One week post-project, how are we doing? Have you decided what to do to close out or celebrate your projects yet? I’d love to hear about it if you want to share in the comments or reply to this email.

And another book update: I’ve now completed 70+ interviews for MAKE MORE ART, and am deep into writing the middle chapters. Writing this book has turned out to be its own kind of 100-day project—the exciting start, the messy middle, the moments of wondering what it's all becoming and if it will make sense to anyone but me—though quite a bit longer (years, not days, and hundreds of pages). The thing that’s kept me going, more than anything, is getting to talk to so many of you. It’s the best possible version of not doing it alone.

I’m currently looking for stories connected to two themes:

PATTERN RECOGNITION

Projects that helped you recognize something about yourself, your interests, your creative voice, or your way of working. Maybe you noticed recurring themes, subjects, colors, materials, questions, or habits. Maybe looking back at a body of work helped you see progress that wasn’t obvious day to day. Maybe your project revealed what you genuinely enjoy making—or what you don’t.

SHARE YOUR STORY

FINDING MEANING IN THE WORK

Projects that helped you better understand yourself through the act of making. Times when journaling, documenting, reflecting, writing, sharing, or simply sticking with a project helped you put words around an experience. Moments when you realized the project wasn’t really about the thing you thought it was about. Stories about creative identity, self-trust, personal transformation, meaning-making, or discovering who you were becoming through the work.

SHARE YOUR STORY

A friendly tip: the more specific you can be, the better.

If the project changed your life, how? If you became more confident, what changed? If you discovered something about yourself, what was it? Small moments, routines, conversations, realizations, turning points, and concrete examples are often more helpful than summaries.

Submissions are still open for stories about noticing and stories about staying with it. And if you’ve already submitted a story and haven’t heard from me, that doesn’t mean it isn’t resonating. I’m working chapter by chapter and still making my way through them as I go. You’re absolutely welcome to submit again, especially if these themes feel like a strong fit for your experience.

If you’d like to keep working at something together, we have Parallel Play tomorrow—the first hour is silent, and then we'll open it up for questions and discussion. Drop in and out for any amount of time. I’d love to see you there!

SIGN UP

XO,
Lindsay

The project is over, but we continue! I want to say a big thank you to you all, for so many reasons. Your support as a paid subscriber helps make The 100 Day Project possible—it allows…

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Day 100! We did it!

For the past 100 days, you made room for art in the middle of a full life—before work, after dinner, during grief and joy, while traveling, while parenting or caretaking, while uncertain, while tired and out of “good” ideas. Some 100-day projects turn into 1000-day projects, and others take the better part of a year to complete. Whatever day you’re on, I hope you take a moment to recognize what you did: you showed up, again and again and again. You’ve been living in the world of ideas, empathy, and imagination. It’s an incredible act of optimism to make and share your work.

And then, even more remarkable, creativity leads to more creativity. A sketch becomes a painting. A painting becomes a series. One project leads to the next.

You start to trust that ideas will come because you’ve experienced yourself finding them.

I’m working on a book about creative practice right now (inspired by all of you!), and in the middle of writing it I suddenly found myself with two entirely new ideas: a novel and another nonfiction book. I don’t know where they’ll lead, but I know I can show up for them.

What do you know now that you didn’t 100 days ago? What surprised you—about your work, or about yourself? What feels possible now?

FOR YOUR PROJECT TODAY

What would make this project feel complete? Hanging work on a wall—at home, or in a gallery, or in a coffee shop—an art show, a zine, a book, a reading, a dinner. The world is your oyster! Slow down and reflect on where your art wants to go next.

And a few other questions for reflection:

• Where did your project take you? What other ideas or acts did doing the work generate?

• What are you proud of?

• What are you curious about pursuing next?

• What do you want to remember the next time you start a creative project?

FOR INSPIRATION

We asked how you plan to celebrate reaching Day 100, and here’s what you shared. See more celebrations over on our Instagram account @dothe100dayproject.

@Amylizzi.art : “A super braggy reel of all 100 days set to happy music 😂😂😂✨🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙏🏻🤗”

@lizthomashandicrafter : “Being ready to take my printing journey further - which I am and I will.”

@Jenwa_art : “I realised day 100 for me is my birthday so double celebration for me ❤️”
@serraorts : “Watching all my pieces of art with a glass of Champagne and appreciating both…🍾🎨”

@awkwardgiraffe37 : “Cake of course”

@darboleda : “I am loving the project! It has opened my mind in so many ways!”

@maggiecreateswhat : “New pens and a cupcake 😃”

@freckle_press : “Flipping through my work of 100 days and feeling like I did something to help me grow.”

@quilttales : “Wrapping up! It’s going to be a queen sized quilt! The theme is Home and it has emerged on its own.”

@janeyhubschman : “A zoom call with my friends Sylvie and Cori. We haven’t missed a day. Celebrate!”

@martysmith36 : “Maybe having a celebratory pic and call out to all of the peeps of the portraits!”

SHARE IN THE CHAT

What does Day 100 look and feel like to you?

I’d love to hear what you’re thinking about doing to honor your projects—if I get enough responses, I’ll share for inspiration and celebration!

JOIN THE CHAT

I want to say thank you to the people who make this possible every year—to and , who give this community so much care and support; to Elle Luna and Michael Bierut, who started something that has become deeply meaningful to so many people around the world. And to all of you for sharing your work, encouraging one another, and making this one of the loveliest corners of the internet. We celebrated each other, figured out how to keep going and how to come back, made friends, and made SO MUCH art.

Seeing your art and hearing your stories is such a gift. Thank you for all of it. Keep going and more soon!

XO,
Lindsay

P.S. While my project this year was painting, my real project is the book. And so it continues! For light accountability and some good face time, I’ll be experimenting with a new gathering over the next couple of months: parallel play. We’ll spend an hour working on our own things alongside one another, and then open it up for conversation and questions afterward. Bring whatever you’re working on: catching up on missed days, exploring a new idea, figuring out how you want to finish or celebrate your project, or something else entirely. Subscribers, check the chat for more.

Join us!

It feels so very fitting that the last days of this project line up with some of the last days of the (traditional American) school year. There’s this buzzy energy of anticipation for summe…

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Harrison Ford recently received a lifetime achievement award. He’s Indiana Jones, Han Solo, a screen legend for five decades. And here’s what he said when he got up to accept:

He was fa…

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Sheila Hicks, an American textile artist, is 91 years old and has been making art for over six decades. Long past the age where most people have retired, she has no interest.

Sheila stu…

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In the mid-1970s, poet and artist Ted Joans had an idea: he wanted to create the longest exquisite corpse ever made.

An exquisite corpse is a collaborative artwork made in sequence. Eac…

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You are not the same person you were on Day 1. You know things now—about your practice, about yourself, about what actually helps when it gets hard—that you couldn’t have known then. T…

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If you’re reading this, I finished my 100 Day Project*.

Don Glickman was a retired design professor who died last year at 94. He didn’t want a funeral or an obituary. Instead, his daugh…

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Nobody gives you permission to make art. There’s no threshold of talent you have to cross, no income level you have to reach, no credentials you have to earn. You just decide—and then …

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After 90+ days, you have a lot of data. You know what lit you up and what felt like a slog, what you kept returning to and what you avoided, what surprised you about your own taste. Th…

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One of my favorite “side effects” of doing a project is all of the other things it opens up. Your project is one thing, but all of the sudden you’re signing up for dance classes or going to art museums, or getting your camera out more often, or making the birthday card instead of buying it. Things that might seem small but feel like they add up to something important. As we approach the end of our projects, today’s interview with feels like a good reminder that if you’re paying attention, creativity isn’t separate from life—it’s one of the ways we stay connected to it.

Trish and I met many, many years ago when she hired me to teach yoga at the startup she was working at at the time, which feels like an extremely San Francisco way to begin a friendship. Since then, we’ve seen each other through a lot of life—career changes, kids (hers, not mine), heartbreak, joy, reinvention, health challenges (here’s us singing along to The First Wives Club at my chemo appointment almost a decade ago), cross-country voice notes, and a whole lot more.

Trish has also been helping behind the scenes with the project this year. If you've noticed more community stories in the newsletter, a richer chat here on Substack, or different ways of sharing on social—we experimented a lot this year with how we tell those stories—much of that care and momentum has come from her. Please join me in thanking Trish for all that she brings to this community! She has an enormous heart and is also one of the funniest people I know.

You wrote that the daily practice feels like “proof” of commitment and flow—and even a kind of I can do this. What has that proof changed for you over the last 90 days?

I am a fairly introspective person by nature, but sometimes the teachings assigned to personal growth can feel so out there, ya know? Like the path to getting into a flow state is so ambiguous that it’s hard to even begin. Just give me my damn Oprah A-ha moment already, am I right?! In an instant gratification-endlessly swiping-dopamine monster world, this project has deepened my understanding of the power within a one day at a time mentality.

Last week, my seven year old daughter asked me how many remaining days there were in the project. When I told her the tally and said it’s almost over!, she very simply and wisely replied “well, you can keep going after 100 days, you know…”. The project helped me shake off the dust. From here, I have tangible proof that motion is better than stasis, and forward is an acceptable pace.

There’s a thread in what you’ve shared about avoiding certain things, like bigger pieces or trying something new. What have you learned about that edge? What keeps you there, and what helps you move past it?

As you once told me during a tough personal transition period of life: The only way out is through, and the only way through is truth. Getting honest about my fear of mistakes, judgements, or imposter syndrome is the first step to holding it all more gently.

My kids help me move past this. They are hilariously and heart warmingly generous with their praise for everything I’ve made during the project. I’ve shared about it in the chat a few times but their view of the world, mistakes, and even creating is so pure. They approach their work with deep freedom and detachment. This may be a bit blunt (excuse my Jersey-French) but they honestly just don’t give a shit about perfection. They think it’s so cool to be making at all!

Their attitudes help remind me that oh, right, this is the natural way ~ curiosity, play, and mistakes. They are my favorite people on earth, and their opinions of me matter more than anyone else’s. Turns out they are also my biggest fans. What better truth could I hold close to my heart, as I navigate through self doubt?

You’ve brought other people into your project—your kids, your partner, even friends. How has that shaped the experience? Has it changed what the project is, or who it’s for?

I think community - the right community, at that - helps me to be serious about creating, without taking myself too seriously. “For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” - Rudyard Kipling. I look at this international community of artists as an ocean of possibility, and the ocean is known as the lungs of the earth. My personal community holds my heart, while expressing creativity feels like a soul’s requirement. The health of one affects all others.

My fella was chatting with his tween girls just the other day about committing to their own practices (both newbies to softball) and using the act of showing up consistently as a way to measure progress. “Just look at Patti”, he said. “Do you remember what her first few wood burns looked like? Have you SEEN some of them now, after almost 100 days?!” (Thanks, babe 😂 ).

Some of your reflections move between the everyday (making lunch, walking the dog) and making art. Has this project changed how you see your daily life or what you consider artful?

It has absolutely deepened how I desire to see my daily life!

Linds - you’ve known me long enough to believe me when I say: I refuse to be chill about life. I try to embody that alongside my kids.

We shout “GOOD JOB, NATURE!” at trees with fresh blooms or changing leaves, and yelp to each other about beauty emergencies (borrowed from writer Maggie Smith) that insist on our most wonder-filled attentions; a fox mom and her kits in Grammy’s yard, a praying mantis who landed on our ferns, the full moon in a shade of creamsicle orange outside a bedroom window. We celebrate birthdays, holidays, and milestones really big in this house. We give long hellos and good mornings. Even longer kisses and hugs-filled goodbyes or goodnights. We happily dance while devouring ice cream. We savor a float in the salty sea, holding hands like a couple of sunscreened otters. We live as deliberately as possible.

I’d be bold faced lying if I said I embody this mindset all the time. Life can be really freaking life-y and oh gosh, I am often so tired and solo-mom stressed! But this project is the right kind of tool to help shift perspectives and invite in a more peaceful, joyful, purposeful lens through which to see life.

We’re getting close to Day 100. I think you’ve caught the art bug, what do you think? What has this opened up for you?

Girl, y’all have me hooked! I had to start a “wood burn” line item on my monthly budget spreadsheet and extend it through the year.

My past participation years have centered solely around writing. Which, don’t get me wrong, is forever my favorite art form. But I can now wholly admit these attempts were taking the half-assed, safer route.

If you look at the very first newsletter I shared for this year’s project, you’ll see a photo of my engraver pen and some thoughts around my plans with that. Spoiler alert: I NEVER USED IT. (I just laughed so loudly typing that, I startled the dog from her nap).

As I shared in the chat earlier this month, my project feels protective of that age-old desire for a woman and/or mother to have her own “thing”: identity, passion, interest...thats only purpose is for pleasure. To feel continuously asked by culture “why do you do this or that?” when it comes to pretty much anything that isn’t labeled acceptably productive or advantageous and to want to scream BECAUSE I WANT TO in response. Because it feels good? Because it interests me? Because I like it?

The project has given me a boost in confidence to claim these, as well as an excuse to help fill my tank in fresh ways via practice, practice, practice.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’m going to steal this moment to send a little love your way, our generous and thoughtful facilitator! It’s OK if you cut this from the interview, but I really hope you don’t 🙂

We’ve all seen offerings online that promise some kind of connection or group-lead transformation through following a prescribed agenda. Ultimately, I’ve found those spaces to be energy reducing, and they often end up opening doors to further criticisms and comparisons. This is not that. It is SO rare to find such a genuinely positive collective of many, many different kinds of people. Especially in a digital world. Not because every participant and every creation here is perfect, but because this kind of shared vulnerability within a creative practice container breathes an authenticity into the universe that is so desperately needed, and desired.

I am very thankful to have been a part of this journey with everyone and so grateful to you, my friend, for leading the charge with such integrity, light & love!

Trish! She’s the best. I really couldn’t have done it without her this year. You can subscribe here, and find her on Instagram @thegratefullifecoach.

FOR YOUR PROJECT TODAY

Trish clues us in on Maggie Smith’s idea of a beauty emergency—“one of those things you have to look at now, before it's gone.” Keep your eye out for one today.

FOR INSPIRATION

One of the things I love most about Trish’s project is how she made it a family (and friend) affair. She let people in, and it changed what the project was.

Who might you invite into your art life? And how might bringing someone in help you keep going, even after Day 100?

SHARE IN THE CHAT

Tell us about your beauty emergencies.

JOIN THE CHAT

XO,
Lindsay

When you started this project, 100 might have seemed like a LOT of days. And now here you are, entering the final stretch!

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We’ve been paying attention to what this project has been asking, and to the emotional range it’s opened up. Today, let’s look at what it’s reflected back to you.

As Clyfford Still said:

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Yesterday we talked about what questions your project has been asking. Today, let’s look at what emotional territory it’s been moving through.

Painter Mark Rothko said:

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