When I started my 100 Day Project, I had a clear idea in mind:
Every day I would observe cracks in the pavement and translate them onto paper in one way or another.
I discovered this exercise in Corita Kent’s book Creating from the Heart, and it had always fascinated me. The idea that something can appear broken or cracked and still hold together felt like a beautiful metaphor for life.
So during the first three or four days, that’s exactly what I did. I experimented with different techniques and even took photos of cracks in the pavement for reference.
But something wasn’t working.
I had to push myself every single day just to start. The process didn’t feel joyful at all. Eventually I had to admit something simple: drawing just isn’t really my thing.
And that’s okay.
Being creative does not mean you have to draw. This belief is surprisingly common, and it often stops people from exploring how they actually want to express their creativity.
On the fourth day, I made an important decision:
Instead of quitting the project, I changed my approach.
Because the problem wasn’t the 100 Day Project itself.
The problem was how I had decided to do it.
I chose to interpret the idea of “cracks” more loosely and returned to something I already loved working with: my gel plate.
From that moment on, finishing a small creative task each day became surprisingly easy.
Why the first idea didn’t work
Looking back, my original approach had a few problems.
It was too complicated.
Every day I had to search for interesting cracks, go outside, and decide which ones to draw. It required time, planning, and energy. And on busy days, just thinking about that effort was enough to make me postpone the work.
With the gel plate, everything changed.
The process became playful and experimental. I can work intentionally when I have an idea, but on days when I don’t feel particularly inspired, I can simply start printing and see what happens.
That flexibility makes a daily practice much easier to sustain.
Where I am now
Today I am on Day 19 of the project, and I have already created many prints.
My rule is simple: one print is the minimum.
But most days I end up making several.
Materials I use for my gel plate prints
If you want to try this yourself, these are the materials I use most often:
- Gel plate (about A5 size)
- A5 copy paper
- Golden Open Acrylics
- Brayer / roller
- Baby wipes for cleaning
- Synthetic paper for stencils
- Craft knife and cutting mat
I also own a larger gel plate (around A4 size), but I keep returning to the smaller one. It’s a wonderful format for experimentation and for testing compositions quickly.
My favorite part of the project
What I enjoy most about projects like this is seeing the before and after.
That’s why I glue two prints into a small art journal each day and number them. When I flip through the pages, I can see how my prints evolve and how my ideas develop over time.
It’s incredibly motivating.
It also shows something important:
even a few minutes a day can help you experiment, explore, and slowly discover what you truly enjoy creating.
If your project isn’t working
If you ever start a creative challenge and feel like quitting after a few days, it might not mean the project itself is wrong.
Sometimes you simply need to change your approach.
The goal of a 100 Day Project is not perfection.
The goal is to keep showing up.
And sometimes that means adjusting the rules along the way.
If you’d like to follow my 100 Day Print Project, you can join me on Instagram or YouTube where I share my progress and process along the way.