365 Days of Creating--Day 1

And so it begins...

After years of refusing to make New Year's Resolutions, this year I've made a declaration: I want more CHAOS in my life! To this end, I've committed to 365 Days of Creating with the intention of developing artistic acumen and projects. Above is my first little doodle for the year. And it's enough for today. I am holding this challenge gently and myself gently within it as I invite more CHAOS into my life.

Why would I want more CHAOS? Well, you may know that I and my partner-in-crime, Wendy Balman, host a Facebook community called Brilliant Chaos. Brilliant Chaos is a group of creators who encourage each other in the creating process. For the past seventeen months, we have held monthly Creating Challenges designed to spark people into loving something--artwork, music, books, websites, businesses, curriculum, clothing, etc.--into existence. We believe that creative energy is powerful, and the more of it that we let loose into the world, the better place the world will become. (If you're interested in joining us, you can sign up here.)

As 2012 ended, Wendy and I felt a shift happening. We each wanted to amp up our creating level. We also wanted to encourage our community members to consider their own creating edges. And because we've instigated Brilliant Chaos, we felt CHAOS was the perfect structure for developing and holding ourselves to our new intentions. Below I've pasted portions of our FB document that describe this. After you read it, you just might want more CHAOS in your life too! (If so, let me know! And join our group so we can all support you!)

2013 Brilliant Chaos Creating Challenge

The new year approaches, and at this time of year, many people create goals. Perhaps you’ve heard of SMART goals? Well, on Planet Chaos (the home of Brilliant Chaos), SMART goals are sooooo early-2000s. No, on Planet Chaos, we ask ourselves “What CHAOS do we want to create in the coming year?” This is our way of inviting you to develop your own Creating Challenge for 2013.

What exactly do we mean by CHAOS? Well, let us tell you:

C-Creation:

What exactly do you want to love into existence?

H-How:

How will you know you’ve accomplished it? What kind of parameters do you need to complete your creation?

A-Achievable:

Can you realistically complete this creation in the time alloted? What resources do you need to do so?

O-OMG (Oh.My.Geefwidiousness!*):

On a scale from 1 to 10, how geefwidious* is this creation for you?

S-Schedule:

How long do you want to take to achieve this creation? How often do you want to work toward it?

*Geefwidious®: A word of Brilliant Chaos’ Chaotish Language®, meaning full of wonder and discovery with a sense of satisfaction.

Here, at Brilliant Chaos, we will be creating our own CHAOS around the world. And you know what? We’ll be doing it brilliantly.

  

What constitutes CHAOS? Here are some broad categories:

• Project: What does not exist now that you want to have exist by the end of 2013? (Example: book, business, website, painting, building, etc.)
• Time: How often do you want to create? For what duration? (Example: one project a day for the first week of the month.)
• Learning: What new skills are acquired and/or needed? (Example: mastering watercolor painting or developing your website-building skills.)
• A mixture of all of the above.

Lisa’s CHAOS:

C-Creation:

365 Days of Creating: Developing Artistic Acumen and Projects

H-How:

Do at least one thing a day to move artistic skill and/or projects forward

Examples: sketch, begin an art journal page, finish an art journal page, begin an art project, finish an art project, watch applicable videos, read applicable books and magazines, experiment, post on blog daily, post blog link on BC page daily

A-Achievable:

Time set aside each day (10 minutes to 2 hours) to create.

Grace to make up a missed day--if I miss one or more days, I create multiple things on following days.

O-OMG (Oh.My.Geefwidiousness!*): 

I am completely exhilarated and slightly overwhelmed. I’m at a 10--a great place to be! Very important to the impact I want CHAOS to have on my life!

S-Schedule: 

I will take all year, a bit of time each day (10 minutes to 2 hours) to complete this goal.