ICAD #18: Reality Check
Mon, June 18, 2012 at 09:15AM 
3x5" index card, smashed acrylics, gellyroll
The beginning is the easy part. The excitement. All of the creatives making index cards throughout the known universe {I'm prone to exxageration}. All of the posts about ICAD. The expanding lists of link love. The comments. The flickr group growing exponentially. The stack of blank index cards taunting you. It's now, when things are flowing like airbrush acrylics, that you've got to think ahead.
I'm sorry for the reality check. But it's gotta be said. You want to have a stack of 61 funky index cards on July 31, right? So what barriers might exist - in reality - or in your mind?
These things could happen.
a) you forget to do a card
b) you don't feel like blogging about yet another bleeping index card
c) your theme fizzles out - you don't want to draw more elephants or write more haiku
d) you go on vacation
e) you are behind by 7 cards
f) house guests take over the artspace formerly known as the guest room
g you can't think of anything to do with the little white card
h) you run out of index cards
i) your plan to draw psychedelic zombies doesn't pan out
j) you cut your finger slicing tomatoes
Let's talk about why it is important to YOU to continue the challenge, right up to {or beyond} day #61? If you did the challenge last year {it was a 3 month challenge}, what did you learn, how did these little index cards make a difference in your world. What habits did it spark? What projects?
Do tell! Share your story and inspire others to keep going.
Reader Comments (3)
Last year, I got 20 cards into the 3-month challenge before all my self-imposed rules got the better of me. However, some really excellent things developed out of those 20 cards. My original plan was to create cartoons for each day and in just 20 cards, I discovered a deep love for drawing robots. I have drawn a lot of robots since last summer and I find them to be very meditative. More importantly, I reignited a love for illustration and even though I didn't complete the index card challenge, I actually continued on with my illustration practice and draw every single day.
This year, I was ahead for a bit but now I'm back to creating the card for the day on the day its due and that's no good. If I really want to continue, I'm going to have to spend some time getting ahead...way ahead since I have company coming in a couple of weeks. As far as blogging my cards, I'm condensing my cards into just two posts for the week so my few readers and I don't get sick of index card postings.
Anyway, that's where I'm at right now....thank you for all the encouragement & inspiration!
Thanks for the link to smashing acrylics. This is my first year and it's all about play and ezperimentation for me. Process rather than product, which is usually hard for me, but working on an index card makes it easier. My problem is I want to go ahead and do six in a day!
I am already feeling a bit like I am running out of ideas - but I'm not not enjoying it yet :)
My mild OCD-like tendencies won't let me make ahead, so I am having to do a card every single day, some days it feels like a struggle if I am tired after a long day at work - BUT I have always enjoyed it once I got going, and have been pleased to have done something, even if the result is no work of art
Now psychedelic zombies, THAT's a great idea!!