When a challenge is a BAD idea.

Anyone else a challenge junkie?  You know when you need to join in every stitchalong, crochetalong, 100 days of XYZ, etc?   Well I definitely fall into that category.

I love a challenge for many different reasons. It can stretch my boundaries, motivating me into trying new things. It often gives me deadlines to work to and without those I tend to just bounce from one thing to another without completing anything.  It also gives me a sense of belonging - because most of the challenges I find are online and there will be a group of people all doing the same challenge and posting about it. 

A good example of a positive challenge was the Attic 24 Sweetpea Blanket crochetalong in January. My father passed away at the end of December and my creative mojo left with him. I needed something I could already do, with simple instructions and positive progress every week without any stress. It fitted the bill perfectly and I love the blanket I made.

So if I see so many positives in challenges why would I write a Blog about why they can be a bad idea? Well its the old adage of "too much of a good thing". I am a challenge "junkie". I just can't resist one. Every time I read about one I feel the need to join in. I only have to read the description line to be thinking "oh yes I could do that" and start hunting for the right materials. So I often end up with challenge overload. I belong to several art and/or craft groups and each tends to set its own challenges, group projects, competitions etc. All of which I need to join in because FOMO (fear of missing out) is writ large in my head. So I over commit to the group activities and then add online challenges to my workload. I see it as failure to not complete something once I commit to it so the overload is pretty well permanent.


On top of that I am wedded to the rules of a challenge. I am well known for not being able to stick to the guidelines when on a workshop but instead I metaphorically wander off and try and a myriad of variations. Somehow though this doesn't apply to challenges. I treat them like I am doing them under exam conditions and every "rule" set is one I must adhere to strictly - even when it isn't working for me. 

The classic example of this is the daisyyellowart.com challenge ICAD. Don't get me wrong, I love ICAD and I would be the first person to recommend it (and I do frequently) but this year I have realised it may not be the right fit for me.

I started ICAD with a lot of art journal type work

  
Having finally got my creative mojo back recently I  made a plan for the year designed specifically to help me manage my projects better. I made a list of all the things I had already committed to (mentally and actually) and then allowed myself space to finish one or two pieces that had been on the go for sometime (known in the trade as WIPs - Work In Progress).  ICAD was on the list automatically because I had already completed it for the last four years and enjoyed it. 

All well and good - but you can only work on an index card (for more details on ICAD see daisyyellowart.com) - yes that rubbishy substrate that is pretty much useless for making art on. I understand why that is a rule but the tiny size doesn't suit me. I work better on a bigger scale.

Collage became a theme using added text

it was a chance to play with different materials

ET put in an appearance on a paper towel.

You make one piece of art on an index card every day (hence Index Card A Day).  I am a sporadic person; once I have started one piece of work I quickly come up with a whole list of "what ifs". I need to work on them pretty much straight away so last year I ended up making 6 or more cards in one go and then not making any for a week. 

There is also a series of (optional) prompts - both daily and weekly. The first 2 years I did the daily prompts, the third year I did the weekly prompts and then last year I loosely followed the weekly prompts but often went off track.   This year I thought it would be good to use the art materials I already have and get more familiar with them. 

using pastels to extend a photo

more collage

2018 was definately the year of collage

a stitched piece

So - having automatically added ICAD to the list of things to do, on reflection I had decided not to use an index card, not to work daily but in batches and not to use the prompts. So the only thing I am keeping is the timetable - 61 pieces of art in the 61 days of June and July.  

I admit it feels a bit lonely. I can't join in the ICAD fever on instagram because I am not really doing ICAD and its not the same sharing with my art friends because it is not a shared activity this time round.  On the other hand I am enjoying playing with my existing materials and learning a lot. I have my own guidelines now that should work for me and help me get to the end of the challenge. Who knows...maybe I am finally outgrowing my challenge addiction?

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the old ICADs from previous years. 

Thanks for reading.