Day Two

"Seafoam Mandala" c. 2008 Miz Annie
Daily Devotions / 365 project

This is day two of the 2008 Daily Devotions series which for me is simply another installment in an ongoing project. I thought I'd take a moment to go over the general idea of the project for those who haven't heard of it. Not sure I remember where it originated, but there was a group of artists who took a pledge to make one piece of artwork every day for a year. The idea was simply to make something, it didn't have to be large and it didn't have to be good. The minimum size was 4" x 4" and you were allowed to use any medium.

I think part of the appeal of this project is that because you commit to making something every day, you don't keep putting it off. Creative people tend to do that; making art is something so luscious that you tend to sabotage yourself by bargaining and saying things like, "You can make art if you have done all your housework first" or "You don't deserve to play with your art supplies until all your _______ <(fill in some other unpleasant task here) is done first." That sort of thing. If you know you have committed to doing one per day, you are essentially putting the artwork on the same par as any of your other tasks, thereby giving yourself permission to create. Not that you need permission, but this is one trap I have repeatedly fallen into myself. This project has helped me to climb out.

Another great benefit of Daily Devotions is that it completely takes the pressure off you to make something "good" every time you approach the paper (or canvas, or whatever). Even the most zealous self-hater can't expect themselves to be brilliant, clever, or otherwise artistically "good" for 365 days. You might start out thinking that you can be, but after a few weeks you are bound to say "Okay, tomorrow's another day. Today I'll just do something quick and not worry about it." Once you give yourself permission to "wing it" you're likely to try new techniques and let go of old habitual approaches. So I'm sure you can guess that sometimes, those haphazard thrown-together devotions turn out to be the best ones!

Here's to a shiny new year full of creative possibility and permission to wing it!