We are now officially into our second week of the new year, and I’m ready to reveal my 2019 plan!

So, a little backstory first- as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I have a lot of art supplies. Lots of paint and pencils from my MGSA days, lots of craft supplies from my love of Michael’s, AC Moore and all things crafty (especially when they’re on clearance), and lots of paper from my love of… paper. That all adds up to a LOT of supplies- I even have supplies for papermaking, bookmaking, and weaving.

A lot of this stems from always wanting to try something new- buying ALL the things, excitedly opening it all up at home, and then NEVER doing anything with it. Talk about a waste of money and energy… and queue the downward spiral of feeling sorry for myself for not making art, again.

Fast forward to last July- when I really started to get back into art, specifically lettering, I made the conscious decision to start small. I bought this simple Tombow lettering set from Michael’s (with a coupon because I’m frugal, yo), and was SUPER pumped.

This was exactly what I was looking for- some markers, along with a blending tool, pencil, eraser, and instructions. I also bought this book and printed these practice sheets from Etsy. I kept it simple but was committed to at least trying to do this.

My first attempts were not great, as you can see below, but I kept at it. I practiced the strokes over and over (lots of tracing paper was used) and slowly saw a difference.

From there, you know the rest- I started the challenge through A Pencilbox, and here we are!

I posted this comparison on Instagram and am so impressed with what a difference a few months of hard work can make. In six months, I have more control over my muscles, have tried a lot of different pens and markers to see what I like and don’t like, and have amassed quite a group of work!

Now I’m looking to the future. I’m determined to keep this momentum going for 2019. I still have about 35 days or so left of the 100 day challenge with A Pencil Box, so I’m fully focusing on completing that task. However, it’s not stopping me from my 2019 challenge- it’s simply the first “season” of it.

So what is this challenge exactly?

I’m calling it the #PoorArtistProject, and it might be exactly what you think.

My challenge for 2019 is to continue to work on my art as often as every day, using ONLY the supplies that I have in my home already. Time to clear out the craft room by using is ALL in 2019! There are some caveats and rules I’ve given myself, though- see below:

I originally had the idea to do one project per month, maybe making enough of something to sell to customers to make some money for my upcoming Disney trip with the kiddo. I decided against it, though, because if I want to learn new skills, I need to spend a season on it so I can really explore it. This is, after all, what I’m hoping will be a life changing experience, and I want to do it the right way.

I’ll be continuing my lettering practice for these first couple months as it coincides with the end of the Pencil Box’s #my100dayjournal challenge (and I know working on two separate things at once could be too overwhelming for me). I jotted down some ideas for what I’d like to explore next, but I’m trying to keep my options open and not make this such a rigid project that I get hung up on something and end up quitting altogether.

Will I make the whole year? I sure as hell hope so! Will I try my hardest to make it happen? Sure will!

But if something happens and I can’t finish, or I don’t end the year in a place that I’m happy with? I’ll give myself the grace to know that I tried my hardest, and I can always pick up and keep going. No day has to be the “last” day of our work, right?

Damn right.