My 100 Day Project. Again.

It’s gonna be a little messy this time around...

My very first 100 Day Project was pretty basic. I promised myself to “make marks in my mixed media journal for at least 15 minutes a day.” We were still mostly locked down in the early phase of the pandemic. A good friend had sent me some watercolors and brushes and an art lesson “subscription box” with more supplies. And I had nothing but time.

But I was afraid to paint. Scared to fail. Fearful of the gremlins who pop up whenever I try something new and squeal, “You’re gonna mess up!” That’s why I called it mark making instead of painting or drawing. I fooled the gremlins and they let me create.

The following year, I had a very involved idea of collaging 100 postcards, to be used for a poetry postcard exchange I participate in every August. That was the year I lost my mojo and didn’t get through the entire 100 days. Maybe 50. Oh, the shame. Sigh…

The third year, I made myself a little 5 x 6 sketchbook, and got outside every day to “draw what I see.” Fallen branches. Cottonwood stumps. Leaves on the ground. Sleeping buds on apple trees. Dormant bamboo. A snake skin on the path. A strange rock. A heron in the irrigation ditch. After the day’s drawing, I prowled through magazines and cut out a few words to make a found poem that played well with the image.

Last year, my fourth, I had a big plan. It had something to do with collaging. But, my elder son died at the end of January, and when the 100 Day Project started in February, I could hardly dress myself, much less create. I was blessed to be part of small group of creators who met weekly with the amazing Suzi Banks Baum, sharing our daily work on a private website, and supporting each other. So I did collage: I collaged my grief.

Now here we are in year five.

And I’ve decided to make some books. Little books — zines, really — using postcards as covers. (So many postcards in my basket, from last year’s poetry postcard exchange.) PLUS, I really want to make a journal for myself, loosely following a plan from Megan Quinlan’s Journal Into Your Art workshop.

Wait. That’s a lot of projects.

Well, yeah. OR: it’s all about getting better at making little books. The journal will take weeks, step by methodical step. There’s a lot of painting and stenciling and stuff. The little zines will be one- or two-day projects, depending on my whim of the day. They’re also portable, which is good, because I will be traveling for 10 days or so in mid-March, and I’m committed to consistent creation this year.

So… I cleared the decks. I cleaned the table. I fooled around for a bit. And I BEGAN.