30 DAY LINOPRINT CHALLENGE
I was in a creative slump at the end of 2023. I couldn’t come up with any new ideas, I wasn’t feeling inspired and I just felt bored. I think instagram had a part to play, I was comparing my work to everyone else’s, which is the worst thing you can do as an artist.
I wanted to challenge myself, to get back to creating things without the pressure of selling it.. I shared everything I made in a daily reel, even if I liked it or not, just to get into the habit of making something new, and not stewing on ideas for too long.
I saw something on pinterest that said ‘To make good art, you need to shorten the length of time between an idea and the execution’. Which is what I attempted with this challenge.
So, what exactly was the challenge?
I wanted to keep it simple, I had to create a new linocut print every day for 30 days. They were small A6 blocks and I had to carve and print, and then post the video of the process, every single day. It was a huge challenge to undertake, in December of all months! but I did it, I finished it, I was proud of myself for completing it. and I almost didn’t want to stop when it came to day 30.
To prevent myself from getting too overwhelmed, I did draw a few ideas out every few days, so that I would feel less pressure, and save some time. I also made a couple of linocut Christmas decorations to break it up a bit which felt really fun and festive.
What I learnt..
I’m a perfectionist to a fault, I have trouble just letting go sometimes and being free to express myself. For example when I’m painting, I like to stay inside the lines and make it neat, but sometimes that makes for quite a boring picture… what this challenge taught me is that there is beauty in letting go, being free and creating without any expectations.
The videos and designs I put the least effort into, turned out to be the most popular on instagram. which made me think that people just crave authenticity at the end of the day, they want to see the raw process and nothing too fancy.
I also learnt that I have endless ideas in this little brain of mine. By the third day, they were pouring out of me onto paper, because there was no pressure for it to ‘do well’ or sell.
The Results…
I posted each day for 30 days, the first two weeks my engagement on instagram remained the same and I didn’t really see much difference, which was fine because that wasn’t the reason for doing this. However after day 20, things really started to pick up, which was a nice side effect, and made the whole thing feel even more worth it!
When I started the challenge, I had 8k followers, 3 months on and I now have 17k which is insane to me… but I’m so grateful that many people actually care about what I make, and want to buy it.
I’ve since utilised some of the designs, and made them available on my website, and am also making some linen wall hanging with the blocks printed on them!
I would definitely recommend this challenge (or a variation of it) to anyone struggling with a creative block.
Just create without any expectation. Make it manageable. Make it fun!
