It’s the time of year for gifts and today certainly didn’t disappoint. I received a lovely phone call from one of my sons; the second call in as many days!
I also received two books in the mail. One was Carol Marine’s fabulous new book, Daily Painting – Paint Small and Often to Become a More Creative, Productive and Sucessful Artist. What a great title! It’s full of wonderful stuff to delve into; beautifully designed and of course filled with her work and I’m sure will be inspirational throughout the winter. The other book was The Journal of Eugene Delecroix, which also looks to be inspirational and fun to dip into.
Carol’s book is especially timely. I’ve been immersed in developing my online courses and spending soooo much time on the computer getting up to speed with Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. I like working on the computer so although this project entails long concentrated days of work, I’m comfortable with it. But I don’t want to lose sight of just why I’m developing these courses and how I accumulated the content over the years; many years in front of an easel making stuff. Developing these courses is demanding but feels rewarding and timely.
Last week I made a commitment to begin a project along side the online courses. I’m impulsed to create and have decided to do a piece of art every day for 108 days. One hundred and eight is a sacred number and I wish these small pieces to be a gift of commitment. They might be only a tiny thumbnail sketch, a drawing, a collage, or perhaps a finished painting or maybe photograph. It doesn’t matter. I just want to stay connected to the process of art making. Thinking ahead to what it might feel like 108 days from now, it feels rich and sweet and comforting. Giving myself the latitude to have it be just about anything, no pressure, just a sense of doing outside myself.
I invited a couple of my students to join me. You can too. It would be great to have the company of fellow artists and see what we come up with, don’t you think? It will be March 11th in 108 days.
6 Responses
I've been trying to complete one painting every weekend and so far so good. I'm also a High School Art teacher during the day. I've been drawn to a lot of art journals lately and was thinking I should be working in my sketchbook daily as an example to my students. With that said… I'll join you in your creating art daily for 108 days.
Karen, The Adventurous Art Teacher
Hi Karen,
Yay!! Please pass this on to friends. Let's get something started!
Best,
Marla
I'm in! Was thinking I'd wait 'til after the holidays to start something like this, but why wait? Now is as good as anytime – especially since it can include finishing a piece, photography, thumbnails, or anything creative. I work best with a deadline, and a daily deadline is truly motivating! Thanks for the nudge Marla.
Great idea, Marla! Count me in! This could not have come at a better time for me – I'm in a bit of a slump and have not posted in a while. BTW, I have followed your work since I first saw your 100 variations in The Pastel Journal back in 2009. I still refer to it when I need inspiration!
.."a gift of commitment".. how wonderful Marla! I'm in too! I'm still on a high from your workshop here in Cape Breton last month, which inspired me to create a series of little value and colour exercises for myself. Committing to 108 daily paintings is the icing on the cake! Thanks Marla.
I think that is great. I so admire pastel artists. you obviously inspired Karen (adventurous art teacher) who mentioned you in her last post. Keep it up.