Orange Rug Yarn Musings

It's the beginning of the school year here in North America, a time when even adults' minds turn to learning new things. "Back to School" sales are also a great opportunity to stock up on all types of paper and writing implements, which makes it a good time to start new projects that involve school or office supplies. With this in mind I'd like to propose a challenge - Draw Something Every Day. The path to drawing better is drawing more and this challenge is particularly aimed at people like me who "can't draw" or want to draw better. This challenge is completely non-competitive and the goal is not to increase or show off artistic ability as much as to break the barriers that keep us from practicing. Success is what you make it, but my hope is that people involved will measure their success in creating a practice of drawing regularly.

How it works:

• The Challenge proper starts the week of September 17th and ends at the end of May 2008, but you are encouraged to make this a lifetime practice!
• Draw something every day - this can be as little as a scribble on the back of your mail or as complicated as you like.
• Each week you are encouraged to share one drawing from the previous week.

What to share

The images you share shouldn't necessarily be your "best" work, it could be something you particularly struggled with or had a lot of fun doing or are particularly proud of. The point is to share your learning process, not necessarily your skill or artistic ability, so an example of a close to perfect freehand circle is just valuable and important as a perfect drawn reproduction of the view out your window.

How to share

Each Monday, I will open a post here for sharing the previous week's favorite drawings. You are welcome to post your work in the comments. You can also share on your own blog, if so you are encouraged to leave a comment or send a trackback. (Please note that due to problems with spammers, I am having to moderate comments, which I usually do once a day.) I have also started a Zooomr group (Draw Something Every Day Zooomer group) for this challenge and you are welcome to post your images there as well. (Zooomr is a photo sharing site similar to Flickr and Photobucket - I've picked it rather than other sites because it allows for free unlimited photo sharing and groups.)

How to join

If you want to take part in the challenge, post a comment below with your name and the address of your blog, photo stream or any other web address where else you intend to share your work - or just sign up for the Zooomr group. I will be posting a list of participants on the Draw Something Every Day page.

You can join at any time and participate as much or as little as you want to (although you are encouraged to keep drawing even if you don't have the time or desire to share!), so don't worry if you haven't found this challenge before the beginning, you are still welcome!

Let's start drawing!

My Draw Something Every Day page with participant listing.