Artistic Goal for October

After much contemplation, I've settled on my artistic goal for the next month. September with its diss scares, start of classes, meetings, and travel was pretty much shot before it began. October, though, is perfect for turning over a new leaf. It doesn't really matter if the leaf is green or orange.

I've decided to participate in "The Sharpie Scouts Present: Art By The Card Challenge 2006" at the 30 cards in a single month level. An ATC a day is something that (I hope and I pray) I can handle.

Digression: The Sharpie Scouts is a havoc-wreaking group run by our very own Diabla. A love of Sharpies is a must. A sense of humour and a serious subversive streak help. You're also supposed to like chocolate but I personally prefer the idea of "death by lemon curd" so...

By joining something with rules and deadlines, I'm hoping that I'll be more creative in October. There's an inverse relationship to life feeling like a chore and the amount of for-fun stuff that I produce. In other words, the more ATCs coming out of my studio, the happier I am. Increased happiness will set off a chain reaction that can be described thusly: The happier I am, the easier it is for me to work on my dissertation. The easier it is for me to work on my dissertation, the more I will work on it. The more I work on it, the sooner it will be done. The sooner it's done, the sooner the sun will come out and birds will sing and rainbows will spring up on every horizon.

Creating thirty ATCs in a month is, at least for me, a daunting prospect. So, my baby steps:

Before October:
Cut 40 ATC blanks out of watercolour paper and bristol board
Start sketching ideas
Sign up for some swaps for a little kick in the pants
Warm up by doing some art every day for at least 30 minutes.

During October:
Go to bed every day at a reasonable hour
Lay off the internet
Work on diss
Plan classes
Eat well
Make an ATC a day

I'll let you know how it goes.

P.S. That white thing up and to the right is a recent deco page I did that took far too long. It's what inspired me to sign up for the Art by the Card challenge.