My 100 Day Project for 2021 was to spend a little bit of time meditating each day followed by adding 1 stroke onto a canvas. (Pictured above: day 1, day 50, and day 100!)
This project was inspired by a few things: a meditation paint box that I had not opened since last April, wanting to explore an art form other than lettering, wanting to create a piece of art for my tiny home, and facing my fear of not knowing how a creative project will turn out--but doing it anyway! My goal was to find joy in the process and in the moment--see how I'm feeling each day and make a mark on my blank canvas based on that.
I started with 5 minutes of meditation then added a few more minutes when I felt comfortable. I also started reading a book of quotes and affirmations prior to meditating.
For the paint part, I used a limited color palette of just black, white, and grey to keep things simple (and those are my favorite colors!) I also knew I wanted to make a different mark each day but besides that, there were no other rules. Even Valentine helped :)
By the end of the 100 days, I was hoping to have cultivated a meditation practice and have a completed work of art created with 100 strokes/splatters/smears!
It became a wonderful way to start each day--it's exactly what I needed. It gave me time to be quiet, calm, and peaceful. It was also a big lesson in letting go, embracing the unexpected (literally none of the strokes have turned out how I thought they would lol), and letting things unfold. It also helped me think outside the box! I used everything from chopsticks to a waffle to leaves and more to create each mark. It was SO much fun!!
It also gave me the courage to dive into and explore painting—something I’ve always wanted to do!
I also went through the process of turning this canvas into a print, something I've never done before!
Here's a one minute video recap of the entire project! You can see all the daily posts and videos at @oliviajlin_ (I'm no longer active there, you can now find me at @atiliay :))
I highly recommend trying something of your own for 100 days and seeing what happens :)
