses instead. I learned to use some common elements for the series and had a delightful time planning and creating them. I learned from this first class that Jennifer and the Maker Bees are invested in sharing the process of expressing creativity without having to make everyone’s project look exactly the same. Here are my tiny tattered houses--Jack and the Beanstalk, The Little Red Hen, and The Honey Princess.

I felt exhilarated after I posted these houses on Facebook on day 68/100 of the project. I gave them to friends and family as little bits of myself. After doing these, I began to spend each evening watching television and creating tiny houses. I learned to paint paper using acrylic paints and art/copy paper. I loved the process and made paper everyday for several weeks.

  

I loved creating these little pieces of art and sharing them with others in real life. I have given tiny tattered houses to my friends and loved ones; they have responded with lots of compliments. I have rediscovered joy in creating art! I appreciate Jennifer Chamberlin and her group of maker bees for their inspiration and support along this journey. Check out her website here for classes https://www.themakerbeehive.com/classes

I continued my search for ways to express myself by doing more of Jennifer’s classes from her The Maker Behive website. Feeling bolder and braver, I created word birds, dragonflies and Night Watch from Jennifer’s videos. My favorite creative outlet lately is that Io paint my own paper and to use a Gelli plate to design unique paper.

I understood as I began sharing my art in real life that my writing was just the same. Somewhere along the way I had lost my confidence that I had anything important to say. Following the discipline of #the100dayproject helped me to find my creative spark again. I am forever grateful that I accepted this challenge from MaryAnna Hudson Brown way back in January. I plan to start my #100daysofwriting on May 21 to keep my creativity bubbling up from my soul.