The 100 Day Project: Paris Storefronts and the art of finishing.
Eleven glorious days into my self-inflicted 100 Day Project.
I already went from wanting to crawl under the couch and hide to full on INSPIRED.
My word for the year is Finishing.
Finishing projects. One of my lingering projects was to post my original paintings on Etsy. I have posted a few along the way, but the pile was immense and the enthusiasm for listing them was not.
Most of them sit quietly in binders, murmuring together in my office.
Evidently, I preferred to shroud myself in a thick, suffocating TO DO list called GOTTA-GET-TO-IT than actually getting to it.
Now it's August.
I needed a boost of enthusiasm for the task. I really don't care to take this task into next year. So I made a 100 Day Project out of it.
What is a 100 Day Project?
A 100 Day Project is something you do every day for 100 days. Sounds simple enough. Its roots are in the creativity and design world, so visual places like Instagram are littered with art that people are sharing as part of their 100 Day Projects.
Go ahead and follow me over at Instagram to watch this 100 Day Project unfold.
But a 100 Day Project doesn't have to be art. Nor does it have to be 100 days. Mine will take me longer if I keep adding original art. Takes time to whip that stuff up.
Your project can be anything. Something to add to your life. Something to take away.
The big idea is to pursue more of what you want in your life. To become more of the person you want to be. And in my case, to get the art in my head (and office) out to the world.
So I created some fun packages on my Etsy shop:
Each package includes:
An original piece of art (some from my books, some new)
A typewritten note from one of my vintage typewriters
Some ephemera... postcards, sketches, etc...
A whole envelope of good times.
It's fun whipping them up, matching ephemera with paintings, writing about it all.
I'm also getting to master all kinds of uncomfortable skills.
...like dread… at imagining what Package 65 will be when already I feel liked I've lived a lot of lives by Package 11. Makes me want to take up nail biting.
A few lessons you might find helpful if you do a 100 Day Project:
I stopped focusing on the whiny little voices in my head. Instead of saying, "I don't know HOW," or "I don't know WHAT," or "This is LAME,"or "LATER" it says "Get this DONE." Turns out, it doesn't so much matter if it's good. It matters that it's done.
I learn what I really like. Turns out, I love love LOVE painting storefronts. I think it's why I fell so hard for Paris. The whole city is choked full of pretty storefronts and cafés all lined up like treasure chests full of shiny pretty things.
I accept... finally... the truth. If I haven't completed some paintings by now, there is something about them I don't want to finish. They have already fulfilled their destiny as Paris Letters or elements in the books. They aren't meant for a second call of duty.
Binder grumbles.
You'd think I would know by now what makes me tick.
The Paris Letters... ohhhh they made me tick. That was good times. But making these letter packages makes me tick as well.
And painting storefronts is teeth tingling good times.
This is an Italian food shop on my street in Paris. I loved painting all the little jars.
Okay. Eleven down, 89 to go. Wish me luck!
To watch the progress and/or buy those featured in this post, head over to the Etsy shop. Only 130 days until Christmas. I'm also making videos of The 100 Day Project over on Instagram. Follow me there for a video version of all these.
