AEDM 2010...Day One

Well... I have jumped into this Create Art Every Day Month again this year. If you remember, at least for those that were reading my blog last year, that was year one for me. This is year two. Yes, I had that much fun! Leah Piken Kolidas at Blue Tree Art Gallery does a great job of rounding up a bunch of "crazy artist" types, like me, to participate in a month long ritual of creating art every day each November. She has been doing this for 8 years now she reveals on her website. Great idea Leah!

I was super scared of the deadline of having to create art every day, take photos and/or uploading it to my blog and then actually blogging about the art and the experience. I stressed myself out last year thinking that I had to compete with all those other great artists out there that were also challenging themselves this month. I clicked on their posts and saw all the great art that others were posting and blogging about and I felt inadequate, or at the very least, incapable of keeping up with all the time consuming tasks of posting and blogging everyday even if I WAS able to get some art in. Last year I was unemployed during this event and I STILL had problems with time. NOW, I have been successfully employed as a full-time Hospice social worker...and I am STILL in school...this leads to even less time this year. You might be affirming to yourself at this moment, that yes...she IS a "crazy artist type"!

My Strategy This Year

I am being a little less anal this year (can I say that on my blog? Well, it is my blog...and I guess I could say worse things right?). I am just going to do a bit of creative work each day, maybe it will be 15 minutes on a painting every day for a week, or maybe it will be a doodle, or maybe it will be a creative thought I had about something I could do in the future etc. I am not going to have a preconceived plan and an agenda of deadlines looming before me. I have too many of those already in my life with work and grad school. This is supposed to be fun, so here I go. I might post each day, I might post every few days, or if I feel like it, I might only post at the end of the week. Like I said, I am going with the flow as it hits me. Much more laid back this year...at least that is the plan. We will see where it gets me.

Day One Doodles

I found this website that allows you to make really cool snowflake designs and I played around in the early hours of the morning...actually for me it was a continuation of the night before when I was still up doing homework until 1:00 p.m., but then decided I needed to play and loosen up a little bit before  undertaking this challenge. I wanted to set the theme of "play" for myself. I had a good time and I got some cool designs with it. Don't worry, I am not wishing that winter will arrive by exploring snowflake creation, I just was having some fun and relaxing. That is the plan for this month's creativity.

I would love to hear about your experiences with this, drop in and leave a comment and say hello. Even a vote of confidence and support would be nice. Do you ever take time to just play? Do you doodle or does all of your artwork have to be something "serious" and "well executed"? Do you have a hard time loosing up when you work? I do, and that is why I am going this route this month.

I will try and say hello to the other AEDM participants at some point during this "crazy artist" month and see what other "crazies" are out there!

Blessings and love,

D.