Art Every Day Month: Day 30

The last day of November today, and with it the last day of Art Every Day Month. Time certainly flies by when you are creative! It was a great experience, and made me try out and get into some new things, techniques and supplies, which I really enjoyed. I also profited from the challenge of trying to do something small (almost) every day. It doesn't have to be a big painting on canvas every time. A little sketch, a drawing, watercolour pencils... it's such a good exercise to just do something, anything, no matter how small, every day. I actually didn't do something on each and every day. I had one or two days when I just didn't had the time, or simply wasn't inspired. It happens, and it's okay too. But I managed to do something on most of the day, which is actually a lot more than I expected. So I'm really happy. And the community of all the Art Every Day Month participants has been so inspiring and rewarding! The talent and creativity out there is really amazing!

A big thank you to Leah Piken Collidas of Creative Every Day, who hosted the challenge and who gave us a platform to share our work and connect with each other. Thank you!

And so here is my last contribution to Art Every Day Month. Two days ago, when I posted my unenthusiastic Saint Nichoals, Nigel asked for a reindeer, and how could I possibly ignore his request. So here is it, a little reindeer in the  snow just for you, Nigel :). (Click here for some music to go with it)

He looks a bit exhausted, poor chap. I first thought it was because of all the work he has to do this time of the year, but then I remembered that the present delivery service doesn't start until later next month. So my conclusion is that he's a little bit drunk, naughty little thing. But maybe a glass of red wine is just the right thing now, to celebrate a whole month of creating art (almost) every day. Cheers to all my fellow participants!

Actually, Art Every Day Month is not the only challenge Leah hosts. In the past three years, she has also hosted the Creative Every Day Challenge, and I've been so inspired this month, that I'm seriously thinking about joining this challenge, if she will host it again next year. There's a theme for each month, and I really like this idea. (I have been doing a similar thing with Picture Inspiration, where we are given a prompt each week for a photograph. It is a great challenge and inspiration to come up with something for a theme I wouldn't necessarily have thought about myself.) Even though it is called an "every day challenge", it doesn't actually mean that you have to  post something every day, which really would be absolutely impossible. Also, "creativity" is meant in a very broad sense.

Well, I'm definitely going to miss Art Every Day Month, but to be honest, I'm also quite looking forward to taking a bit slower again. These past few days especially, where I tried to do and post something every day, have been exhausting (I feel a little bit like my litte reindeer), and I definitely need to catch up on some sleep! But if there's going to be a Creative Every Day Challenge for 2012, I'm almost certainly in!