On the one hand there were the people who I thought were good enough to be professional artists, people who could draw and paint like a dream. I was really pleased to find that I enjoyed viewing the work of so many different types of artist. I have learned about things I didn't know of before, like 'one staple collage.' I have always been a great fan of what I called 'low key creativity' and the ICAD challenge was a great way for me to explore that further. I enjoyed seeing other people's work and think the private group was a great idea and provided such a supportive and inspiring environment. Before I discovered Daisy Yellow I had never even considered creating something on an index card and I loved the challenge of having to work with something so small. Hopefully you will join in again in the future. If you don’t feel up to doing ICAD, it’s completely understandable. Please know that I recognize that we are each dealing with different circumstances with respect to the pandemic. Experiment with the materials you have on hand. Ģ021 is the 11th challenge - and I invite you to proactively seek out beauty in the process of making, of taking simple index cards and altering them! You can doodle with magic markers, use alphabet stamps to write haiku with magazine text, paint mini-landscapes, test hand-carved eraser stamps, draw portraits, the possibilities are endless. You might choose to simplify what you create, or shift your expectations to take away any perceived pressure. Remember that art can help in ways that are difficult to describe in words. We inspire each other while we inspire ourselves. I didn’t have any idea whether anyone would be in the mood to do ICAD but we had a record turnout! It was incredibly uplifting to see the colorful art flying! It is comforting to focus on making and sharing what we create with art friends around the world.
In 2020 we held our 10th annual challenge amidst the early phase of the pandemic - we were freaked out and didn’t know what on earth was happening.