The 100 Day Project 2024 Recap

I made it! I ended up dragging myself across the finish line for this project after the end of the group project but I did finish. You can read about my setup for this project here and here’s a bit of a mid-project update. This post will have a project recap and alllllll the pics from the set.

The struggles with this project

I went through a lot of stuff during this 100 days. I struggled with this project both logistically and philosophically. I took a pretty intense painting workshop. Also I had some big family responsibilities going on. And as with any big/long term projects, I struggle with my why. Why am I doing this? What is the point? And sometimes, just keeping it going and shutting off that noise takes everything I have.

Keeping this project fresh for myself while also keeping it on theme was a different struggle. I find myself getting bored easily and wanting to change things up. Consistency across the project was kinda the point here. Where does variations on a theme become I strayed too far from the set parameters?

And then towards the end, I struggled to just get it done. The set group time was over and I was still trying to get the last 10-15 cards done. At the beginning, I allowed that getting it done was more important than the time table and I’m glad I articulated that for myself up front. I’m not sure I would have finished otherwise.

How I kept it fresh

I started out keeping things inside the color square. But as the project went on, I began playing with the white space at the bottom. Where are the letters covered up? What can I make using that space?

I also started out very carefully matching the colors I was using in the improv drawings to the cards. Eventually I started playing around with contrasts and compliments as the project continued.

I also played with edges a lot. The cut edge vs. the torn edge. The edge of the card vs. the edge of the collage piece. Cutting around shape edges vs. just pieces of collage without a dark or heavy line articulating the shape.

I worked on sizing as well. I tend to go big and making smaller collage pieces was a challenge.

Thoughts for next time

I probably won’t bite off the 100 Day project next year as I’ll be doing some big travel in April and then my youngest graduates from high school in May. But when I do go again, I want a slightly bigger size I think. These postcards felt really confining a lot of the time. Part of that, I’m sure, was because I was drawing on 9×12″ sheets of drawing paper and then cutting things down. So it was always a question of trimming down and then trimming down some more.

I very much liked working in batches for this project. Instead of every day, I just did a few once or twice a week. I liked working in sessions so I definitely need to remember that for the next time.

As always writing things down helps

Before this post, I was feeling sort of annoyed by this project. I didn’t feel like it turned out particularly well. But gathering the pictures here for the post and looking through them and figuring out some process things allowed me to see them in a new light. So while it’s maybe not my favorite project ever, I do like it a bit better now than I did before I started writing this.

Did you do the 100 Day Project? I wanna see it!! Send me a link! Catch up with me on socials, email me, or go old school and leave a comment on this post to be immortalized for all of time.

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