We Made It!

Day 100: Tiny Beautiful Creations & Lessons Learned

Hi friend,

Well, we made it—today is Day 100 of our 100-day project! Congratulations! It’s such an incredible achievement, and whether you created diligently or only sporadically joined in, I hope you take a moment to celebrate what you have made, gleaned, and gained.

When we started, I described this as a process, as a journey sans destination. And that’s truly what it has felt like. Seeing this community creating each day has been extraordinary, partly because of the wide range of creative endeavors—from pottery to painting, from playing music to drawing, dancing, collaging, gardening, and writing haikus. It’s been astonishing to see community members totally enthralled by a new pursuit, and others comforted by a return to a practice they had given up years ago. To hear stories of old friends reconnecting, and new connections being forged. To see what people have learned about themselves along the way—uncovering courage, strength, and talents they didn’t know they had.

To celebrate and honor this 100-day project, I have something very special for you: 20 creations and 20 lessons learned from community members hailing everywhere from Minnesota to Mississippi, from India to New Zealand. With great thoughtfulness and care, Carmen and Holly spent this week gathering and curating this beautiful collection, and it’s not to be missed. Whether or not you joined us on this journey, I’m confident you’ll hear echoes of your own story—of your own joys and sorrows, tragedies and triumphs—in the profoundly moving passages below.

And if you would, leave some love in the comments section for these beloved community members who shared their work and their words.

Sending love,
Suleika

1. Everything Ebbs and Flows

Mary Meghan Mabus, Mississippi, USA

In February, a local pottery studio advertised classes, and I anxiously signed up. I hadn’t touched a wheel in twenty years. Turns out that I retained some muscle memory, and I wasn’t too bad. For this 100-day project, I didn’t have a hint of a plan. I just wanted to create, and I started posting my work. Some days I do well and sometimes I go weeks resisting routine, no matter how much I know it will benefit me. Ebb and flow. I have no idea where this will go, but I’m really proud of the progress I’ve made. 

2. Celebrate Color!

Erin Brazill, New York, USA

My journey of thriving 33 years beyond a cancer diagnosis inspires me each and every moment. Like a hummingbird, I am inspired to navigate life with curiosity, seek joy, embrace freedom, and celebrate COLOR. This 100-day project has filled my heart and soul with so much gratitude and creative goodness. To be a part of this wonderful community has been a constant source of inspiration and strength.

3. Whatever Comes After Is a Bonus

Sue Levin, California, USA

My 100-day project goal was simply to make a hollow ball out of clay—whatever came after that was a bonus. I have friends who recently bought a place in the country, and I became bewitched by farm animals! These are ceramic salt and pepper shakers—salt and pepper come out the nostrils.

4. The Question Holds the Answer

Rhonda Willers, Minnesota, USA

Daily wonder is an active part of my internal mind; it was modeled for me by my dad, who also asks a lot of questions. I decided to use questions as my creative act to engage with my art practice as I decide where to head next with my work.

5. Creativity Breeds More Creativity

Helen Dent, Aotearoa New Zealand

When I saw Suleika’s invitation to join the 100-day project, it had been almost a year since my fourth cancer-related surgery, and I was slowly regaining strength and energy in the wake of so much upheaval. I felt there was no way I’d have the energy to do it. Then I ended up drawing with my six-year old son and my sister on the first of April. “Hey, I’ve done Day One… why not try to continue?” So I continued. I found myself looking forward to my daily painting, ideas flying into my brain at night, fully leaning into the idea that creativity breeds more creativity.

Then, on Day 54, a week after my 18-months post-cancer surgery follow-up scan, I was called in to see my surgeon. He told me and my husband that the scan had shown a lung metastasis. Everything changed overnight. Again. I stopped work, was plunged back into the world of waiting for appointments, phone calls, scans. But one thing remained: my daily project. It became a precious, incredibly important way for me to channel my confusion, fear, anger, all the feelings that this recurrence has brought with it.

Now on Day 95, I am in hospital recovering from my lung surgery which removed the secondary tumor. I brought my paints with me. I’m so proud that I’ve managed to maintain my project, but I’m also wondering, “What is next?” I want to keep my painting practice alive as I recover! It has brought me and my family and friends so much joy despite the hard season we are in.

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6. Fragments Make Me Whole

Mirle Hernandez, New Mexico, USA

Forty-one years since I came to the USA from my homeland, I hold fragments of memories in letters, diaries, photos, and drawings (my own, my children’s, and my granddaughter’s). I am 60, and my journal of collages combines these fragments, in a kind of döstädning.

(Note: Döstädning, also known as death cleaning, is the Swedish practice of downsizing, organizing, and setting one’s affairs in order toward the end of life.)

7. Create for Creation’s Sake

Lee Harrington, New York, USA

During the 100-day project, I (finally) finished recording vocals on a Medicine Buddha Dharani track, singing a sweet melody that came to me in a dream back in 2017. The structure of the project—and the supportive vibe of the community—helped me lock into a personal commitment, and honor the divine inspiration that flows through all of us artists, all of us creators, and to create for creation’s sake.

I really like the tone of this project. I loved hearing so many women’s stories. I loved hearing about others’ creative process in such an organic way. You helped me remember this is not a product of the thinking mind, but something much larger. I also wanted to say that my father started the dying process in the midst of this, and reading about so much ongoing creation helped keep me tethered to the part of life that keeps on going, even as, around us, things and people constantly change and die and are reborn.

8. Small Acts Accumulate

Sonia Parail, Texas, USA

My 100-day project was driven by a desire to incorporate recreational writing into my life as a graduate student. My primary goals for each day have been to 1) only write as much as can fit onto one 3x3 post-it note, and 2) find inspiration in the events of the day. Each post-it is imperfect and incomplete, often the fruit of five minutes or less, but ultimately captures something true about my day. I have loved watching the accumulation of these small moments, preserved in my handwriting on pastel squares.

9. Waking Up & Breathing Are Enough

Lynda Gonzalez, Texas, USA

Day 50: I don’t think I’ve ever done anything for 50 days straight in my entire life! Except breathing. And waking up. And this beautiful little project has actually reinforced the belief that those two things are more than enough.

Day 58: Some days are so rich and varied and full that I barely remember to post a photo before midnight, and that itself has been a really lovely thing to be thankful for.

10. Creating Is a Ritual for Grief

Joelle Tegland, Minnesota, USA

I lost my only daughter to brain cancer this past December. She was 13, she was a talented artist, and she was my everything. I’ve used the 100-day project to honor her by creating a mini-mixed media canvas every day representing a memory I have of her or with her. I used many of her art supplies during the process, which made it feel like we were collaborating in a way. It’s been such a beautiful and difficult project for me. I feel connected to her and have created a ritual around the time I spend on it each day. It’s inspired me to continue making art about my grief, even after the 100-day project is done.

To read 11-20 of our Tiny Beautiful Creations and Lessons Learned, click here.