Looking into 2020, Reviewing "Make Art Everyday 2019"
Last year I committed to “Make Art Everyday” and it changed my life, shifting my studio practice in ways I did not anticipate.
My parameters for “Make Art Everyday 2019” were:
Make art everyday. I can use any medium, any size, and any format I want to on any given day. (Even if all I can create is a one-minute doodle due to being sick or having a sick daughter, it counts as making art!)
Do not give up! This is important, because having a daily practice harkens back to my early days when I left architecture in 2009.
I must photograph and share each day’s art. (I will be posting daily on Instagram, you can follow me at @elizabethfloydart, and I will be using the hashtags #makearteveryday, if you want to follow along or join in!)
Of these three criteria, I was able to maintain the first two, for the third, photographing and posting to Instagram, I began to cut back on this as the year progressed.
Setting up a goal like this requires a level of commitment and energy, for me it also required a willingness to adjust and adapt as the year progressed.
In the first five months of the year, I was committed to finishing a drawing or sketch everyday. However, I began to realize I was rushing my creative expression, working just to be done in time for me to snap a photo and post to Instagram before going to bed. This made for a level of haste I did not relish.
In June I shifted the guidelines to encompass the act of art creation, not the completion of a work of art. This simple shift enabled me to begin exploring drawing and sketching in ways that were new to me. It enabled a level of exploration, that allowed me to flit from various subjects, freeing constraints and allowing me to learn and grow.
In 2019, I have improved my skills in all aspects of my art creation.
For goals like this, I think you need a way to monitor and record your daily successes. I used the habit tracking app “Streaks” to do this. Everyday that i made art, I would mark it off on my Streaks app and as the year progressed, seeing all those checked off days would motivate me when I was feeling sluggish and uninspired.
My “Make Art 2019” habit was made on December 30th, 2018 last year. This year I will make the habit start on January 1!
Going into 2020, I am recommitting to this project. Tomorrow I will reset my Streaks app with all new habits that start counting on January 1, 2020.
My parameters for this year are simple:
Make art everyday. Draw, sketch, watercolor, or paint, it does not matter. I can use any medium, any size, and any format I want to on any given day. I do not need to complete a work of art, instead I need to engage my creative drive and strive to learn something from the experience.
I won’t give up because my 2019 experience was so good. I am cutting back on the requirement to post to Instagram everyday, but instead I am going to give myself grace and share when I want and when I believe it is something exceptional.
As a parting wish, I want to encourage you to try such a goal for 2020. A goal where everyday you explore and grow. If you are going to commit, please let me know so I can follow along with your journey. Send me an email, or go over to my IG account (@elizabethfloydart) and leave a comment.