Fear and Art Every Day

Christine's comment on my Jan. 1 blog post has been something I've been thinking about since I decided to start this project: will I blog about it every day? I chose words in 2008 (Focus) and 2009 (Gentleness) and I didn't really accomplish all that I had hoped. I knew I would need courage to tackle a daily art commitment. Somehow, blogging about it seems too dangerous right now. I will begin by doing the work, every day, first thing in the morning. (Day 2 is done! 363 to go!). I will begin to show the work when it seems right. What I need to do is to grow my confidence and my practice. I read somewhere, perhaps in Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers (review or here is also an excerpt from the New Yorker, but now I'm not so sure) that it takes 30 days to form a habit. The practice and the habit are what I'm after.

I will say, as a further way of documenting my project, that I am currently calling it Faces. I have been an avid follower of Danny Gregory's EDM list (Every Day Matters). I have sporadically worked on my drawing skills but it has always felt like a distraction to what I thought of as my real work. Tomorrow I will write about that.

PS: Gladwell does talk about the 10,000 hours required for mastery in Outliers. That's a good bit of work.

2010, Courage, Art Every Day

I've chosen courage as my word for 2010. Christine Kane talks about setting one's intent for the whole year by selecting one word. I intend to post the word in my bathroom and acknowledge my word every day.

Last night I read a post by Kathy from KY on the quiltart listserv that was galvanizing. She described her yearly art resolutions and the satisfaction she has gained from them.

I felt as if she challenged me personally to begin a practice of daily art. I felt very uncomfortable. I could begin an art performance project or I could resort to my usual art cogitation projects. That would take courage. The rules are to: 1) Make your own rule, but write it down on January 1 and follow it; 2) Do it every day; and 3) Document it.

I know that the discipline of doing something every day, no matter what it is, would be good for me, and as Kathy said, would foster creativity. I began this morning but beginning is always easy for me. 364 days to go.