June first marks the kick off of the thirteenth annual (my twelfth year) of the Index Card a Day project, devised and hosted by Tammy Garcia* as a 61-day festival of committing to doing SOMETHING creative (more on this in a bit) on an index card, each day of June and July.
The number one, gut-level reaction at this point... and frankly, some years, it is also MY reaction... is, "OMG I don't have time to add ANOTHER task to every day of the next two months!" And of course we creative types also start thinking that the art we make will have to be beautiful finished pieces if we plan to post it publicly; and the perfectionist in us chimes in that we'll need to take elegantly staged photos; and the OCD pipes up to remind us that if we skip a day or stop midway through, everyone will have seen us FAIL and... and... and...! OK, let's stop right there. This really (really!) isn't about any of those things. This is about starting, or re-starting, or re-invigorating a daily art practice, with a focus on PROCESS over outcome.
Yes, there's a public aspect. It's a community, as a matter of fact, and it's full of supportive, kind, friendly people that I genuinely believe you will enjoy connecting with. And I do recommend posting publicly for that reason but, it's absolutely optional; you can lurk at first, if that's less intimidating. Personally I participate on Instagram (my account is @llaurenb and I'd love for you to visit!) with weekly blog wrap-ups and the occasional FB post. But you can do this secretly without telling anyone ever, if you prefer. It's up to you, HOW you ICAD, and in fact, that's a big part of point. You also don't need to make a little ring-bound book to hold your cards. I make one every year because I LOVE MAKING LITTLE BOOKS. Period. I'm not showing off, I just really enjoy that aspect and it kind of spurs me on to watch my thin, flat little book grow. But you can put your cards in a box or in your journal or just in a stack.
Having said all of that, there is a reason that it's specifically called the INDEX CARD a day challenge; and YES, Tammy G really does want us to work on those flimsy, cheap, inelegant index cards from the office supply store! Why? Well, for starters, most everyone can afford a pack of index cards, you can even let your children participate. But also, this aspect makes the event about the creativity and NOT dependent upon professional level supplies and techniques. Because the goal isn't to make a finished piece, it's about doing SOMETHING creative. Every day. For ten minutes, even. Just pick up an index card and a device that makes marks and you're ready to roll.
But wait... does that mean we have to DRAW?! Nooooooo, it does not. For the record, I can't draw representationally. Not at all. I do like to doodle, though. And I discovered, via my first or second year of ICAD, that I love drawing mandalas. (I truly did not know, until it came up in ICAD, what a mandala even WAS, I had to Google it!!!) But... doodling or drawing is not a necessity. You can make collages... you can practice your lettering... you can swatch all of your paints or inks or colored pencils... you can write poems or haikus or descriptive sentences... you can do some hand-stitching... you can stamp or gel print or color or... well, you get the idea. There's a lot of scope. You can try all of the above on different days; then go back and do more of the things you love.
Tammy G provides a (100% optional!) prompt list each week, and posts on IG and FB most days with tips, techniques, encouragement and examples. And by the way, when I say the prompts are optional, I mean each and every one is optional; you can do the ones that speak to you and skip the ones that stump you, or vice versa. You don't have to commit to doing any ONE thing, or one style, or one media; just try to commit to doing SOMETHING each day.
Here's the most important thing I'm going to say in this entire post (& then I'll shut up, I promise!) and it's about what to do if you miss a day... (because there will, inevitably, be days we get blown off course) ....or rather, what NOT to do: DON'T beat yourself up, DON'T throw away the cards you've done, DON'T, in fact, give it another thought. Pick up the next day and do something creative on an index card. You do not have to catch up, you do not have to apologize, you do not have to do ANYTHING except start again. If you're absolutely determined to have 61 cards, you can make two cards on an especially inspiring day OR you can finish your cards on August 2nd instead of July 31st. For that matter, at the beginning of this shindig, or on weekends or at creative meet-ups you might be so inspired that you work ahead, and then you'll have "extra" cards. But please, please, don't fixate on the NUMBER of cards, because really, that's just another type of attachment to outcome. Make as many as you can, enjoy making them, say hi to a fellow ICAD-ian or two and HAVE FUN!
*aka @gypsy999 on Instagram; this year @indexcardaday also has its own IG account, as well; BOTH of these, needless to say, are well worth following. Oh and you can find me @llaurenb there too!
No comments:
Post a Comment
the *BEST* part of blogging is the comments, dontcha think? thanks for taking time to leave one! ~♥~