This week begins the last week of my 2015 creative daily practice of Creative Deed 365. I have so enjoyed doing this project throughout the last 12 months, both in the making & giving! Inviting others to join in this effort has been super inspiring and lots of fun to see and take in throughout the year…
This post is a little pre re-cap about the goings on of the project before it ends on December 31!
On Making:
In previous posts I’ve shared how introducing a daily creative practice into my life has been such a huge benefit. I’ve written about how creating these little pieces of art helps slows things down and take pause in my day. I’ve also stated how those moments where I am most busy or active in my day are the times I feel like I get the most out of this process.
For this year’s collection of art I started using half sized index cards, then started to use playing cards- which I ended up really liking the most because of their texture and thickness. I used a lot of magazine photo collage or scrapbooking and printed paper gifted to me in stash swaps, as well as stamping ink, rub on/transfer lettering, & a variety of pens from gel, ink, paint & sharpies.
On Giving:
What really inspired this 365 was the intention to give away all the art I created this year. I really enjoyed this part of the project! It was exciting to release what was made and its accompanied message into the universe. Whether someone claimed the creative deed as their own or not, the spirit & energy behind its creation was “out there”. In times of challenge, stress, or moments of tough things going on in the world, I hoped that a creative deed helped bring some kind of light.
Equally exciting was where/how/when to release the creative deeds. My favorite public place were gas pumps. The most oddest place I sometimes would put creative deeds on were on the tops of garbage cans. I wondered if it would be an easy way for them to end up as trash? Surprisingly I enjoyed leaving creative deeds out during the winter months because it helped me get out & about in the bitter cold and snow more than I would have without this special mission. I don’t know if anyone ever noticed that I was leaving one behind. There were definitely times that I stayed around (mostly in coffee shops) and could watch the different reactions of someone discovering one. Sometimes they would be picked up, looked at oddly and put down- and other times welcomed with a smile and then claimed.
In addition to the public random places I left creative deeds, over the last couple of months I finally finished mailing out creative deeds to everyone who requested one through this blog or social media. I also mailed out some batches when inspired to friends and supporters of the project. From January to December I’ve slowly put these tiny pieces of art in the postal mail here in the US, to Australia, Europe, New Zealand, UK, and Canada. Below are some pics from some of the creative deed deliveries received in December. Awesome to see these captures made upon their arrival and in hands @ their new home!
On Connection:
I was super curious how inviting others to become involved in the process would work out and in what form. I created the Creative Deed 365 Facebook Group as a space for anyone interested in also spreading this form of creative goodness throughout the year. I had no idea how important this group would become to the process! Not only was it an inspiring, encouraging, and positive place for sharing our creative deed efforts, but I enjoyed seeing the variety of creative deeds everyone involved in the idea were making for others. I hope others did too. Social media through FB group primarily, but also Instagram with the hashtag #creativedeed365 became another way for ones creative deed energy to be released “out there”.
It was also just as fun to invite art therapist friends and colleagues this summer to join in on the #creativedeed365 fun while attending the national conference in Minneapolis. It was like a Creative Deed treasure hunt in the hotel we were staying at.
What was always a nice find on my end was when someone who discovered a creative deed would use social media to share the news, using the #creativedeed365 hashtag— again on Instagram and sometimes on Twitter. It was a nice feeling to know the creative deed was received and read the expressions of gratitude, surprise, and joy. The creative deed e-mail was also used on a few occasions to share finds as well!
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I was also really delighted that Ursuline College, where I am on faculty in the Counseling and Art Therapy Department, became aware of this project and invited me to guest blog for their online publication VOICES last month. You can read this post here. In this post I was able to reflect on how the project started, the role of community & social media, and the creative goodness this effort has hopefully helped spread.
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In celebration of the remaining days left in this project, I wanted to share my Top 10 favorite creative deeds and some of the quotes I posted with them:
Past updates, creative deed work, discoveries, and more from this year can be viewed here. I’ve been using Flipagram recently to document the last few months of offerings. December’s will be coming next week when this year’s project ends!
I thank everyone who has participated on some level with this project: as a creative deed maker, finder/receiver, supporter, through this blog and my updates….. 🙂
With every deed you are sowing a seed, though the harvest you may not see. – Ella Wheeler Wilcox
creativity in motion 
I have followed your project and it has made me smile all year. You’ve actually inspired me to really think about adding abandoned art to the RAKs I do. I always thought my art wouldn’t be a good enough gift to send out into the world but your project has persuaded me otherwise. 365 is too ambitious for me at this stage but I will definitely try something.
Gretchen, I have followed your project all year, finding hope, and inspiration as I studied each card. I hope you know that many of us have received so much just from looking at the images you’ve created of each creative deed.