Project 321 - What is it?

Day 235 - Project 321
6x9, Ink Drawing, Sold

What is Project 321? 

Project 321 was inspired by Amy Krouse Rosental's final project called Project 123.

Do you know Amy? Amy is a children's book author and creator. I have been a fan of Amy Krouse Rosenthal since I discovered her in 2008 with her video of 17 Things I Made and her Beckoning of Lovely project. I was excited to find her on Instagram with a new project called Project 1, 2, 3 and I followed along with her happily. To summarize, her project started on December 3rd. (12-3. 123.) and she was challenging herself to come up with a new list of 3 things everyday for 123 days in a list of 3 points. Sadly, on February 1st, day 61, she announced that she could not longer continue her project because she had cancer and she died on March 13, 2017. I was really sad that I would no longer have the privilege of being inspired by this wonderful human being.

Day 171 - Project 321
6x9, Acrylic Painting, Available on Etsy

I was looking for something new but didn't really know what I wanted to do. I had my own project called Give 52 that ran from August 2015 to August 2016 which is documented here on this site. 52 pieces in 52 weeks, created and given away to people that I loved or strangers who inspired me. I knew I didn't want to pick up Amy's project. I'm not a wordsmith and I didn't want to wait until December. I was inspired by her though and March 21st was coming up soon. 3-21. 321. 

I decided I would do something starting on March 21st and I would do 321 days of it. The main premise was to invite inspiration to come into my life and help me create. The beginning of the project was shaky. It started with some bad photographs and then some bad paintings and drawings. And even though it started off with some bad creations, the point was I was creating something everyday. And slowly, the bad creations turned into some really cool creations both in drawing and in painting. I settled into a 6x9 inch format and around day 66 or so, I started to feel a good groove and that's when I think the pieces took a turn for the better. In making 321 pieces, you're going to have some duds but you're also going to have some pretty cool stuff show up, too. 

Mini-series started showing up in the larger series. There is a mini-series of angels, faces, hearts, butterflies, birds, patterns, words both drawn and painted, and abstracts. I would get on a role of drawing in my markers perched on my "couch studio" and then go back to acrylic painting when I was tired of drawing. The series is diverse and I think that's one of the things I like about it. I didn't have to create the same piece using the same technique everyday or use the same content over and over. The pieces developed organically and with genuine authenticity. 

Many of the pieces are still available. Some of them are posted on Etsy. They're all displayed on my Instagram account and can be found by searching #project321art. I've been pretty good at updating which ones have sold. You can also find them printed products on Redbubble.com. 

Let me explain my pricing. Most artist price their pieces by the square inch. These pieces are 6x9 so 54 square inches. To keep my artwork affordable and available to a wider audience, I charge $1 per square inch. These pieces come with a mat and are bagged. To cover that cost, I have rounded up to $60. So, for $60 you can own an original piece of artwork. If you want a print, you can go to Redbubble and order one for cheaper but I don't have the financial resources, the desire to try and predict which pieces are more desirable, or the space to store a bunch of prints so I don't offer that personally. 

But hey! You can own an original piece of artwork for $60!

This is September

The goal for Create 92 was to finish the  project on August 31st but high school football got in the way and I finished up on September 1st instead. This is life. I'm super happy with the way the project turned out and now just need to decide all the factors around how to display and sell them. The yucky part.

You can see all the pieces I created this summer over on Instagram by searching the hashtag: #create92in2018. The sizes of the pieces are 8x8 inches. The medium is mostly ink and acrylic painting with a sprinkle of watercolor. The price will depend on how I decide to mat and frame the pieces but I'm thinking for a piece just by itself unframed will be $60. Subject to change, of course.

Grapefest is coming up fast. September 13th - 16th, I'll be on Main Street in Grapevine, Texas with my booth set up in the Foust Building. I have some fun origami butterfly strands ready to go, I'm offering some Project 321 pieces framed and unframed and then, I'll have some of my flower swirl pieces as well. I'm looking forward to having a fun weekend. If you're in the area, come say hi. 

Create 92 in 2018 - Faces

Surprisingly, for the Create 92 series I have stayed with creating faces. Do you recognize this lady? Some of the sixty two pieces I've created to date are self portraits like these four. These four are a few of my favorites from the series and these are all ink drawings.

But what do they mean?

While researching for my teaching certificate I came across an article with the headline: If the artwork has no meaning is it just decoration?

Not that decoration is bad. I like decoration. But I want to make meaningful art. A lot of the art I make is made because I want to make something happy and colorful and pretty. The purpose is to make the viewer happy.

I'm not a portrait artist. I'll never paint your portrait that you will be amazed that it looks just like the photograph. I'm just not that talented. But these small eight by eight abstract portraits of me and other faces mean something to me. There's a mosaic brokenness quality in the faces maybe because I'm broken but that is offset by the use of bright colors to signify the hope and gratitude that I have in life. Our broken pieces have a tendency to create something lovely inside of us. My resting face is not attractive. I've been cursed with almost non-existent and down-turned lips. And almost every time I take a picture, one eyebrow decides to have a life of its own and shoots up. Our quirky, wonderful faces.

We all have a face. They're all different but at the same time all the same. Our faces tell others how we're feeling. Happy, angry, sad or just your regular, neutral sometimes resting ugly face that makes others wonder what we're thinking. Wonderful, wonderful faces.

In making these pieces, I like the control I have in making the ink drawings and I like the freedom and looseness I have in making the acrylic paintings. They're both wonderful in their own way.

As of this moment, August 2nd at 9:32am, I have 30 more to make and everyday I'm excited to see who shows up.

Welcome!

I set up a website last year over at another company but I never updated it and I didn't use it as a store so I decided to let it go and come back to blogger. Blogger is free. :)

Did you know I have an Etsy Store? I do. Just click on the word any of the words Etsy and it will show you what I have currently listed. But did you know I have a lot more artwork available than what is listed in the store. I do! A butt ton. Like Dinosaur butt ton. Well, maybe more like buffalo butt ton. But you get the picture. I have a lot of artwork available for you to purchase.

Do you know where you can see almost all my artwork? Instagram.

Currently I'm in a summer series I call Create 92 in 2018. On the first day of the series I drew a face and that set the content for the series. All pieces are 8x8 inches. Most of them have been ink drawings but I've done a few paintings as well. I, of course, retain the right to change subject matter at any time but as a group, they're kind of amazing. You can see all faces posted by searching #create92in2018

My other series I have on Instagram is a series I made March 21, 2017 through February 5, 2018 called Project 321. To see that series you can search #Project321Art. I've tried to update the comments with sold if it has indeed been sold. These pieces are mostly 6x9 inches and come with a 9x12 matboard ready for you to frame.

The other cool thing about the Project 321 pieces is that the majority of these pieces have been uploaded to my portfolio at RedBubble.com along with a bunch of other art stuff. RedBubble is a product sight and artist upload their artwork. When you buy a product, the artist gets paid a small commission.

So, if you're a first time visitor, this is an old blog that I had where I documented a project I called Give 52. It was a weekly project where I made a piece of artwork each week and then I sent it out into the universe mostly to my friends and family to let the know I loved them.

We'll see how well I do with updating this site. I can tell you it probably won't be often but never say never.

Cheryl Houston Art

I have a new website at CherylHoustonArt.com!

I would love for you to come visit and join me on Instagram to see what inspiration is up to in my life with my new quest: Project 321.

Thanks!