Most times of the year, I tend to have many creative projects on the go, all at varying stages. Some forming shape in my head, some at the squib stage in my sketchbook, and some realizing their final form. At the moment though, there are two in-progress projects that I want to share: #echowithme and #inktober2014.
#echowithme
This is a two-person, cross continent Instagram challenge that I started with my photographer friend Dan who lives in Australia. Our game works like this: we take turns posting photos — the only rule is that each photo has to echo something in the last. So for example, in the first photo, I posted a street at night, with lights glowing. So in the second photo, Dan posted a photo of a girl standing on the sidewalk under a light. So in the third photo, I posted boots on a sidewalk. And so on, and so on. I don’t know how long we’ll continue with our #echowithme challenge, but its a fun one. I’m curious to see what happens when we end up in complete opposite seasons… when I’m photographing snow, and Dan is photographing green grass. Will we still be able to find something to echo?
#inktober2014
This year, through my friend Dan actually, I discovered a project that Jake Parker started in 2009, called InkTober. Every October, artists all over the world take on the InkTober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day, for the entire month. I’m ten days in, and loving this project. Some days it is hard to decide what to draw, but I find I’m craving my sketchbook, ink pens and markers more and more. I’ve just posted some Instagram shots of my sketches for now, but at the end of the month, I’ll share my favourites.
Creative projects, whatever their focus or purpose, are a great way to keep your mind inspired. The more you are challenged, the more you want to keep challenging yourself. I think that’s because at a certain point, you start to see the creative pay-off. In 2010, when I did my 365 photo project, that moment happened somewhere around month three. In my InkTober project, it started in week two… but I was sketching quite a bit before that, so I think thats why it happened faster.
Any suggestions or ideas for future projects? What have you tried?