Day 102 :: Wednesday April 11 :: Ottawa

Write a palindrome. Bonus: illustrate it! (Palindrome: A word or phrase that when read backward is exactly the same as when it is read forward (though changes in punctuation and spacing are allowed). A classic example is "Madam, I'm Adam".)

Writing a palindrome took forever!! I had the rats/star part right away, but figuring out the rest wasn't so easy... i admit to googling lists of words starting or ending with certain letters. I also learned what a sistrum – plural: sistra! – was: "...a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient Egypt. It consists of a handle and U-shape metal frame, made of brass or bronze. When shaken, it produces a sound that can be from a soft clank to a loud jangling..." (thank you, Wikipedia!). So really, not only is this project pushing me to be more creative, it's also teaching me new things. Who knew?

Day 101 :: Tuesday April 10 :: Ottawa

Flip to a random page in a book at hand and make something inspired by the first sentence you read.

I love Neil Gaiman. A friend tipped me to his literary works not too long ago, and i've been working steadily through every short story, novel and comic book of his since; as luck would have it, i currently have one of his short story collections, Smoke & Mirrors, sitting on my bedside table. I opened it to this fantastic sentence: "It was raining when I arrived in L.A., and I felt myself surrounded by a hundred old movies." Wow. This is the Photoshop collage i made from it.

DAY 100??!!

We interrupt the daily flow of creative assignments for a short announcement...

I MADE IT TO DAY 100!!

It hasn't always been easy, and honestly, some days it was very, very tempting to forego that day's assignment (in the same way that some days, you opt for the BigMac over the gym, video games over sleeping, driving over walking, sleeping in over the early productive weekend morning...), which is why i wanted to pause to say THANK YOU.

A giant, heartfelt thank you goes to:

• Friends who have put up with my constant blog chatter (including agonizing, wailing 'this assignment is ridiculous! How on earth will i do this today?!'). 
• Everyone who has helped along the way, either by making suggestions, pushing me in the right direction, making appearances on the blog, encouraging me, being in love with a particular creation, leaving comments...
• Those people i've never met who started following my blog after it was featured on Make Something 365 (i'm following your blogs in return, and it's so inspiring to see your creations!)
• Anyone else who is reading this :) The blog is nearing 2000 page views, which to me is absolutely incredible. Thank you.

Here's to the next 265 days! 

Thanks for reading, 

gstar :)

Day 100 :: Monday April 9 :: Ottawa

Make something new out of an old T-shirt. It doesn't have to be wearable when it's done, but if it is, document it while someone has it on!

Hmmm. My main problem with this assignment was that i donated all my old, i-never-wear-this-anymore t-shirts to charity about a month ago... was there still a t-shirt lying around to sacrifice? Thankfully, at the very bottom of the drawer was this Hart&Huntington shirt (below, left), just begging for a little transformation.

The inspiration: I used to have a 'deconstructed' Gap tank top (navy, unfinished seams, perfectly worn-in) that i wore all the time in the summer... since it's long gone, i thought why not make a new one? It didn't take long to cut off the sleeves and 'boat neck' the neckline, and i'm very happy with the results. Thanks to Megan Berry for claiming a few minutes of fame by modelling the new and improved shirt!

Day 99 :: Sunday April 8 :: Ottawa

Use the world of insects as your inspiration today.

Happy Easter! This little bug eye/kaleidoscope pattern would also look great on an egg, don't you think? I hadn't worked in pencil crayon in ages – it used to be my favorite medium in high school – so it was a great chance to reconnect with it. Maybe i'll keep the crayons out a bit longer...

Day 98 :: Saturday April 7 :: Ottawa

Work with time. Try making something that is only visible in a long-exposure photograph. Drawing with a laser pointer, flashlight, or a sparkler in the dark are a few options; you can even create an image by moving the camera itself. If you don't have a camera that can do the job, see if a friend can help.

I used the 'fireworks' mode of my trusty little Olympus Tough camera for this one, and moved it around to capture the light of a single tealight candle. The letters were made one at a time. Super fun!

Day 97 :: Friday April 6 :: Ottawa

Make an invitation to an everyday event you wouldn't normally invite people to. Bonus: actually send them out.

Oh, this one was fun! Here is the invitation/promo flyer I made for my ultimate team's upcoming game. I emailed it out to my teammates – it was so well received that it might become a weekly thing. Be sure to cheer for Chow Down on Wednesday!