Last month, I encouraged you to throw caution to the wind and make some You Are Beautiful artworks to display out in the world. Did you do it? No? Oh, you’re not an artist? You’re too busy? Well, it’s time to put those excuses in a bag and toss them out the window. Better yet, write them down on a piece of paper, then rip that paper to shreds and rearrange it into a collage. Everyone has a creative bone somewhere in his or her body, and ignoring it is a crime. And let’s be honest, you have at least five minutes to spare in the name of art.
This month, the good folks at GOOD Magazine have posed a 30-day Challenge: Art Every Day offers a list of creative tasks that will help light a fire under your artsy ass. The ideas are simple and non-restrictive. Some of the easiest suggestions are “Take a photo” (Hello, phone camera), “Break something” (I just completed that one by accident!) and “Finger Paint” (No paint? Use up all those crusty condiments in your fridge and make “edible” art).
GOOD is also putting its money where its mouth is by hosting a contest for art ideas with a $500 prize. And, believe it or not, this is not the only March-specific art challenge calling for your participation. Visit March Photo Challenge 2012 for daily picture-making prompts this month.
As GOOD points out, “studies show that art has the potential to make people better citizens of the planet,” just one of the important effects of dedicating time to creative practices. If you’re comfortable with your citizen-of-the-planet status, fine. Don’t make anything. But for the rest of you, get busy! You have a few weeks left. Are you up for the challenge? Document your projects and Pin/Tweet/Facebook/Tumblr/Instagram them. We want to see what you’re made of.
