Day 121 - gingersnaps

I like ginger. Ginger snaps. Ginger beer. Ginger shandy. Pickled ginger. Coconut rice with ginger. There is just something about it. When I lived in England, the ginger-nut cookies were what always called my name as I walked down the cookie aisle of the supermarket. I could burn through half a package of those things in one sitting. They had that gingery spiciness that just made me want more.

 So, when I recently spied this little canister of crystallized ginger chips at the local World Market store, I couldn't pass it up.

how can you say no to a cartoonized ginger-root chef?!

It even had a recipe on the back for "The Ultimate Chewy Ginger Snaps." I knew I would have to try that. So tonight I finally did. And, may I just say: oh.my.gosh. The crispiness, the chewiness, the buttery-ness, the deliciousness. They are actually not that spicy like I would prefer, but they are still great. The texture is amazing. Yum.

chomp.

Day 120 - straight lines

This is what it's like where I'm from:

 

Edit:

The drawing above was inspired by this photograph, which was taken on the property where I grew up:

Day 119 - peppermint bark

I made some peppermint bark.

peppermint bark

aaand, ready for gift-giving!

Day 118 - triangle

"Only work with triangle shapes today."

christmas lights on a sailboat in morro bay harbor.

Day 117 - featherweight

"Make something light seem heavy."

featherweight - light to some, heavy to others.

Day 116 - photos & haikus

I'm visiting the central California coast for a few days. Here are some photos I took today at Montana de Oro State Park, and some haikus inspired by the scenery.

 the shoreline stretches

endlessly, as it divides

the land from the sea

shoreline.

ocean waves crash in,

spray salt and foam in the air,

and return again.

waves.

on a bed of green,

the california poppies

smile up at the sky

california poppies.

Day 115 - merry & bright

I made a linocut and prints to give as Christmas greetings...

may your days be merry & bright

Day 112 - 114

Day 112:
Back on Day 56, I made some fused plastic. Now that I have a functional sewing machine, I decided to make a little pouch with it.

Day 113: "Find or buy a kit of some sort, get rid of the instructions, and make something that's not at all like the intended result."

What's the fun of throwing away the instructions?! Usually when I buy a kit of something, I actually want to do that thing. Like, for example, this Sunprint Kit that I got at the national gallery of art when I visited there this summer. So, I did follow the instructions. Here is what I made:

sunprints. buttons, owl, hope.

Day 114: "Take an existing postcard and alter it, then send it to a random address after documenting it."

I found some very special antique postcards at a vintage/antique market this weekend. The one that I bought is below. I didn't actually alter it, because I think to do so would be a travesty. It has a post-mark of 1910 on it. But, I did frame it to put on my wall.

Crazy vintage postcard of a giant rabbit, and a hunter throwing a jar of salt on the rabbit's tail. The text says: " 'Salted' So easy. Put salt on their tails."
WHAT?! 

The back of the postcard has a hand-written note that says:

 

"Fall River Aug 14 - 10

Am just having 

a fine time. Suppose 

you did too while

you were visiting.

Tell Esther I wish she

was here we would have

a time. I am going to 

church so must hurry.

Mrs. E.A.R."

Also, I like how, in 1910, you only had to write the name, city, and state of the person you were sending mail to. No street address. No zip code. In Pratt, Kansas, the postman knew how to get mail to Mrs. Austin Gebhart. I love it. How far we have come in 111 years. For better and for worse.

Day 111 - leftovers

"Make a facial expression from the leftovers of a meal today."

I don't usually leave too many leftovers. Especially when it's mac & cheese. Or shells & cheese, in this case.

an expression of...surprise?

Day 110 - ten-word autobiography

"Write a ten-word autobiography. Bonus: Illustrate it! Extra credit: Make a six-word version and share it at www.sixwordmemoirs.com."

Yesterday, I randomly got inspired to draw this:

sowing peace. (very rough draft...might turn into something else someday)

So, I sort of made an autobiography out of that. I wouldn't strictly describe it as an autobiography. But it works. What can you expect from only ten words anyway?

seeking peace - internally, externally - requires rootedness and countless tiny seeds

Also, I condensed it to "seeking peace requires rootedness, countless seeds", to post on sixwordmemoirs.com. Check out that website, it has some pretty cool stuff.

off the wagon...sort of...

Today is actually the 114th day since I started this project. 

Lately I've been finding it hard to do a project every day. As evidenced by my lack of posting. Between my full time job, some other activities I'm involved in, and taking some time to mentally process some things that have been going on in my life, it's been hard to find the space (both head space and time space, if I can say it like that), to think about this or have time to do a project each day. Also, my internet has been a bit wonky lately. Hence, the sporadic posting.

I'm not quitting, though. I think it's important to be creative in some way, or, at the very least, to think about some type of creative project, each day. Some days the inspiration flows like a waterfall; some days it's like a slowly dripping faucet. Other days it's like I'm in the middle of a desert and I'm just trying to crawl to shelter.

I'm going to give myself a bit more liberty with what I do each day. I've been following the book that inspired this project since the beginning, 365: A Daily Creativity Journal, although I have been skipping around in it some. I might go off the wagon, though, and open it up a bit more to other ideas or things that come my way.

Onward to the next 252 days! Including Leap Day, of course...which will actually make this a 366-day project!

Days 105 - 109

Day 105: "Go to a thrift store and buy something to work with today."

I got a vintage grater from a vintage/antique market, and a few eating utensils from a thrift store. Add some wire, and it makes for a lovely windchime. This will be a gift for someone!

vintage grater & cutlery windchime.

Day 106: "Work as if you were a young child or baby. Use the materials they might have access to and/or with only the skills and abilities they have at that age."

It seems like art projects for kids often involve their hand prints. So, here is my non-child-sized hand print, made into a flower:

hand print flower.

Day 107: "Work with mistakes. Spill some ink, milk, or other liquid and then go from there."

from this...

...to this.

Day 108: "Work only with red materials today. Try working on a red surface for a real challenge."

red flower on red.

Day 109: "Do something with only tinfoil today."

foil flower.