The 100 Day Project is a challenge on Instagram where you commit to creating something every day for 100 days and post it. It can really be anything, art, poetry, photography, knitting, etc..

If you follow me on Instagram or have looked at my site, you know that I participated in it in 2020. At the time we were in lock down and I thought why not? It will give me something to do. It was a huge commitment but truly a great experience. I learned so much about myself as an artist, what I’m inspired by and how I create.

This year I wanted to participate again, I was longing to do something really meaningful however, I was struggling to come up with an idea.

I recently watched a documentary on grief called The Art of Grieving by Preston Zeller. In it, he commits to creating a painting every day for 365 days to process the grief he felt over losing his brother. In the end he hangs all of the paintings on a huge blank wall in his living room. It made such a profound statement of devotion, loss and love. I was deeply moved and decided to create something similar, but on a much smaller scale during the 100 day project.

My goal is to create a small 3x4” mixed media painting every day, for 100 days, in honor of my mom, Diana.

She was an amazing artist, potter, grandma and gardener, She was my former business partner and best friend. At 71 years old she went from being healthy and active to being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 7 horrible and traumatic weeks later, she was gone and our family was left reeling.

So many times when we go through the loss of a loved one, we get caught up in the loss, the details of their death or the trauma we experienced as a result of it. It tends to become about us and how we are going to survive with out them. It can take a long time to move beyond our loss and remember all the wonderful things about them and their life.

I went through a program at our church a few months ago called Grief Share and its really helped me to think about where I am in this grief process. I feel like now, almost 5 years later, I am at a place where I can really celebrate my mom for who she was. It’s spurred me to want to do this 100 Day Project and honor my mom with my art, by painting things that represent her and the things in life that she enjoyed. I honestly have no idea what I will create, it could be birds, pottery, art supplies, plants, etc..

After I create 100 small pieces of 3x4'“ art, I will adhere them to a large 30x40” canvas.

Right now, I’ve just completed Day 3 of 100. I’ve been on a garden theme so far. Gardening was so much a part of her life, She not only enjoyed it, it brought her fulfillment, plus it was a way to invest in and nurture her family.

If you’d like to follow along on Instagram as I create, I am using the hashtag #100daysfordiana

I’d love to see you there cheering me on as I tackle this huge project!

The 100 Day Project 2023