Some of the previous participants in the 30 Day Creativity Challenge have expressed interest in pursuing a Project 52.
I have participated in Project 52's on Flickr where the project consists of a weekly theme that photographers then try to capture with an image each week for a year. For this Project 52, any medium will be allowed, not just photography. So you can write a poem, write an essay, record a video, sing a song, write a reflection, or of course, take a picture, so long as what you submit ties in somehow to the theme for the week.
One thing I did not push, but I think is important, is that whatever you submit should be a new creation that week.
So if you submit a picture by itself, then the picture should be something you made that week. If you submit a poem, it should be something you wrote that week. The point is to get you making and responding. A Project 52 is not a scavenger hunt. Now that said, if the theme makes you think of a poem you once read, or a picture you took years ago, that's fine. You can integrate that into a reflection or essay. But the older thing you are using should be a starting point, not the central point. You should be adding to it in some meaningful way. An old picture might spark a story about how things were and how they are today, for example. An old poem might spark a reflection about how you thought about it back then, and how you think about it now, or how it changed who you are. The point is, the portion that is recycled should not be the primary focus of the submission.
The goal of a project like this is to get your creative juices flowing. You'll have a whole week to work on an idea - so there is time to reflect and make something that challenges you.
Since we are going to leave the medium open, I would especially encourage you try things you don't think you are good at. Can't draw? Perfect - drawing it is! Can't write poetry? Time for some sonnets.
For some of you who are perfectionists, the idea of putting something out there that isn't perfect is horrifying, but it is truly the only way to grow. The poet William Stafford used to write a poem every day as soon as he woke up in the morning. An interviewer once asked him, "What if you aren't very good that day?" His response was simply, "I lower my standards."
So I invite you to try a Project 52 that will take you outside your comfort zone this year. Perhaps just doing this will be outside your comfort zone. You will be the judge of where that zone is for you. But if you take this on, and you truly try to experiment with things you are uncomfortable with, you will be a better person by the end. And after all, what else is there to life?
So get ready to lower your standards in the new year. First post will go live New Years eve.
I have participated in Project 52's on Flickr where the project consists of a weekly theme that photographers then try to capture with an image each week for a year. For this Project 52, any medium will be allowed, not just photography. So you can write a poem, write an essay, record a video, sing a song, write a reflection, or of course, take a picture, so long as what you submit ties in somehow to the theme for the week.
One thing I did not push, but I think is important, is that whatever you submit should be a new creation that week.
So if you submit a picture by itself, then the picture should be something you made that week. If you submit a poem, it should be something you wrote that week. The point is to get you making and responding. A Project 52 is not a scavenger hunt. Now that said, if the theme makes you think of a poem you once read, or a picture you took years ago, that's fine. You can integrate that into a reflection or essay. But the older thing you are using should be a starting point, not the central point. You should be adding to it in some meaningful way. An old picture might spark a story about how things were and how they are today, for example. An old poem might spark a reflection about how you thought about it back then, and how you think about it now, or how it changed who you are. The point is, the portion that is recycled should not be the primary focus of the submission.
The goal of a project like this is to get your creative juices flowing. You'll have a whole week to work on an idea - so there is time to reflect and make something that challenges you.
Since we are going to leave the medium open, I would especially encourage you try things you don't think you are good at. Can't draw? Perfect - drawing it is! Can't write poetry? Time for some sonnets.
For some of you who are perfectionists, the idea of putting something out there that isn't perfect is horrifying, but it is truly the only way to grow. The poet William Stafford used to write a poem every day as soon as he woke up in the morning. An interviewer once asked him, "What if you aren't very good that day?" His response was simply, "I lower my standards."
So I invite you to try a Project 52 that will take you outside your comfort zone this year. Perhaps just doing this will be outside your comfort zone. You will be the judge of where that zone is for you. But if you take this on, and you truly try to experiment with things you are uncomfortable with, you will be a better person by the end. And after all, what else is there to life?
So get ready to lower your standards in the new year. First post will go live New Years eve.
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