Undeterred by the world going mad, 2020 saw the seventh annual #The100DayProject.
That's nice, what is it?
#The100DayProject is "a free art project that takes place online. Every spring, thousands of people all around the world commit to 100 days of exploring their creativity.
The idea is simple: choose a project, do it every day for 100 days, and share your process on Instagram with the hashtag #The100DayProject."
The beauty of it is that anyone can join in!
This year #The100DayProject started on the 7th April.
Now, I had previously attempted #The100DayProject in 2019.
My chosen project was to draw a pencil sketch everyday for 100 days. On the surface this sounds simple enough. Until you take into consideration that I can spend anything between one and eight hours on a single A4 pencil drawing.
I think I made it to around twenty days before I gave up....
This year would be different!
I took into consideration that I would need to make time within my already full days to complete my daily act of creativity for the project.
As such, I chose an intentionally broad brief that allowed me the scope of any subject matter and any medium I chose.
The only caveat was that my daily creation would need to be an ACEO.
What is an ACEO?
ACEO stands for: Art Cards Editions and Originals.
This form of miniature art began as Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). These are small works of art that are meant to be traded with other artists to study allow the study of different styles and techniques.
At their heart, ATCs are about exchanging art and not money. They are not a commercial commodity and exist outside the business sphere of the art world.
While some artists (including myself) are happy to trade cards for free with other artists, it became apparent that there was also a market for this miniature art.
Art Cards Editions and Originals (ACEOs) were born and quickly became a worldwide success.
There are a few basic rules for ACEOs:
The size of an ACEO should be 2.5 x 3.5 inches. Other sizes larger or smaller do not qualify as ACEOs.
All work must adhere to basic Copyright Law. Personally I believe that the respect for Intellectual Property is something that all creatives should naturally possess and be guided by. I will write more on this subject in an upcoming blog.
Cards can be sold either as originals or editions. If it’s a print it should say so, and it should be numbered and signed.
There are no other rules. Artists have complete freedom in making creative decisions, such as the subject of the ACEO, or the materials used in its creation.
You can view a quick video of me explaining all this and chatting about my project here on Facebook.
Now, while I began my project back on 7th April along with everyone else, I faltered somewhere around day 43…
Other pressures from my business took priority over my time and I set the project aside for a while.
On 10th September I resumed my ACEO journey with “Mini Brandon”.
I’m still working on the project slowly, although not every day. I am currently at day 50 and have paused once again while I waited for my cantankerous spine to let me sit comfortably and work once again!
I hope to create day 51’s offering today.
While most of my creative colleagues have already completed their 100 Days, or also set the project side for the year, I hope to finish before Christmas!
You can view my creations so far by searching the hashtag #HannahKateMakesACEOs on Instagram.
A selection of these one of a kind works of miniature art are also available to buy in my Etsy shop.