A year, broken into 366 pieces: by Devi Laskar

I’m having a hard time imagining this even with the proof just before my eyes. I’m almost at the end of the challenge I set out for myself: in a few days’ time I will have completed a year’s worth of art. That’s 366 pieces (thanks to my know-it-all friends who assure me that I have to do an ‘extra’ day because this is a leap year) of my own art, whether it was a drawing or a painting or a photograph.

One a day for an entire year. The only conditions I set for myself is that I do “something different” from one day to the next, and that I try to complete something in a day’s time. Sometimes I worked on two different things, something simpler for the day I was trying to conquer, and something more complex for a day in the near future. The first few days were harder than the last few months have been: it is interesting to experience the routine of having to 1. Plan 2. Prepare and 3. Produce something every day.

I think I’m getting the hang of this, and I’ve come to enjoy it. This art-a-day challenge has provided me an opportunity to produce something consistently. And this project has helped me with the writing – I’m writing more consistently, too.

After I got over the initial embarrassment of how bad the first several pieces were, even though my friends on Facebook have been nothing short of stellar in their support, I started to take risks. Experiment. Now, that’s fun. It’s like trying on clothes, stuff you know you’ll never wear outside of your bathroom, but trying on things for the sake of trying it, for fun.

I’m pretty shameless these days, I’ll stop the car by the side of the road, and hop out to run up or down a hill, or cross a field or ditch or stream, just to get a “better shot” or gather inspiration from nature for a “better” painting.

And this has got me thinking: just because the year is up doesn’t mean I have to quit. Maybe I won’t quit. I used to watch “Law & Order” when I used to watch TV and I remember that when someone’s sanity was in question, the judge always ordered a “730 exam.” Coincidentally two years is 730 days (and I’m not counting the leap day) – and maybe I should get my head examined. But I think I’m heading into a second year of art, every day!!! You can do it too. JOIN ME.

Devi Laskar is a founding member of the Book Writing World. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, an M.A. in South Asian Studies from the University of Illinois, is a rabid Tar Heel basketball fan, is working on a couple of novels and has 2 days to go before she finishes the first year of her art-a-day challenge.