My new year's resolutions included "watch more movies" (which I've been doing a pretty good job with) and "keep up website news/blog" (which I have not). So here goes working on that second resolution.
Yet another goal has been to get organized for the annual "100 Day Project", a sort of personal challenge in which artists commit to making something creative for 100 days. Last year I didn't think it through well, and just sort of did SOMEthing (anything) for 100 days. It starts on February 13th.
This year, thanks to the good folks at https://www.the100dayproject.org and some other artists who encourage really thinking through what you would like to do, including asking yourself why you want to do it, I have a plan.
I have always loved quilts and collage, and I recently assigned, in two of my classes, "paper quilts" as a creative prompt. I thoroughly enjoyed making simple quilt patterns, along with my students, using a combination of collage and watercolor. And the more that I made them, the more I wanted to make. And the more that I thought about doing this for 100 days, the more ideas I got.
I have thought of trying paper Kawandi quilts, traditional American "crazy quilts", trying my hand at the color-rich and compositionally marvelous improvisational designs of the quilters of Gee's Bend. I have started following other artists, gathering ideas for patterns -- both from those who make paper quilts, those who make cloth quilts, and those whose simple abstract forms make me think of quilts.. I like the idea of incorporating hand-painted and hand-patterned paper, of including drawings, paper and photos from an upcoming cross-country road trip that will coincide, in part, with the 100 Day Project.
And so I feel that I have ideas to keep me going for the duration of the project. One of the great things about this months-long creative endeavor is how it allows artists to connect and share ideas. I will follow ideas and patterns that I find and I would love suggestions from you, links to others whose work I may not know about, and to have you as part of my squad, cheering me on. On Instagram you can find me as @jenniferwilkinpenick and for the 100 Day Project I will be using the hashtag #100daysofpaperquilts.