The 100 Day Project: Days 33 – 39

The Great Discontent’s 100 Day Project is now 39 days in. Created by artist Elle Luna, the goal is to do something creative every day for 100 days that has a specific focus and helps your creative process grow. Projects include photography, video clips, dance, and drawing. I’ve chosen to do 100 days of travel hand lettering. I’m working hard to improve my lettering skills and showcasing my love of travel.

I’m illustrating one place each day, either a place I’ve visited and loved or somewhere that is on my bucket list to visit in the future. This project is more about the process than the end result, and I am definitely seeing my process improve, even in this short amount of time. Plus, it’s helping me develop a good habit of drawing each day—a soothing exercise I desperately need in my chaotic and busy life.

I have to say though, I’m getting tired. Haha! It is a big commitment to do this every day. It may not seem like much, it is a fairly quick little project, but sometimes my days get so busy, it’s challenging to even find a few minutes. This past week, I had visitors from out of state, so I was playing tour guide and spending lots of time with them. Those days, it was almost impossible to find a few minutes to do a quick drawing. I did though, and I’m proud of myself for not missing a single day yet. That’s probably one of the deep, valuable lessons with his project is forcing you to make time and practice the daily discipline. Right now though, since it’s been such a crazy busy week, it feels a bit overwhelming and I’m kind of wondering how to make it through the next 60 days.

Here are days 33–39. Follow the progress on Instagram under the hashtag “#The100DayProject” and my specific hashtag is “#100DaysofTravelLettering” under my Instagram handle, @noeldolangd.

Day 33: Memphis. I grew up with avid Elvis fans and have made 2 trips to Memphis in my life to pay homage to the King. I used hot pink since that was one of Elvis’ favorite colors and added a treble clef for the “s” to reflect the city’s rich musical culture.

Day 38: Antarctica. I hate the cold, but I want to see this mysterious frozen continent, mostly to see the adorable penguins.

Day 37: Salzburg. I’m a huge Sound of Music fan, so I was thrilled to get to visit the sites of the movie in Salzburg. Plus, I’m a big classical music nerd so going to Mozart’s birthplace was heaven. It is such a neat city with beautiful music!

Day 36: Denver. I live in Colorado Springs, which is south of Denver. But, this weekend, I had out of state visitors come to see the Mile High City. It was fun playing tour guide and being a tourist in my own backyard, so it was worth putting on the list. I framed Denver with the city skyline and the amazing concert venue, Red Rocks. I did a gradient shading for the colors to represent Colorado’s amazing sunsets

Day 35: Scotland. I love Scotland. It is an amazing country with beautiful scenery and exciting history. I’m part of the Campbell Clan, so it was a great thrill to visit my ancestral homeland.

Day 34: I’m dying to travel to Namibia one day. It is the home of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, an organization that helps rescue these endangered big cats and I want to see it. It

Day 39: Haworth, England. This is a tiny town in northern England, not far from York. It is special to me, because it is the birthplace of the Bronte sisters. They wrote Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, the latter of which is one of my all time favorite books. It was insanely exciting to get to visit their home, see where Wuthering Heights was written and run out on the mysterious moors looking for Heathcliff.

Join Me in the 100 Days Project

The Great Discontent’s 100 Days Project.
Image is copyright The Great Discontent and belongs entirely to them. This image is only being used for information purposes.

Looking for a creative project outside of your daily work? Want to try something new and exciting? Need motivation to stay consistent? Join me in participating in The Great Discontent’s 100 Day Project. It starts on Monday, April 6 and will continue for 100 days in a row.

Originally this was a project assigned to Yale School of Art graduate students by legendary designer Michael Beirut. They had to choose one action to repeat everyday for 100 days. Students made a poster everyday, others danced in public or made videos. It was a way to get them to be consistently creative with a new venture outside of the daily norm.

Artist and designer Elle Luna was inspired by this original concept to create her own 100 Days Project. She wanted to make it more about the creative process rather than the final results. Last year, she did 100 self portraits. This year, she is painting her dreams of travel for 100 days. Read the full interview with The Great Discontent.

By participating in the process for 100 days, you see changes not only in the quality of someone’s work, but also their lifestyle. Elle mentioned a busy mom who wanted to be an artist, but spent her time posting pictures of her kids on Instagram instead of her art. By the end of the project, she had made great art and found a way to incorporate it into her daily life with her kids.

I am a designer who has always struggled with confidence and ability when it comes to hand drawn art. I’ve always believed that I wasn’t good at it and could never put it out there. Thanks to the internet and seeing the vast styles and abilities of other artists, I am more confident that my silly doodles and uneven lines have a place in the art world. But, more importantly, I really enjoy drawing and I find it relaxing.

I spend 8 hours a day on the computer and more in the evening when I’m freelancing or trying to cram in new skills or coding. I’m too attached to my devices. I struggle with insomnia and anxiety. Drawing is the perfect outlet for me. It calms me down, gets me ready for bed, and I truly enjoy it. That is part of the reason I’ve started pursuing hand lettering this year. It combines my love of typography and the relaxation of drawing together.

So, for my 100 Days Project, I am going to do 100 Days of Travel Lettering. Each day, I am going to letter a travel destination either that I’ve been to and loved or that I’m dreaming to go to next. It’s one word each day, so it’s something I can fit into my busy schedule, but it will force me to do this every day. I’m anxious to see my lettering skills improve over the 100 days, but I also think it’s going to bring some peace and tranquility to my chaotic life.

Interested in participating? Read the full details here and sign up today. Also, be sure to get an Instagram account as you will need it to share your work everyday. Each project must have an unique hashtag, so be sure to look for mine at #100DaysofTravelLettering.