Make Something Cool Every Day
A study in creativity. From January until October 2012 I tried to do exactly as the title suggests. However I chose the year to do this when I was also working on a Master's Thesis, planning a wedding and getting married, and moving from Vermont to Wisconsin to London to Colombia. This made the project even more interesting and challenging in my expectations and results. For example, I thought I would be able to finish the entire year, but that just wasn't possible. In the end, some days' works are a success and some days are not. Just like life, I s'pose.
A study in creativity. From January until October 2012 I tried to do exactly as the title suggests. However I chose the year to do this when I was also working on a Master's Thesis, planning a wedding and getting married, and moving from Vermont to Wisconsin to London to Colombia. This made the project even more interesting and challenging in my expectations and results. For example, I thought I would be able to finish the entire year, but that just wasn't possible. In the end, some days' works are a success and some days are not. Just like life, I s'pose.
01-01-12: The other 99 percent.
01-02-12: Rotten fruit.
01-03-12: Pressed flowers.
01-04-12: Pressed flower.
01-05-12: Oppressed flour.
Notes: Sam's idea.
Also King Arthur Flour is
not affiliated with Kim Jong-un.
Notes: Sam's idea.
Also King Arthur Flour is
not affiliated with Kim Jong-un.
01-06-12: Toast with raspberry jam.
01-07-12: Salad.
01-08-12: Panorama of the dirt farm.
01-09-12: Lego man watches Glee.
01-10-12: Lego man and Buddha go on vacation.
01-11-12: Bangs, before and after.
01-12-12: Beer bottle as Harry Potter.
01-13-12: Mitten as Harry Potter.
01-14-12: iPod as Harry Potter.
01-15-12: Harry Potter as Harry Potter.
01-16-12: Cookies with a chocolate chip drop shadow.
01-17-12: Urban Outfitters in Burlington, VT.
01-18-12: Sculpey bracelet for Lily.
01-19-12: Bananas.
01-20-12: Fresh bread.
01-21-12: Poem.
01-22-12: Paper-cut letters.
01-23-12: Sculpey snake.
01-24-12: George Carlin's Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV.
01-25-12: The Mitt and The Newt.
01-26-12: The meeting of two spiders.
(I imagine it's like meeting a supermodel -
they look all plasticky and fake up close.)
(I imagine it's like meeting a supermodel -
they look all plasticky and fake up close.)
01-27-12: Patterns.
01-28-12: Coffee lovers' mug.
01-29-12: Tea lovers' mug.
01-30-12: Cough E.
01-31-12: Winter sky.
02-01-12: Broken cereal bowl.
02-02-12: Lily made of paper.
02-03-12: Lily made of Post It note.
02-04-12: Lily made of tissue.
02-05-12: Watering, before and after.
02-06-12: Poem from a romance novel.
02-07-12: Leaning Tower of Pisa watches Glee.
02-08-12: Blooms!
02-09-12: Homophones.
02-10-12: Chocolate cake.
02-11-12: The return of Michelangelo.
02-12-12: Why journalism is dead.
02-13-12: A rose by any other name.
02-14-12: Watercolor and letterpress.
02-15-12: Curious George.
02-16-12: Snow in Bryce Canyon, UT.
02-17-12: Colors in Bryce Canyon, UT.
02-18-12: Traffic light in a curry house.
Notes: Dani's idea.
Made of tamarind sauce,
mango pudding, and mint sauce.
Notes: Dani's idea.
Made of tamarind sauce,
mango pudding, and mint sauce.
02-19-12: William Steig illustration and my AT&T phone.
02-20-12: Paper-cut thank you card for Dani.
02-21-12: Identity crisis.
02-22-12: William Steig illustration, my phone, and a friend.
02-23-12: William Steig illustration, Marge Simpson, and George the Rose.
02-24-12: Tiny bird.
02-25-12: Patterns.
02-26-12: Under the weather.
02-27-12: American Gothic fingertips.
02-28-12: Storm trooper watches Glee.
02-29-12: Leap day.
03-01-12: Chin face.
03-02-12: Spanish tongue-twister on a Post-it note.
03-03-12: German tongue-twister on a Post-it note.
03-04-12: French tongue-twister on a Post-it note.
03-05-12: Inspiration - cool tights.
03-06-12: Can you see the face?
03-07-12: Paper-cut dancing Jesse Lonergan.
03-08-12: Inspiration - tea packaging.
03-09-12: Miniature fruit tarts made with plums, strawberries, kiwi, and grapes.
03-10-12: Truffles!
03-11-12: Crow's feet.
03-12-12: Potato stamp bird.
03-13-12: Potato stamp lion.
03-14-12: Platypi hug the earth.
03-15-12: Cockney slang in cut-out letters.
03-16-12: Someone stole my mail.
03-17-12: Don't forget.
03-18-12: CAPS LOCK IS FUNNY.
03-19-12: A thought on carpooling.
03-20-12: Sans serif fonts are the friendly fonts.
03-21-12: Inspiration - frozen pizza (not really).
03-22-12: Drama.
03-23-12: Paper-cut clothes line.
03-24-12: An actual hand-written letter to be sent in the mail.
03-25-12: The bipolar bear.
03-26-12: Unique.
03-27-12: Noodle wuz here.
03-28-12: Sheep impostor.
03-29-12: Have you tried my recipe for corned beef and cribbage?
03-30-12: Sheep impostor.
03-31-12: Frida Kahlo quote in watercolor.
04-01-12: Whitney Houston lyrics in watercolor.
04-02-12: Enchilada dinner.
04-03-12: Excerpt from How to Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.
04-04-12: Goodbye, Dylan.
04-05-12: Daily dose.
04-06-12: Google's existential crisis.
04-07-12: Postcard.
04-08-12: Easter egg.
04-09-12: A silly slogan rethought.
04-10-12: Wine tasting.
04-11-12: Rubber stamp message on paper bag.
04-12-12: The spelling error was a genuine contingency.
04-13-12: Inspiration - Thank you card.
04-14-12: Birthday card for a friend.(Getting better with the rubber stamps!)
04-15-12: Spring time!
04-16-12: Fuck off.
04-17-12: Chalk dust.
04-18-12: Doodles.
04-19-12: Doodles.
04-20-12: Patterns.
04-21-12: I only eat candy.
04-22-12: Thesis done.
04-23-12: Two hearts.
04-24-12: Mac face.
04-25-12: Mac face.
04-26-12: Hopeful.
04-27-12: Things that make me feel like a giant - baby pinecone.
04-28-12: Things that make me feel like a giant - miniature orange.
04-29-12: Ready for summer.
04-30-12: Face.
05-01-12: Salt-n-Pepa.
05-02-12: Enough with the flow charts.
05-03-12: The same could be applied to a bottle of gin.
05-04-12: Result!
05-05-12: I can't stop reading Game of Thrones.
05-06-12: Things that make me feel like a giant - cocktail sword.
05-07-12: Card for Grandma.
05-08-12: Card for Mom.
05-09-12: Pho bo.
05-10-12: Parents! in Boston, MA.
05-11-12: Diploma designed by Eleanor Davis.
05-12-12: Sex tips yet to be published in Cosmopolitan.
05-13-12: Sex tips yet to be published in Cosmopolitan.
05-14-12: Sex tips yet to be published in Cosmopolitan.
05-15-12: Sex tips yet to be published in Cosmopolitan.
05-16-12: Thank you!
05-17-12: Thank you!
05-18-12: Thank you card made with photograph.
05-19-12: Thanks.
05-20-12: Thank you.
05-21-12: Thank you.
05-22-12: Things that make me feel like a giant - barbell.
05-23-12: New project!
05-24-12: New project taking shape.
05-25-12: Inspiration - David Shrigley.
05-26-12: Hard rocks.
05-27-12: Sorry, lav is inop.
05-28-12: Overexposure in Alabama.
05-29-12: Brother!
05-30-12: Sailboat.
05-31-12: Wedding!
06-01-12: Inspiration - gradients.
06-02-12: Patterns.
06-03-12: Angry birds.
06-04-12: My translation of a Neruda poem.
06-05-12: Project continues.
06-06-12: It's a Kindle.
06-07-12: Mole constellation - Dog.
06-08-12: Natural reds.
06-09-12: Every great sword needs a name. (Some call him Enoz, but I call him Buzzkill.)
06-10-12: Wall says.
06-11-12: Floor says.
06-12-12: Screen printing.
06-13-12: Card made with a photograph.
06-14-12: Literal light switch.
06-15-12: Literal light switch.
06-16-12: Things that make me feel like a giant - cocktail umbrella.
06-17-12: Little sprouts! All grown up.
06-18-12: Summer do.
06-19-12: Supporting documents for my visa.
06-20-12: Pinkie from Brighton Rock.
06-21-12: Two birds eye one stone warily.
06-22-12: Inspiration - Jon Klassen.
06-23-12: Poetry with my left hand.
06-24-12: Card made out of a photograph (front and back).
06-25-12: Envelope.
06-26-12: Mac 'n' cheese.
06-27-12: Paper-cut project - almost done!
06-28-12: Sculpey pendant.
06-29-12: Sculpey pendant.
06-30-12: Forest for the trees (made of mascara).
07-01-12: Fruit monster.
07-02-12: Surf's up.
07-03-12: View through the fence - New York City.
07-04-12: Dumplings in Chinatown.
07-05-12: Pairs in Manhattan -
red/red, black/black, purple/purple, orange/orange, yellow/yellow.
red/red, black/black, purple/purple, orange/orange, yellow/yellow.
07-06-12: A new visa!
07-07-12: Giraffe.
07-08-12: Elephant.
07-09-12: Shark.
07-10-12: Sam.
07-11-12: Welcome to Wisconsin. You can't beat it with a cheese stick.
07-12-12: The Cock Ness Monster.
07-13-12: The Cock Less Monster.
07-14-12: Ain't that America.
07-15-12: Summertime cocktails.
07-16-12: Canoe on the Connecticut River.
07-17-12: Sunburned leg.
07-18-12: Dad's old records.
07-19-12: Work in progress.
07-20-12: Work progressing.
07-21-12: Learning Spanish. Otra vez.
07-22-12: Saul Goodman.
07-23-12: American Splenda.
07-24-12: Splenda in the Grass.
07-25-12: Dill, onion and cheddar bread.
07-26-12: Meet me in Wyoming - be there or be square.
07-27-12: Dill bread in action - with tomato, basil and chickpea soup.
07-28-12: Origami bird, made in spite of the indecipherable instructions.
07-29-12: Wilco.
07-30-12: Screenprint.
07-31-12: Peeling.
08-01-12: Washington - it's not always raining here.
08-02-12: Thumbnailing.
08-03-12: Inspiration - Smuttynose packaging.
08-04-12: Oreo-lympics.
08-05-12: Breakfast of Champions.
08-06-12: Summer oranges.
08-07-12: Summer salad.
08-08-12: Take it. A piece of my heart.
08-09-12: Balloon watching in White River Junction, VT.
08-10-12: Clothes line card (front, back, inside, outside, and detail).
08-11-12: Carrot cake.
08-12-12: Rhode Island.
08-13-12: Textures - seaweed in Portland, ME.
08-14-12: Sky and sea - Portland, ME.
08-15-12: Ta Da! We ate all the lobster. Sketch by Billage.
08-16-12: Better wrapping paper.
08-17-12: Garage Sale.
08-18-12: Last day of work.
08-19-12: Going extinct.
08-20-12: Tetris.
08-21-12: Goodbye, Switchback.
08-22-12: The farm! in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin.
08-23-12: Ain't that America.
08-24-12: Cool stuff my dad makes - a mosquito.
08-25-12: My first paper cutting project from 2001.
08-26-12: Cool stuff my dad makes - it's going to be a turtle.
08-27-12: Sunset at a farm offering outdoor wood-fired pizza - Waumandee, WI
08-28-12: Happy pretzels.
08-29-12: Sad cactus.
08-30-12: Hummingbird migration.
08-31-12: Patterns.
09-01-12: Another Wisconsin sunset.
09-02-12: The human letter A.
09-03-12: The human letter B.
09-04-12: The human letter C.
09-05-12: The human letter D.
09-06-12: The human letter E.
09-07-12: The human letter F.
09-08-12: The human (lowercase) letter G.
09-09-12: The humans letter H.
09-10-12: The human letter I.
09-11-12: The human letter J.
09-12-12: The human letter K.
09-13-12: The human letter L.
09-14-12: The human letter M.
09-15-12: The human letter N.
09-16-12: The hand letter O.
09-17-12: The human letter P.
09-18-12: The human (lowercase) letter q.
09-19-12: The human letter R.
09-20-12: The human letter S.
09-21-12: The human letter T.
09-22-12: The human letter U.
09-23-12: The human letter V.
09-24-12: The human letter W.
09-25-12: The human letter X.
09-26-12: The human letter Y.
09-28-12: The human letter Z.
09-29-12: The human number 1.
09-30-12: The human number 2.
10-01-12: The human number 3.
10-02-12: First day in Bogota.
I spent the rest of the year in travelling and working in Colombia and Ecuador with my husband. Maybe next time I'll be able to make something cool for every day of the year.