For some reason this year has flown by in the blink of an eye. I know time seems to pass more quickly the older we get , but I think this year went even faster than usual because I wasn’t making the daily check-ins of a 365 project.
For the last 13 years before this one – that is from the 1st of January 2011 to the 31st of December 2023 – I made some kind of image; a photograph, a video, an illustration or a painting and posted it to Flickr every single day.
It became like a daily diary entry keeping the days, months and years in place, but after starting college last year I felt something had to give, so I decided to end the project.
Looking back now I can see just how useful that project was. There are so many photos and memories I just wouldn’t have except for that midnight deadline.
The images are an acknowledgement that I was there at that moment in time,
for the little magical moments,
the tough times,
the everyday humdrum,
the spectacular light,
the joy of travel,
and pets,
surprising animal encounters,
and everything else in between!
During the time I was doing my project, I was always quite self-critical of days I was unhappy with the end result, but recently while reading the book Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland, I came across this which really stuck with me:
“For most artists, making good art depends upon making lots of art, and any device that carries the first brushstroke to the next blank canvas has tangible, practical value. Only the maker (and then only with time) has a chance of knowing how important small conventions and rituals are in the practice of staying at work.”
I think next year I might try another project, maybe something a little less taxing than a 365, perhaps a 52 week?
Just something that’s enough to keep the year in check, and keep me making art.
*First published on Viewfinders, October 2024.
