
Back in January, a friend challenged me to participate in an online art project called 100 Sticky Sketch Challenge. The idea was to draw one sketch a day on a 3×3 post-it note, starting February 1st, for 100 days.

Draw something from your bag or pocket

Draw something inspired by love
Each week there was a new topic, so there were seven post-it note sketches each week in each category.

Draw something using only one continuous line

Make a complete drawing from someone’s scribble
Participants were asked to post photos of their sketches on Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, using the hashtag #stickysketch100 to share with the group.

Combine two everyday objects to create something new

Draw something from your shopping list
As you can see, I did accept the challenge. I had been looking for a way to inject more creative discipline into my days, and had actually been looking around for an interesting art class, in search of some structure and inspiring assignments.

Design a bogus merit badge

Draw a simplified famous work of art
Although working on little yellow post-its didn’t appeal to me, it also didn’t seem at all daunting. They’re cheap, and if I needed to throw ten away to get one drawing I liked, it was no big deal. In fact, the crumminess of the paper made me feel that not every drawing had to be anything special, which was very freeing. And the small size presented constraints that limited the possibilities, which is always helpful to me when I’m feeling unfocused.

Draw your favorite song lyrics or movie quotes

Draw something thrown away
The weekly themes were varied. Most were playful and fun, and I loved them. Some were challenging, in a good way. A favorite week: Choose your own adventure: seven drawings, one topic.

I was ambivalent about some topics, and those were more of a struggle. Sometimes I was uninspired, and did something lame to get it over with. Some weeks I was busy and fell behind, so I did three or four drawings in one day to get caught up.

Draw the most boring thing you did today

Draw something odd you overheard or saw
I posted all my drawings on Facebook and Tumblr. It was fun to get comments on the sketches from friends. I also loved seeing the work that other people did, which was easy to do because of the hashtag. Except for the friend who challenged me, I didn’t know anybody else personally, but I began to recognize people by their drawings. It was great fun to see what everyone else was doing. Whether people are professionals or amateurs, there’s just no end to creativity.

What will the future look like?

Draw your sticky selfie
I made it to drawing #100 a few days ago. Towards the end, I was really looking forward to finishing. I had other things I wanted to work on. But the process brought a lot of insights, and I’ll really miss it.