31 July 2017

The 100 Day Project: Some Reflections

For the past two weeks, I've been talking about the #100DayProject. I only heard about it a few days before it was to start. My instagram feed (of mostly creatives) was flooded with photos and declarations that they were participating. It was like they were in on a secret. So I investigated. And I joined on a whim. This write-up sealed the deal:

It's a celebration of process that encourages everyone to participate in 100 days of making. The great surrender is the process; showing up day after day is the goal. For the 100-Day Project, it's not about fetishizing finished products—it's about the process.

The 100 Day Project has been one of the highlights of my year so far. Here are the reasons why:

My Mom passed away early this year. I've been feeling lost but I have been forcing myself not to fall into a hole of depression. Thus I turned to my anchor: crafting. It gave me something to look forward to, a distraction for loneliness.

Many times, tears flowed while I crafted especially when I made something nostalgic like painting my favorite dresses when I was a child. Or drawing the pairs of shoes I wore to school because these were tied to memories with Mom. I went back to the books my Mom read to me like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" which resulted in my sewing of three bears: 

It was heartbreaking and then therepeutic. It made me feel connected to my Mom since we did a lot of crafts together.

The great Carrie Fisher once said, "Take your broken heart, make it into art." 

Each of us has a benchmark, a way in which we measure that this day was a "good day". For me, it's when I made with my hands and produced something that I was proud of. And the #100DayProject encouraged just that.

We live in a time where self-expression can take on many forms. Isn't that exciting? My preferred methods: "crafts" and "confections". There are many new crafts that I tried like making a mandala, working with polymer clay, and tyring out bounce calligraphy. And the same is true with baking and making desserts -- there are so many recipes and techniques to try and eventually master.

By getting out of our comfort zone, we are rewarded with breakthroughs and bravery.    

I finished the #100DayProject and I did it everyday...TADA!

There were days I was tired and busy. There were days I had to give up my crafting space because of houseguests. And there were days when my mind drew a blank saying, "Yikes! What am I making today?" There could have been many excuses not to go on, but I still did.

Half-way through the project, our cheerleaders and project organizers Elle and Lindsay sent this message: "I am creating at my own pace. I will finish my #100DayProject in my own time. I trust myself."

On Day 100, Elle posted this photo:

My favorite line: "You shared your work openly and vulnerably, you took risks."

And now that the #100DayProject has ended, here's what I'll do:

"So keep showing up. Keep creating. What you make matters."

6 comments:

  1. A post like this deserves acknowledgement of having been read, appreciated, and deeply felt. Thank you for sharing such personal thoughts about your 100 day journey. May you continue discovering and meeting new crafting challenges that I - for one - look forward to reading about... ;-)

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  2. Dearest Rochelle, you always have the right words. Thank you for always stopping by, taking time to read, and most especially leaving me these very kind comments...much appreciated! Hugs!

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  3. Sorry to hear about your mom. Yes, immersing ourselves in crafting can help us feel better.

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    1. Hi Priscilla, thank you for the sympathies and for stopping by. ❤️

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  4. Good evening. I'm Gaby, and I'm crafting from 2010, when I discovered the jewelry, because my father was very sick that year, and I was lost my slip worried about him. My father recovered then, and all was fine, till last year, when my father and my mother passed away, 3 days one another, it was a tragedy. What can I do now to move on with my pain, when my parents both died? Last year I couldn't craft anything, the first and only thing was a pair of earrings, on Christmas time. Maybe here, on this site, I will find the way, the meaning, to craft again.

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    1. Hi Gaby, thank you for sharing your story. I know you still carry the pain and grief of losing both your parents. Please accept my sympathies. Crafting has helped me in sad and tough times. Maybe you can start with small projects, crafts that remind you of your parents and the good memories you had together: a locket with their photos; a quilt using fabric from their clothes that you can turn into a pillow to hug or use as a blanket; drawing the things that remind them of you. I know you will miss them more but it will help you go back to all the good times you shared. Hugs, dear Gaby!

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