I am creatively contemplative this first morning of December in this last month of 2013. Five years ago, in December 2008, I learned about The Portfolio Project. I didn't participate. It felt too big back then. But I was immensely inspired by it and have never forgotten about it.
The Jens presented and approached The Portfolio Project like a game. Create as many things as possible within a 12-week timeframe. Paintings. Poems. You name it. But make no mistake about it ... the name of the game was quantity. Push the inner critic/perfectionist aside and focus exclusively on productivity.
Knowing myself as I do, 12 weeks is too long. I need a sprint rather than a marathon. Otherwise, instead of art, I make excuses. And I need a specific goal to reach as well. I get sidetracked by open-endedness. So I've opted for 100 things ... 100 of one particular medium or subject made within just one month. I can build a body of work this way. A portfolio of sorts. Fast and dirty, as the Jens would say. Simply a game that I play with and for myself.
That said, I am using December to test the waters of this idea. I am challenging myself to create 100 micro (business card sized) collages before the end of this month(/year). It may very well be the start of many 100 games in 2014. But, if nothing else, this month's endeavor will keep me limber and less inclined to mistake any seasonal darkness as my own, which is a very good thing.
I invite you to join me. Identify your own 100 things to make/do this month. Together we can explore how it feels and what we learn in the process, as well as what gets made.
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