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I have participated twice before, officially. The first time was in 2013 when I did drawings every day - you can view past posts about that project HERE. I kept it super simple and gave myself clear guidelines so there would be no excuse as to why I couldn't complete a drawing a day. My rules were: 1. use only black ballpoint pen - no dithering about what medium to use on any day and nothing is more transportable or accessible. 2. all drawings were to fit within the pages of my little sketchbook. I allowed myself a 1/4 page, a 1/2 page or a full page each day. Some drawings were therefore able to be tiny and would share the page with other drawings so this took away some of the pressure of a blank page staring back at me.
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| 100 Days Project 2013, Toni Hartill |
The next time I took part was last year, 2016 - doesn't seem so long ago now that I'm starting a NEW project! Again I kept it simple: Mark making every day - you can read about this project HERE. This time I didn't intend to create one complete image every day, just to create marks every day, ideally part and parcel of my regular arts practice. This could be simply the process of carving into a lino block, drawing, cutting stencil patterns, stitching, printing... anything that created a mark. The one unifying element was that I used paper torn or cut to 15 cm square with the intention of building a "compendium" of mark making that I can continue to add to and refer back to. I could use any medium and I could layer up effects to encourage experimentation and "play." I learnt lots about new ways (for me) of creating marks that have lead directly into my printmaking and I continue to refer back to the project and to add to it - a fab resource.
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| 100 Days Project 2016, Mark Making by Toni Hartill |
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| 100 Days Project 2016, Mark Making by Toni Hartill |
Each time I have had a primary goal to try to develop a habit, learn and/or hone skills, push myself to try new things and to work harder in my arts practice. I have purposely steered away from creating a finished "product." Personally I battle constantly against the urge to achieve perfection which so often gets in the way of keeping the creative juices truly flowing. Being part of an on-line community is fantastic in many ways but the urge to present a public face, posting images regularly, feels like it still corrals me into "presenting" my progress, and inhibits me from wanting to show the complete stuff-ups I am well capable of creating, but which I can learn oh so much more from. When the opportunity to sign up again came along I was so, so tempted to push the big red button to REGISTER but I'm pleased to say... I resisted!
My intention THIS TIME is to take part entirely on my own terms.
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| Sketchbooks by Toni Hartill |
Feel free to ask how I'm doing at any stage, your support might be just what keeps me going!
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| "Kiss Me Before You Go" by Danny Gregory |
The final inspiration that decided me to commit (albeit with myself) to taking part was having recently read a gorgeous book called "A Kiss Before You Go" illustrated and written by Danny Gregory. This book is presented as if it is one of his actual sketch books filled with his quirky, delightful images telling the story of events in his life (its a very sad story but it also shows a lot of spirit and hope and captures the minutiae of his life so beautifully.)
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| "Kiss Me Before You Go" by Danny Gregory |
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| "Kiss Me Before You Go" by Danny Gregory |
Take a peak at some of Danny's work HERE. I have long drooled over sketchbooks and workbooks by many artists and long aspired to develop the skills to be able to do this myself.
So, this is it!
I'm going to give it a crack!
Watch this space and I might just share some of it with you.
You can read all about the NZ 100 Days Project here.
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