Sunday 16 August 2015

The 100 Day Project

Lessons from #The100DayProject



Back in March, Tina Zita invited a few people to join her in creating something every day for 100 days and sharing it on Instagram. Here are a few things that I have learned about the project and about myself.

I Learned that I am Still Impulsive – As soon as Tina asked, I said I would paint a painting every day

BUT

I Should Have Chosen Something Less Time Consuming. In the evenings after work I painted. Every day. For 100 days.  I didn’t read or watch t.v. (except for Game of Thrones) and there were times when my family thought that the project and I were irritating.

I Learned that ‘Real’ sharing takes guts. A lot of social media sharing is ‘The Best Of’ … the best of vacations/accomplishments/ scenery/ etc. but this project meant pressing share even when I thought the painting was ugly/gross/garbage/terrible    NOT ‘The Best of’ myself. Sharing something I’m not proud of was (and is) difficult.

There really is No Accounting for TasteOne of the biggest surprises was that some people liked the paintings that I thought were awful and some people didn’t like the ones that I liked.  Hmmmm.

If The Purpose of Sharing Art is to Elicit a Response –  then my project was a success. Even if it was only for a split second and whether they liked it or hated it - my daily painting caused a few people on Instagram to think. That is pretty cool.

If The Purpose of Creating Art is to Enjoy the Process – then I am a success. Creating is where I find flow. Where I can toil away for hours and end up with nothing but lessons on what I did wrong. Once, I grew a pumpkin from a seed and then made a pie out of it. It was terrible. I never tried it again because I learned that it was easier, cheaper, faster and tastier to buy a ready-made pumpkin pie at the store. But I’m proud of my attempt at the pie and I’m proud of myself for committing and completing the 100 Day Project. Whether it is painting, planting a new garden, coming up with a new lesson for school or making a pie - I enjoy making stuff  - even when it doesn’t turn out the way I expected.

Camaraderie is a Gift -   The group of Peel educators who participated in this project alongside me became a wonderful part of my daily life.  I looked forward to seeing their posts each day, their support was vital in helping me stick it out for the 100 days and I am proud to call each one of them a friend. Please follow them on Instagram and read about their thoughts on the project via the links to their blogs below.


Tina Zita -  Blog   -  Instagram 

Natalie Schneider -  Blog    -  Instagram 

Susan Campo  - Blog - Instagram

Jim Cash - Blog     - Instagram