Another 100 Day Project Begins

Here are some of the things I've learned after doing the 100 Day Project seven times: 

I know the beginning feels exciting and full of possibility. I know somewhere in the middle, it will become challenging and I’ll think of some version of “I don’t feel like making anything today”. There’ll be a lot of inner critic chatter. Creating art will fall to the bottom of the to-do list. I know I'll dislike at least 25% of what I make, maybe more. 

And all of those things are okay. I also know that I’ll finish the project, whether it’s within the allotted 100 days or sometime thereafter.

What I didn't know going into my eighth project was what I wanted to explore this time around. I started where I usually start: with a review of my current stash of supplies. This led to me tidying, looking back at seven years of previous projects, and writing in my journal.

For the first time, Day 1 wasn't about making anything. It was about noticing. What themes did I explore over the years? What was I drawn to then that I'm still drawn to now?

100 Day Project No. 8 - Day 1

What came up wasn't a theme or a substrate or a color palette. It was something amorphous. I felt called to go inward with my creative practice — to let previous work be my source material, and to listen to my own voice more than I consume other people's. I want to edit, declutter, and pause my consumption. Quiet the noise a little.

I wasn't sure I'd do the project this year, because this one won't look like much creative output, at least not like I've done before. In past years I've worked on Pantone postcards, Post-its, and loose paper. I've explored themes like rainbows, patterns, and circles. Each project taught me something about myself and my process. I understand how limitations can be helpful and self-imposed guidelines keep me accountable. 

I have enough supplies – from paper to paints to brushes; to sketchbooks with empty pages; to other craft tools. I get a bit of a dopamine hit whenever I buy new supplies, but I’d like my joy to be cultivated from a place of gratitude by using what I currently have. This shift in perspective led me to hearing “enough”. It was a word that seemed to best embody what I was feeling. 

By Day 2, I landed on a name for the project: 100 Days of Enough.

This project sounds a bit woo-woo, but I like that it leaves room for interpretation. And it's a reminder I need to continually hear. I've spent a fair amount of my creative life adding — more supplies, more courses, more inspiration from others. I love to learn and consider myself a perennial student.

But there's a difference between learning and accumulating (borderline-hoarding) vs. learning and implementing. I want to give myself enough time to absorb and process, creating from a slower energy than a frenetic or performative place. I've been sitting with that distinction lately.

This year I won't be posting finished pieces to my stories every day. I'm still figuring out how to share this project — whether that's through this blog, a private podcast (something I've never done before), or something else entirely. What I do know is that I want the sharing process to be easy and without pressure.

I've done this enough times to trust the process. I want to see what happens when I also trust myself.

If you want to follow along, you can subscribe to my newsletter or check back here. And if you're curious about the seven projects that came before this one, you can see them all on my website.