How to start my first post in almost three years? Jump right in, I suppose.
I haven’t spent much time in the studio for the past few years. I missed it. I wanted to get back to making art, but I was out of practice, unsure where to begin. When a friend posted about the 100 Days Project Scotland, it sounded like the nudge I needed. The idea is to repeat a small creative act every day. I decided my creative act would be to make something – anything – in my studio. A visual experiment of some sort. Each day I would share what I made on my Instagram feed.
Today is day 60. So far I’ve made portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and a lot of abstract nonsense, mostly out of mixed media on paper. A couple of recurring subjects have shown up, including corona viruses and face masks, which ground this body of work firmly in this moment in history. I’ve enjoyed following my visual interests wherever they take me.
Some days I’m proud to share what I’ve produced – some pieces have comes out so well I’ve offered them for sale as part of the Artist Support Pledge.
Other days I wish I had made something more interesting, but I remind myself that that’s not the point. The point is to try things. The resulting piece is secondary. Most days I have my studio time in the evening, and I’ll often find myself looking forward to it. I had forgotten how much I love making art. Even though my visa situation doesn’t allow me to focus on art as a career right now, I can still make it just for fun. It’s good to be back.