Was passiert bei mir jeden Tag?

„Kreativität ist ein Muskel, der trainiert werden will.“ Außerdem habe ich einfach Spaß dran: Seit 2017 gebe ich mir selbst Aufgaben und erarbeite täglich kleine kreative Projekte. 2017/2018 mit "365 Days in the Mourning", 2018/2019 mit dem "The Sixth Sentence Project", 2019/2020 mit dem "365 People Project" und 2020/2021 mit "A year in numbers", gefolgt von "Hi Sky!-Project" in 2021/2022. Dabei überrasche ich mich die meiste Zeit vor allem selbst und habe etwas, bei dem ich mich keinem Leistungsdruck beuge und Mut zum Ausprobieren und Unperfektsein haben darf. Im Folgenden sind ein paar Kostproben zu sehen:

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1 of 365

Make something that fits in your hand. There are 7.5 billion people in the world. During my new project I want to tell stories from 365 of them: stories from random strangers, from people I knew my whole life, from my ancestors, from people I meet at work, from people I like, from people I don't like, from people all around the world and from people next door...AND I'll use Noah Scalin's book again "365 A Daily Creativity Journal" - it feels like coming home. 😉 

2 of 365

Inspired by a favorite animal. A few years ago I worked with young people and one evening we sat by the campfire and the conversation turned serious and one of the girls told us that a few months ago a friend of her died, another girl added that her father died when she was younger... Then a boy began to speak and said, that his hamster died, too: "You know, it grew dear to my heart!" - and it was great: nobody laughed or made fun of him. Everyone just turned silent.  Then after a few moments the first girl started giggling and when we wanted to know what's so funny, she just said: "Sorry, I was thinking how it would look like, if his hamster would actually grow to his heart." 😁

3 of 365

Use paper without scissors or glue. My little godchild was baptized today.

4 of 365

Take a walk outside and make something with the materials you found there: Rose petals and ivy butterflies.

A few years ago, I went out for a night partying with my flatmates and one of them got a little drunk and bought all of us roses from a flower seller. He didn't explain why and I remember that we were all slightly confused and weren't sure about the appropriate reaction to this gift. But I kept the (now well dried) rose to this day. Aforesaid flatmate was also known for his proclivity for absinth and falling asleep with loud pop music.

5 of 365

Use a collection.

I think it's safe to say that I tend to collect nail polish (this is just a selection). 😬😁 The second one on the left is the nail polish, my cousin used for her wedding.

6 of 365

Use a fruit or vegetable. A student named David E. Strickler thankfully invented the first banana split more than 100 years ago. 

7 of 365

Make a stencil. There was a boy who came to my hometown just to drink some liquor with the pastor...

8 of 365

Transform an old book into something new. This book was a gift from my colleague who recently retired. He had to clear his office and didn't want to throw everything in the bin. This is kind of a portrait of him...😊

9 of 365

Make something with your breakfast. 

After I finished my studies, I moved to a town with a lot of chicken farms in the neighborhood. And my friend from university - he is strictly vegan and an animal rights activist - said: "I'll come to visit you and we go free the chickens!"

10 of 365

Use water as your inspiration. I went to Hamburg today and to the harbour (I took the pictures there) - the first time I went there on holiday about 15 years ago, I met a retired captain who told me he dreamed about living in the mountains. He was tired of the sea, he wanted to experience something else at the end of his life.

11 of 365

Work with the other/ nondominant hand. My friend is left handed and these are some of the things she is struggeling with.

12 of 365

Camouflage something. I got this ladybug from a pharmacist. He said he loves to give them to his customers to brighten their day. (By the way a very good strategy to build up a clientele 😋☝)

13 of 365

Work with tea. A few years ago, my father and his friends used to make their own kites and they also made kites for us kids.

14 of 365

Make something microscopic. When you ask people what crazy stories they can to tell, sometimes you hear that there are four year olds who accidentally kill raindeers by feeding them poisonous plants.

15 of 365

Use a one dollar note. Or in my case: a five euro note. Two weeks ago, I met a farmer in the train, he was on his way to his grandmother and we shared an apple and some stories about our grandmothers. 😀🍎

16 of 365

Make a unique print. My artist friend W. never uses brushes, but all kinds of other materials to print and paint and draw. I think that's really courageous and impressive. So here's a noodle print in his honor.

17 of 365

Make something that goes over your eyes. Autumn leaves for today and the story of my former flatmate who went on a walk with me, suddenly stopped and said: "Now breathe in and smell the roses, and if there are no roses at least we smell the rottening leaves!"

18 of 365

Make something with what you find in your car. - Or: in my bicycle bag. My co-worker always has a bottle of sparkling wine in her office - just in case. I like her style.

19 of 365

Make something that floats on water. Today, my uncle met the man who came to clean the chimney of my uncle's house. He got very excited, took a picture of the sweep and sent it to me - to show me how handsome chimney sweepers are these days. 😶😁

20 (21) of 365

Write a ten-word love story and illustrate it.

21 (20) of 365

Work with clay. I didn't have clay so I used chewing gum (almost clay 😅😁) and formed this polar bear. It reminds me of a children's book about a little polar bear, one of my friends from kindergarden loved very much. 🐾❄⛄

22 of 365

Build a bridge. This is my homage to the Cau Vang Bridge in Vietnam - "The Golden Bridge" was planned by six architects from Ho-Chi-Minh-City in only one year. 

23 of 365

Dig in the recycling bin for today's materials. - Me and Them.

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Work green on green. When I did an internship with a forester, the woodmen showed me how to plant trees. This is a pesto tree on Tupperware. 😉🌱

25 of 365

Work with nature. I continue these stories about people who kindly offered me internship positions: Once I did an internship at a flower shop. That was a great one. The shop owner was a nice lady and I got my salary in flowers. 🤗🌸🏵💐

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Make something portable which usually isn't. Yesterday I met a person who moved for the fifteenth time - and he is only 20 years old.

27 of 365

Inspired by a current dream. I asked some friends about their current dreams: There was a lot of fleeing and hiding in the dreams...

28 of 365

Work with materials from school. Okay, this is very old school. This morning my colleague came to my office, brought me some coffee and said he just wanted to check in on me and wish me a good day.

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Make a disguise. Little tangerine man. 🍊😎✌

30 of 365

Work with toys. Today I made Advent wreaths with 30 children and their parents. That was fun. 😅✌🕯

31 of 365

Make a path for others to follow. One of my colleagues really really likes sweets, so I made some early Christmas cookies for our meeting tomorrow. 

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Make something ephemeral. Liquid soap in water. This reminds me of the lava lamp my brother had when he was a kid.

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Work with pens. Today's résumé: Meeting with friends isn't easy. 🙈😂

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Use wire today. This is a paperclip speech bubble in honor of the students I worked with today. They were so good in speaking in high terms of each other! 😍👌

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Make instructions and have someone to try it out. We were dancing today...Not only to David Bowie. 😉💃

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Make something old look new. 10 years ago I went on a hiking trip in England with these boots and a friend and we got the muddiest shoes I ever saw.

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Work with a stapler. My former flatmates and I have selfmade friendship-staplers. 💪😁

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Work under water. I tried to, but the lemon kept on floating around. 🙈😁🍋

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Write a haiku about something that happens today. Well, hello there. 👋

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Work with yarn. Today I talked about  generations and how we are all linked together.

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Make something bigger as it usually is. To the shining hours today! 🌟🍸

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Use junk mail today. It was a crazy day with a lot of people going crazy. I turned it into a collage. 😅✌

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Learn something new from a friend. Today, I visited a very clever friend who told me that I don't have to be an expert in everything - which was new for me: I thought I need to be one. 😬😉🙈

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Light something up. I let the screen shine through a hole in a piece of black paper, so one can read "Good News" at the horizon. 😊🌟

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Work with tape. I exchanged gifts with friends today.

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What can you do with your face? I can take a picture of it in the train window and work with an app to put color on it.

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Work with flowers. I worked with a flower AND a shell (looks like an egg but it's a shell😁) and put a flower fairy in it. I talked about fairytales with a co-worker...

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How tall can you make something that (almost) stands on its own? My mum made these! 😍🌟

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Use a lot of something. I used a lot of dots to create this capricorn, which is my star sign. We had a fun discussion about star signs during this year's last meeting with my colleagues.

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Work white on white. Everyone's prefered utensil today...

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Make something that wouldn't normally considered as cute or cuddly into something that is. Peanut mice. Something about a Christmas mouse in the house I discussed with people today. 🐭

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Work upside down. Whale watching!

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The sense of smell. Christmas tree decorating with the family... 😬😅🌲🌵🌴🌟

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Make something with dots.

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Write an advertising jingle for something in nature: "Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree...you are extremely sugar free!!!"

56 of 365

Make something heavy seem light. A Whale again. This seems a good metaphor for the things, someone told me today: trying to see the light side of heavy things. 🤓✌

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Use a disposable plastic bag to create something new today. "Do you need a bag?" the bookseller asked today. "No, thanks."

58 of 365

Make something as big as you can. I took the train today and watched the other passengers and let me just say: I wished some of them had a watch to see what time it is (maybe not as big as this, but still...) - one woman almost missed her stop, everyone was running... 😱🙈

59 of 365

Work with two materials that generally don't go together. Moon at day with acrylic color on toilet paper roll. Somehow the moon is one of the favorite topics I discussed with people, lately.

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Make something that casts a shadow and document only the shadow. I experimented with cyanography and used some kitchen utensils and was curious about the outcome. I got the paper from a friend who knows me well...

61 of 365

Use things from the bathroom. No tampon tax from tomorrow on: A lot of people raised their voices (for years 🙄) and it worked! 🎉

62 of 365

Make something with your dinner today. It's the New Year's Day Face. 💪😎😅

63 of 365

Create a unique mask. The ticket inspector in the train today, advised a passenger to mute his loud music: "If there were a fire on the train, you would not hear any announcements and be the first to burn to death!" - Ooookaaaaay. Rigorous. 😬😅🎧

64 of 365

Incorporate yourself in whatever you make today. - Hello from the other side. 👋

65 of 365

Work with the classic tangram shapes. I had the following discussion with a friend after I declared that I really like baking:  

- "I don't like to bake." 

- "Why?"

- "You need a recipe. I don't like to do things with recipes." 

- "I don't need a recipe to bake something." 

- "Okay, then you need experience. Either a recipe or experience. You see the dilemma?" 😁

66 of 365

Go to the grocery store to find your materials. I stayed at home today, because it's Sunday. But I need to go to the grocery store tomorrow: So I wrote my grocery list and since tomorrow is my first workday of the new year, I remembered that sometimes talking to people at work is like talking to aliens. Therefore I wrote a grocery list for aliens. 😅🖖

67 of 365

Write a ten-word science fiction story. A conversation I had with my colleague today. I sense I will have this conversation in future workplaces, too. 😬😂🙈

68 of 365

Work with paper maché. It is a kind of paper maché technique I used for today's prompt. It says "Stop!" which is the same thing, the group I worked with said today: "Stop! We want to do it in a different way!" - and so we did. ✌😀

69 of 365

Create a puzzle. "Trust the process" was my mantra today, while working with the people in my seminar. 😌

70 of 365

Work with numbers today. My colleague enthusiastically  tried to convince me, that 7 is the most special number. 🤔😂🙌

71 of 365

Make something that seems from another time. My friends and I couldn't find dates to meet in person and have some coffee, so we thought about being present as holograms... 

72 of 365

Work with shoes. @tanja8292 and I talked about red rubber boots to walk confidently in the puddles of life. And she got her pair today! 😍... And I drew myself a pair on my house shoe. 

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Work with stones and gravel. What I really like at the beginning of the new year: everyone makes plans for the (summer) holidays. 😍🏝🏖

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Go to a restaurant or cafe and ask for your materials for today. - Went there, got a cake (from very nice employees), ate the cake (it was delicious), and I forgot to use it as my material. 🙈😂

75 of 365

Get some chalk and work on the sidewalk. Saying a heartfelt thank you to each other after a productiv meeting at work is my new favorite thing.

76 of 365

Make something inspired by and that goes over an ear. Party-leftovers from an After-new-years-eve-and-christmas-party.

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Use shredded paper. "It comes and goes in waves", she said.

78 of 365

Make up a name and back story for a stranger you see today. Maggie and Harold. 📱🤔

79 of 365

Find trash in the streets. Not everyone gets enough sleep these days...

80 of 365

Try dyeing. I used green tea to dye and did some basic tie-dye technique as we did with the kids at children's camp.

81 of 365

Use a rubber. This is for the people who unintentionally kill their plants (rub them out so to speak). 

82 of 365

Create a new utensil. Not new, but handy in case you need chopsticks - and I went sushi eating today, so... 😎

83 of 365

Make a visual pun. Chris: cross. = criss-cross. ⚡

84 of 365

Use soap. My colleague and I played Battleship with the QM report... Don't ask...😂🙈

85 of 365

Work with words. I asked: "What is your word of the day?" And the answer was: "Horoscope". ✌🌚

86 of 365

Decorate a cake. This is overdramatic icing - I see parallels to  some people's talk...

87 of 365

Use candle wax. "What's the word of the day?" I asked. "Psychoneuroimmunology." they said. --> Sorry about this in-joke, but at least two people are going to laugh, when they read this. 🙈😂

88 of 365

Use things you find in the office. Nonverbal communication.

89 of 365

Use packing materials. Today is storytelling Day at #thejanuarychallenge from #64millionartists and @michelle.genders asked me to tell her a story about my life and in return told me, that she used to work as a clown named Sparkles - and life as a clown is not always fun...but the best thing I thought about being a clown is, that you choose a name which will be yours forever and no one else is allowed to use your name. Thank you Michelle for this story and the inspiration and knowledge that came with it! 😍🤗💞

90 of 365

Make a piñata and destroy it. I made a truffles piñata. Smashing other people's prejudices is a part of my job. But today, I am humbled, because the people I work with smashed my own stereotypes. Lucky me. 

91 of 365

Work with coffee. In my last seminar we talked about addiction... Ehm. Yes. 😬✌

92 of 365

Write a letter to your future self. How to deal with people - Freedom and Trust.

93 of 365

This month I am doing the Creativesprint "Inspiration is everywhere" combined with my yearlong project. Day 1 of Creativesprint: Do something only children do. And Day 93 of 365 of my 365 People Project: work with screws. What else can you stick up your nose as a child?! 😬😅

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Day 2 of the Creativesprint: Create a fortune that you would like to receive. And Day 94 of 365 of my 365 People Project: use orange materials today. There are people who invent fortune-cookie-cracking-websites and I used one of those to get my fortune - and it fits perfectly.

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Day 3 of the Creativesprint (swipe to see my mum's work for today's prompt): Complete the statement "One thing I know to be true...". And Day 95 of 365 of my 365 People Project: ask a stranger what you should do today. I asked, and they said "have a beer and have fun" - but somehow I was more serious today and wasn't in the mood for some superficial stuff...😬😌✌ 

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Day 4 for Creativesprint: upside down discoveries. And Day 96 of 365 of my 365 People Project: work backward in front of a mirror. Some people seem hard hearted, until you get to know them better...that is what I experienced today. 🐦

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Day 5 for Creativesprint: Tribute to the person I admired when I was young. And Day 97 of 365 of my 365 People Project: invitation to an everyday event. When I was little, I admired my cousin's grandma's hairdo. It was so elegant and old-fashioned and fancy. 😍

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Day 6 for Creativesprint: Inspired by my idea of a perfect vacation. And Day 98 of 365 of my 365 People Project: work with time. 😎✌

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Day 7 for Creativesprint: Inspired by astronomy (swipe to see my mum's work for today's prompt - she made cookies 😍😱🍪). And Day 99 of 365 of my 365 People Project: Inspired by the world of insects. A young girl once told me that everyone is into butterflies nowadays, that's why she likes dragonflies. 

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Day 8 for Creativesprint: Inspired by thoughts and events after 3 min of contemplation. And Day 100 of 365 of my 365 People Project: Use an old t-shirt. I immediately thought about blood stains... I don't know... Maybe it was my day holding a seminar about grief and dying or my thoughts about murder when there were drunken and annoying men on the train on my way home?! 🤔😅

mehr lesen

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1 of 365

"Time and again she comes running towards you with a bunch of hopes she has found and picked in the undergrowth of the times we are living in." (Rebecca Solnit: Hope in the Dark)

2 of 365

"Sie ist die Gegenwart/ It is the present." (Max Czollek: Desintegriert euch)

3 of 365

"Es kann passieren, dass man als Feminist*in frauenfeindlich genannt wird, weil man angeblich die vielen Fortschritte nicht sieht, die Frauen erreicht haben./ It might happen, that being a feminist, one is called misogynist for allegedly not seeing the progress women achieved." (Margarete Stokowski: Die letzten Tage des Patriarchats) - today's prompt: something on silencing women. Spoiler: Women won't be silenced. 

4 of 365

"Oder Café au lait./ Or Café au lait." (Jutta Oster: Eine heiße Liebe - Stars und Caffè). This morning, I went to a Café and found this book there (and some Café au lait). 

5 of 365

"Its huge success encouraged him to abandon his career as a doctor and pursue his true love of becoming an artist." (Osamu Tezuka: Astro Boy Omnibus). This is a request from @michelle_kangaroo (on Instagram). Thank you for this sentence and for the inspiration!  If any of you wants to share the 6th sentence from a book, too: I'd love to use it as a prompt! 

6 of 365

"Well, Watson, what do you make of it?" (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound of the Baskervilles). Ah yeah... So I can see the evil bird in black... Can you see it, too?

7 of 365

"Bingo, the owner of a surf pub is adamant that he is going surfing with the fridge, and the Mother Superior of the famous Kylemore Abbey insists on consecrating it." (Tony Hawks: Round Ireland with a Fridge) Toilet paper roll theatre! 🎉🎭

8 of 365

"'All roads lead to Rome' said Brida, using an old proverb to tell me that Gifts could be awoken anywhere." (Paulo Coehlo: Brida)

9 of 365

"Then, on the left side over the hills, houses are gathering brightly." (Fernando Pessoa: My Lisbon)

10 of 365

"Although Burden exhibited in New York in the 70s and 80s, she was dissapointed from the reception and completely draw back from the world of art." (Siri Hustvedt: Die gleissende Welt)

11 of 365

"Their footsteps grow louder now as they hunt with relentless determination." (Dan Brown: Inferno) Today: Painting nightmares with candle wax... This is a request from @discgolffanatic (on Instagram) - thank you, it's a good one!

12 of 365

"Die TN sitzen paarweise zusammen./ The participants sit pairwise." (Marcus Koch in Beermann et al.: Spiele für Workshops und Seminare).

13 of 365

"Vielleicht kann man so nicht gleich Berge versetzen, aber schon Friedrich Nietzsche wusste: 'Im Gebirge der Weisheit klettert man nie umsonst.'/ Maybe one can't move mountains like this, but as Friedrich Nietzsche already knew: 'On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain.'" (Brigitte Hellmann: Mit Nietzsche auf der Gartenbank) I got this magnetic (!!!) canvas from L. today. ❤

14 of 365

"Etwa zur gleichen Zeit als Karl Marx in der British Library in London fieberhaft an seinem Hauptwerk arbeitet, versucht Charles Babbage einen programmierbaren Rechenautomaten zu bauen: die Analytical Engine./ Roughly at the same time as Karl Marx works franticly on his most important work in the British Library in London, Charles Babbage tries to build a programmable calculator: the Analytical Engine." (Timo Daum: Das Kapital sind wir) Thank you @morekompensationforthisnation - great sentence!

15 of 365

"Sand weht daher, in Wellen, in Schwaden, mit rasender Geschwindigkeit./ Sand blows, in waves, billows, with berserk speed." (Federica de Cesco: Frei wie die Sonne)

16 of 365

"Ich muß wohl an den Anfang zurückkehren und alles noch einmal erleben, um jene ewigen Rätsel zu lösen, denen sich jeder am Ende stellen muß./ I have to return to the start, to experience everything again, for to solve those everlasting mysteries, that in the end, everyone has to face." (Eva Maaser: Die Astronomin)

17 of 365

"Das kann spannend und herausfordernd sein./ This might be exciting and challenging." (Franz X. Bühler: Vom Kopf ins Herz) I found this book in my hotel room - it seemed "slightly" esoteric, but I love the sixth sentence!

18 of 365

"Their fragrance filled me with an incredible thirst, and kneeling on the riverbank I cupped my hands into the chill running water and lifted them dripping, preparing to drink./ Ihr Duft erfüllte mich mit einem unglaublichen Durst und als ich am Flußufer kniete, formte ich meine Hände zu einer Schale im ruhig fließenden Wasser und hob sie tropfend an, um davon zu trinken." (Susanna Kearsley: Named of the Dragon) Drawing on mandarine - with a fragrance that filled the room. 

19 of 365

"As my grandmother, Helen Majesky, used to say, 'in baking, as in life, you know more than you think you know.'/ Wie meine Großmutter, Helen Majesky, zu sagen pflegte, ' beim Backen, wie im Leben, weiß man mehr als man denkt zu wissen.'" (Susan Wiggs: The Winter Lodge) Painting Grandma Majesky with Brownies and a chopstick.

20 of 365

"Schlau muss man sein im Leben, und selbst die Schlauheit muß man ganz gerissen anbringen; ich sage euch klipp und klar: Die sind schlau und ich bin schlau./ Cunning is what counts in this life, and even that you've got to use in the slyest way you can; I'm telling you straight: they're cunning, and I'm cunning." (Alan Sillitoe: Die Einsamkeit des Langstreckenläufers)

21 of 365

"Es gab drei Stockwerke./ There were three stories." (Nora Roberts: Heute und für immer)

22 of 365

"Blasenpflaster./Blistering plaster." (Kirsten Westhues: Acht Kilogramm Vorfreude) Really: I love this 6th sentence! 😂😂😂

23 of 365

"His collection of prose 'Writing Home' was a number one bestseller./ Seine Prosa-Sammlung 'Writing Home' war ein Nummer eins Bestseller." (Alan Bennett: The Uncommon Reader)

24 of 365

"We had each been married for twelve years before we met and fell in love./ Wir waren beide 12 Jahre mit jemand anders verheiratet, bevor wir uns trafen und uns ineinander verliebten." (Judith Bauer Gilman: Voyage of the Capricorn Lady)

25 of 365

"During the 19th century the economic system of the South, based on acriculture and the slave trade, separated the region from the increasingly industrialized North./ Das Wirtschaftssystem des Südens, das auf Landwirtschaft und Sklavenhandel basierte, trennte die Region im 19. Jahrhundert vom Norden und dessen fortschreitender Industrialisierung." (Carson McCullers: The Ballad of the Sad Café)

26 of 365

"Von einem anderen Planeten aus gesehen wäre das faszinierend zu beobachten./ It would be fascinating to watch this from another planet." (Philipp Blom: Was auf dem Spiel steht)

27 of 365

"Dem Menschenschlag wird nachgesagt, rau und wortkarg, bodenständig und heimatverbunden zu sein./ These kind of people are rumored to be sturdy and taciturn, down-to-earth and attached to their roots." (Igor Divis: Das kleine Küstenkochbuch - Spezialitäten aus Deutschlands Norden)

28 of 365

28 of 365. "Es geht doch nur um einen Kuss./ It would be just a kiss." (Jill Smolinski: Die Wunschliste). My friend Polli suggested to use wooden materials and confetti today. Here's the link to the crazy romantic video! 

29 of 365

"Ja./Yes." (Stefanie Sargnagel: Statusmeldungen)

30 of 365

"Natürlich birgt ein solches Experiment mannigfaltige Gefahren./ Of course, there are a lot of jeopardies harbored in such an experiment." (Ephraim Kishon: Drehn Sie sich um, Frau Lot!)

31 of 365

"Doch erzähle nun, was du gehört haben willst./ Now please tell me, what you think you heard." (Hellmann: Mit Sokrates im Liegestuhl)

32 of 365

"'Half past five.'/ 'Halb sechs.'" (Georges Simenon: The Train) Sitting in the train at half past six...

33 of 365

"Also thanks to Dr. Alex Lin for his obstetrics expertise./ Danke auch an Dr. Alex Lin für seine Expertise in Sachen Geburtshilfe." (Julie James: It happened one wedding)

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"Das ist nicht gut./ This is not good." (Mary E. Pearson: Unterbrich mich nicht, Gott)

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"Liebe?/ Love?" (Katrin Bauerfeind: Alles kann, Liebe muss) 💛

36 of 365

"Gewonnen hat, wer bei drei Durchgängen mindestens zweimal siegt./ Winner is the one who triumphs in two of three rounds." (Franziska Bertschy und Manfred Kaderli: Subito - Spontane Gruppenspiele mit keinem Material).

37 of 365

"Ich vergaß diese Erlebnisse - bis die Krankheit bei meinem Vater losging./ I forgot these experiences - until my father got sick." (Arno Geiger: Der alte König in seinem Exil) A time line: from the son's perspective and from his father's perspective (the book is about Alzheimer's disease). 

38 of 365

"Das Selbst und die Arbeitswelt befinden sich in einem permanenten Sog von nicht endender Veränderung./ The self and the work environment are in a permanent undertow of never ending change." (Stefanie Hoffmann-Palomino, Christine Kirbach und Bianca Praetorius: Die Lean Back Perspektive)

39 of 365

"My father, who was very ancient, had given me a competent share of learning, as far as house-education and a country free-school generally goes, and design’d me for the law; but I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea, and my inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the commands of my father, and against all the entreaties and perswasions of my mother and other friends, that there seem’d to be something fatal in that propension of nature tending directly to the life of misery which was to befal me./ Mein bereits bejahrter Vater hatte mich so viel lernen lassen, als durch die Erziehung im Hause und den Besuch einer Freischule auf dem Lande möglich ist. Ich war für das Studium der Rechtsgelehrsamkeit bestimmt. Kein anderer Gedanke aber in Bezug auf meinen künftigen Beruf wollte mir behagen als der, Seemann zu werden. Dieses Vorhaben brachte mich in schroffen Gegensatz zu den Wünschen und Befehlen meines Vaters und dem Zureden meiner Mutter, wie auch sonstiger mir freundlich gesinnter Menschen. Es schien, als habe das Schicksal in meine Natur einen unwiderstehlichen Drang gelegt, der mich gerades Wegs in künftiges Elend treiben sollte." (Daniel Defoe: The life and strange surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, mariner -published in 1719) This was a request from @rhode_reads (on Instagram) and I enjoyed working on this classic very much. Reducing complexity and going with the first thought and stuff like that... Thank you! 

40 of 365

"Die Spirale der Gewalt und die Bemühungen, sie einzudämmen, aber auch der Wille, aus der Rolle der hilflosen Opfer oder der erstarrten Zuschauer auszubrechen, haben uns beide bewegt, unser Gespräch fortzusetzen./ The spiral of violence and the efforts to contain it, but also the will to overcome the roles of helpless victims and numbed bystanders, actuated us both to continue our conversation." (Tahar Ben Jelloun: Papa, woher kommt der Hass?)

41 of 365

"Frau Martha ging durch das ganze Haus treppauf, treppab und miaute nach Stoffel Kätzchen./ Mrs. Martha went up and down all over the house, mewing for Tom Kitten." (Beatrix Potter: Die Geschichte von Bernhard Schnauzbart/ The Roly Poly Pudding)

42 of 365

"Lebe auf Zeit und sieh, wie wenig du brauchst./ Live for a time and watch how little you need of it." (Mascha Kaléko: Sei klug und halte dich an Wunder) 

43 of 365

"How dare I know stuff?/ Wie kann ich es wagen, Dinge zu wissen?" (Sarah Cooper: How to be successful without hurting men's feelings)

44 of 365

"Ihre Hände hielten einen großen Korb mit Blumen umklammert./ She clutched a basket of flowers with her hands." (Barbara Kindermann nach Alan Jay Lerner: My Fair Lady)

45 of 365

"Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail./ Der alte Marley war so tot wie ein Türnagel." (Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol) 💀💀💀

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"'Good evening, I am the general manager.'/ 'Guten Abend, ich bin der Generaldirektor.'" (Kevin Kwan: Crazy Rich Asians)

47 of 365

"'Muss der Köter unbedingt dabei sein?'/ 'Do we really need the mutt?'" (Eoin Colfer: Meg Finn und die Liste der vier Wünsche. [Red lentils on porcelain]

48 of 365

"Ich nenne es aber trotzdem Pollys Haus./Nevertheless, I call it Polly's house." (Astrid Lindgren: Polly hilft der Großmutter)

49 of 365

"'We rest in the afternoon.'/ 'Wir ruhen uns nachmittags aus.'" (P.L. Travers: Mary Poppins in the Park)

50 of 365

"Er lacht ziemlich oft./ He laughs quite often." (Elisabeth Harrower: In gewissen Kreisen) 

51 of 365

"Well yes, dear, it's a funeral home - that would be the point./ Nun ja, mein Herz, es ist ein Bestattungsinstitut - darum geht es ja." (Caitlin Doughty: From here to Eternity)

52 of 365

"Ihr Kopf ruht auf einem weichen Kissen, und in eine flauschige Decke eingehüllt sieht sie aus, als würde sie schlafen./ Her head rests on a soft pillow and covered in a fleecy blanket, she looks as if she is sleeping." (Gerhard Langer: Gnädig ist der Tod)

53 of 365

"Mein Bruder Edward hatte mir die Nachricht  vom Tod unserer Mutter übermittelt./ My brother Edward conveyed the message about our mother's death to me." (Sarah Haywood: Der Kaktus)

54 of 365

"Das war gut so./ That was good." (Nora Roberts: Geheimrezept zum Glücklichsein)

55 of 365

"Christoph ist jemand, der Bescheid sagt./ Christoph is one who gives a word (in German: s.o. who says "Bescheid")." (Jutta Reichelt: Wiederholte Verdächtigungen). This was a request from my friend Polli - who is a friend of the author of the book, and Jutta (the author) requested paper and wire as materials today. I added ear plugs. Thank you so much for playing along and being my source of inspiration!

56 of 365

"Es ist vorbei./ It's over." (Armando Lucas Correa: Das Erbe der Rosenthals) Water Pistol Snowman Sheriff.

57 of 365

"Obwohl sie wach war, hielt sie die Augen geschlossen, denn um sie herum war es dunkel./ Although she was awake, she kept her eyes closed, because it was dark around her." (Stieg Larsson: Verdammnis)

58 of 365

"Ja, er war sich sicher: Er hatte die richtige Wahl getroffen./ Yes, he was sure: he made the right choice." (Klaus-Peter Wolf: Ostfriesenblut) Something about choice for today... 

59 of 365

"Oder neuerdings auch als Wellness-Urlauber./ Or recently on Wellness Vacation." (Stephan Seiler/ Chefredakteur: mobil)

60 of 365

"Die meisten 'Ahas' sind weniger als eine Seite lang./ Most of the 'Ahas' are less than a page." (John Strelecky: Wenn du Orangen willst, such nicht im Blaubeerfeld)

61 of 365

"Meine Großeltern empfingen mich tief bewegt - wenn auch einige Augenzeugen behaupten, ich sei ein gräßliches Baby gewesen - und legten mich meiner Mutter an die Brust, wo ich einige Minuten verblieb, die einzigen Minuten, die ich je mit ihr zusammensein konnte./ My maternal grandparents welcomed me with emotion - even though according to several witnesses I was ugly as sin - and placed me at my mother's breast, where I lay cuddled for a few minutes, the only ones I was to have with her." (Isabel Allende: Porträt in Sepia). Happy Birthday to me. According to several witnesses, my birth wasn't like the one in Allende's book. Lucky me!

62 of 365

"Auf der offenen Poetry-Bühne sind weder Kostüme noch Requisiten erlaubt./ Costumes and props are not allowed on an Open Poetry Stage." (Bas Böttcher und Wolf Hogekamp [Hrsg.]: Die Poetry Slam Fibel)

63 of 365

"Der obere Drücker dient heute meist dem Starten und Stoppen des Chrono-Zentrumzeigers, der andere ausschließlich der Nullstellung./ The push start on top is used to start and stop the Chrono-Center Hand, the other is used solely for the zero position." (Peter Beater: Die Stoppuhr am Handgelenk: Aufbau und Funktionsweise mechanischer Chronographen)

64 of 365

"Artus selbst hatte auch ein Schwert./ Arthur had a sword himself." (Katharina Neuschaefer: König Artus und die Ritter der Tafelrunde) 

65 of 365

"This is part of the game./ Das ist ein Teil des Spiels." (Liam McIlvanney: All the colours of the town)

66 of 365

"As I sat fidgeting with my pen, I allowed my mind to roam freely down the corridors of pipe-dreaming./ Während ich da saß und mit meinem Stift rumfuchtelte, erlaubte ich meinen Gedanken ein paar Luftschlösser zu bauen." (T.M. Mainka: God, Love and Lots of Letters)

67 of 365

"Man könnte den Himmel sehen./ One could see the sky." (Stephan Lohse: Ein fauler Gott)

68 of 365

"Ich kann mich auch setzen./ I can take a seat, too." (Christine Brückner: Wenn du geredet hättest, Desdemona)

69 of 365

"Early in the 20th century, 90 percent of that population lived in the central part of the city, with some neighborhoods sporting a density of 73.000 inhabitants per square mile./ Im frühen 20. Jahrhundert lebten 90 Prozent der Bevölkerung im Stadtkern, manche Wohngegenden mit einer Dichte von 73.000 Einwohnern auf einer Quatratmeile." (Jenny Floro-Khalaf and Cynthia Savaglio: Mount Carmel and Queen of Heaven Cemeteries)

70 of 365

"He was deeply regretful; both for the hurt he had caused his family and of the fact that he had failed to kill himself./ Er bedauerte zutiefst, zum einen, dass er seiner Familie soviel Schmerz zugefügt hatte und zum anderen, dass er es nicht geschafft hatte sich selbst zu töten." (Christina Faull and Kerry Blankley: Palliative Care)

71 of 365

"I have no companion but love./ Ich habe nur die Liebe als Begleitung." (Rumi: Mad Love)

72 of 365

"Ein dolce vita ist der Alpsommer nicht immer, aber immer Sonntag./ The summer in the alps is not always dolce vita, but always Sunday." (Pia Solèr: Die Weite fühlen)

73 of 365

"Da entschloss er sich, einen Einsiedler zu befragen./ Then he decided to go and ask a hermit." (Leo Tolstoi: Die drei Fragen)

74 of 365

"Viele Bauern hatten auf Neujahr ein Schwein geschlachtet, sie beschenkten die Herren Könige aus dem Morgenland reichlich mit Wurst und Speck./ Many of the peasants did butcher a pig for New Year and gifted the Three Wise Men with lots of sausages and bacon." (Otfried Preußler: Krabat) [Acrylic paint on advertizing handout] I do have the feeling that this is some kind of blasphemy for today. 😬😂

75 of 365

"Sie alle verdienen Respekt./ They all deserve respect." (Mitch Albom: Die fünf Menschen, die dir im Himmel begegnen)

76 of 365

"Das Bild ist mit Absicht gewählt, denn sagte ich, daß die Sardinenfabriken ihre Mäuler ins Meer tauchten, so böten die verlöteten Fische, die am andern Ende zum Vorschein kommen, keinen Anlass zu einem schöneren Vergleich./ The figure is advisedly chosen, for if the canneries dipped their mouths into the bay the canned sardines which emerge from the other end would be metaphorically, at least, even more horrifying." (John Steinbeck: Die Straße der Ölsardinen/ Cannery Row) 🐟🐟🐟

77 of 365

"Der Tiger bläst nur blauen Dunst./ The tiger whiffs only blue mist." (Julian Jusim und Mirjam Pressler: Kopfunter Kopfüber)

78 of 365

"Meine Zeichnung Nr.1./ Drawing Number One." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Der kleine Prinz) More blasphemy?! 😬

79 of 365

"In seiner nietenverzierten Lederjacke hatte er an Format gewonnen, jetzt war er ein finster dreinblickender Kerl auf einem respekteinflößenden Motorrad./ He gained his stature by wearing a leather jacket decorated with rivets, now he was a frowning fellow on a formidable motorbike." (Brock Yates: Mythos Harley/ Outlaw Machine) Deja vu: When I was around 16 years old, I loved to draw motorcycles. Those were the days!

80 of 365

80 of 365. "Die gerade Linie, welche man bei dem Bergbau zu dem Maas der zu messenden Längen angenommen hat, heißt ein Lachter (§ 462.463 und 464.)/ The straight line that one used to measure the length in the field of mining is called 'Lachter' (§ 462.463 and 464.)" (Franz Ludwig Cancrinus: Erste Gründe der Berg und Salzwerkskunde)

81 of 365

"Alles in Ordnung./ Everything's alright." (Claudio Paglieri: Kein Grappa für Commissario Luciani)

82 of 365

"Bereits zu jener Zeit nannte man Armorica 'Klein-Britannien'./ Already at that time Armorica is called 'Little Brittany'." (Peter Tremayne: Eine Taube bringt den Tod)

83 of 365

"Now, get your blanket and rest your little head./ Jetzt nimm deine Decke und ruh dein Köpfchen aus." (Dorthea Deprisco Wang: Five Minutes Until Bed)

84 of 365

"He, Moment mal - der Brummer wird aber nicht mitgewogen!/ Heh, excuse me - don't scale the bottlebee with the rest!" (Uli Stein: Langer Samstag!)

85 of 365

"Hm!" (Friedrich Schiller: Die Räuber) - Why Q-tips? Hm! I don't know!

86 of 365

"Wirklich brauchbar wird ein Rezept aber erst, wenn ich mich darauf verlassen kann./ The most useful recipe is the one I can trust." (Sebastian Dickhaut und Sabine Sälzer: Kochen!)

87 of 365

„'Ich werd‘s Ihnen sagen: Da stehen lauter Schildkröten aufeinander.'/ 'But it's turtles all the way down!'" (Stephen Hawking: Eine kurze Geschichte der Zeit) This was a request from Lilith! Thank you so much - it's already one of my favorite sentences this year!

88 of 365

"Sie war umgeben von Dutzenden von Büchern, die sie gelesen und Hunderten, die sie nicht einmal angesehen hatte, obwohl sie viele, viele Stunden in der Bibliothek verbracht hatte./ She was surrounded by dozens of books she read and hundreds she haven't looked at yet, although she spent hours in the library." (Nora Roberts: Love Affairs)

89 of 365

"He has long, grey hair that is so dry it might snap off in your hand if you try to grab it./ Er hat so trockene graue Haare, dass sie aussehen als würden sie jeden Moment in der Hand zerbrechen wenn man sie versucht zu packen." (Mick Wall: Like a Bat Out of Hell - The Larger than Life Story of Meat Loaf)

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"Eine weitere Art Muffins sind die 'cupcakes'./ Another form of Muffins is called 'cupcakes'." (Jutta Renz: Noch mehr Muffins!)

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"Everybody asked her what was wrong./ Alle haben sie gefragt, was mir ihr los war." (Vanessa M. Chattman: Poetry - Castle Stories)

92 of 365

"Warum?/ Why?" (Michelle Obama: Becoming - Meine Geschichte). A dramatic WHY.

93 of 365

"Woran Sie merken, ob Ihre Fragen etwas taugen?/ How do you know that your questions are good?" (Martin Wehrle: Die 500 besten Coaching-Fragen)

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"I had never in all my life seen such a place, and my immediate thought was, 'Holy God, have I come through the wrong door?'/ In meinem ganzen Leben hatte ich noch keinen Ort wie diesen gesehen und mein erster Gedanke war 'Guter Gott, bin ich zur falschen Tür hinein?'" (Ronan Tynan: Halfway home - My Life 'til Now)

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"My clothes and the clothes of my children are rumpled./ Meine Kleidung und die Kleidung meiner Kinder ist zerknittert." (Sarah Ruhl: 100 Essays I don't have time to write)

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"Und natürlich schaust du es an./ And of course you look at it." (A.L. Kennedy: Das blaue Buch)

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"It lasted a few minutes, then faded away./ Es hielt für ein paar Minuten und verblasste dann." (Chris van Alsburg: Bad Day at Riverbend) [under water watercolor painting]

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"A little over a decade later, World War II caused the deaths of almost fifty million people./ Etwas mehr als ein Jahrzehnt später, brachte der Zweite Weltkrieg den Tod von beinahe 50 Millionen Menschen." (Laura Sjoberg: Gendering Global Conflict - Toward a Feminist Theory of War)

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"Ich machte einen Schritt, dann noch einen./ I took a step forward, then another one." (Jordan Romeo und Linda LeBlanc: Kein Gipfel zu hoch)

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Day 365 of 365

Day 31 of Creativesprint (share one thing you learned from this experience) and Day 365 of 365 (!!!) of my 365 days project (make something loud today and let everyone know that it's the last day of your year!). So one thing I've learned during this year, but also during this Creativesprint, is, that being creative and making art is my way to talk about the elephant in the room: in my case, it was a way to think out loud about the elephant that is grief and loss and dying. And: "Woohooooo!" I made it! And I'm not going to stop! I'll start another 365 days project tomorrow. It is called "The Sixth Sentence Project". Stay tuned!

PS: I would like to thank everyone who supported me and cheered me on and was interested in what I was doing during the last year. It was such a gift! Thank you! 

Day 364 of 365

Day 30 of Creativesprint (create a trophy) and 364 of 365 of my 365 days project (create a new birthday tradition). A trophy for the celebration of both occasions: finishing another Creativesprint and another year! Happy Birthday!

Day 363 of 365

Day 29 of Creativesprint (make a rainbow) and 363 of 365 of my 365 days project (extend an existing photograph). Poems and rainbows and bubbles make me happy. 

Day 362 of 365

Day 28 of Creativesprint (rework or revise a previous work from this creativesprint ) and 362 of 365 of my 365 days project (make a rainbow out of everyday objects). My friends' reaction to Day 11.

Day 361 of 365

Day 27 of Creativesprint (make a mask) and 361 of 365 of my 365 days project (make something with bleach). I found a grief mask from Gabun - and I used the bleach filter. 

Day 360 of 365

Day 26 of Creativesprint (make a diagram or chart) and 360 of 365 of my 365 days project (inspired by inner organs). My lungs when I smell lavender...

Day 359 of 365

Day 25 of Creativesprint (what happened today in history?) and 359 of 365 of my 365 days project (create a city out of objects you have on hand). This is U.'s birthday today and she lives in the city that is pictured here.

Day 358 of 365

Day 24 of Creativesprint (make a miniature landscape) and 358 of 365 of my 365 days project (create the illusion that someone is frozen mid-action). Hello again to the girl from earlier this Creativesprint - now reaching for Excalibur. 

Day 357 of 365

Day 23 of Creativesprint (camouflage something) and 357 of 365 of my 365 days project (make something natural look digital). Karma Chameleon.

Day 356 of 365

Day 22 of Creativesprint (make something in a public place and leave it there for someone else to find) and 356 of 365 of my 365 days project (create a new book cover for your favorite book). Left a book recommendation for my favorite book in the library...

Day 355 of 365

Day 21 of Creativesprint (make an ad for something) and 355 of 365 of my 365 days project (take two things that don't go together and find a way that they fit together). Make art! Be an artist! Don't let talent stop you!

Day 354 of 365

Day 20 of Creativesprint (take something apart and put it back together in a new way) and 354 of 365 of my 365 days project (work with candy). EAT THE RICH. 👊🍍👑🖕 [pineapple out of finest Belgian waffles] --> find the video here.

Day 353 of 365

Day 19 of Creativesprint (collaborate with another sprinter) and 353 of 365 of my 365 days project (work only with gold materials). Thankfully @theloushe (Instagram) started her prompt as an offer to collaborate (the beautifully symmetric blue one) and I enjoyed playing around with golden souvenirs... 💛

Day 352 of 365

Day 18 of Creativesprint (recreate a favorite childhood game) and 352 of 365 of my 365 days project (design a uniform for a job that doesn't normally have one). I loved watching people as a child (and I still love it).

Day 351 of 365

Day 17 of Creativesprint (create something in the style of an artist you admire) and 351 of 365 of my 365 days project (add wings to something). Artist Kelsey Montague started the #whatliftsyou project (and my mum made the doll). I am a huge fan (of Kelsey and my mum). 

Day 350 of 365

Day 16 of #creativesprint (make something that reminds you of a teacher who inspired You) and 350 of 365 of my 365 days project "365 Days in the Mourning" (have someone else start something and finish it). I told a friend about today's prompt and she started talking about her time in school and that she felt that a lot of her teachers never really got her and therefore treated her in ways, that hurt her. I had the same experiences in school (in slightly different ways)...the bottom line is, that we stopped trying to explain ourselves but instead started to look for people with whom we can be who we are.

Day 349 of 365

Day 15 of Creativesprint (incorporate repetition into what you make today) and 349 of 365 of my 365 days project (make something unappetizing seem appetizing). Put a strawberry on a fly and the fly looks much more appetizing!

Day 348 of 365

Day 14 of #creativesprint (make something out of things you would normally throw away) and 348 of 365 of my 365 days project "365 Days in the Mourning" (work with a disposable cup). I didn't have any disposable cup but a busy day, so this is it for today. 

Day 347 of 365

Day 13 of #creativesprint (make something using only the contents of your purse) and 347 of 365 of my 365 days project "365 Days in the Mourning" (make a face to something that normally doesn't have one). Am I a worry doll? Or an Inca Goddess? - Everyday questions... 

Day 346 of 365

Day 12 of Creativesprint (add eyes to an inanimate object) and 345 of 365 of my 365 days project (make a repeating image by folding paper and cutting out the shape of an object). Googly tears in a row. 💧💧💧

Day 345 of 365

Day 11 of Creativesprint (spill something and create something from the mess) and 345 of 365 of my 365 days project (only work with the objects that are already on the table near you). - Ehm...YES. 😌

Day 344 of 365

Day 10 of #creativesprint (if you were a superhero what would your name and your super power be?) and 344 of 365 of my 365 days project "365 Days in the Mourning" (use stars as your inspiration today). My name is Regy and my super power is to empower others. 

Day 343 of 365

Day 9 of Creativesprint (incorporate shoes into what you do today) and 343 of 365 of my 365 days project (make something boring seem exciting). Hold on! 

Day 342 of 365

Day 8 of CreativeSprint (create a greeting card for an unspecial occasion) and 342 of 365 of my 365 days project (create evidence of an event that didn't happen). Stressful events happen to end in nose bleeding in my family - so seeing someone with damaged blood vessels and running blood is something fairly familiar to me. However, (luckily) it did not happen today.

Day 341 of 365

Day 7 of CreativeSprint (look up and create something inspired by what you see) and 341 of 365 of my 365 days project (make a functioning mobile). Today, a young child next to me on the ferry said to their mother: "Wow! Look, Mum! There is so much sky above us!"

Day 340 of 365

Day 6 of CreativeSprint (create a face from the food leftover on your plate after a meal) and 340 of 365 of my 365 days project "365 Days in the Mourning" (work only with what's in your or someone else's pockets today: the mobile phone and my hand). "Why aren't you smiling?" - 

Me: 🖕😬🖕

Day 339 of 365

Day 5 of CreativeSprint (take a 5-minute walk and make something with what you find wherever you end up) and 339 of 365 of my 365 days project (create something that is only visible from one specific angle - kind of). A dancing phoenix...

Day 338 of 365

Day 4 of CreativeSprint (what would the cover of your autobiography look like?) and 338 of 365 of my 365 days project (make something that shows the passage of time).

Day 337 of 365

Day 3 of CreativeSprint (close your eyes - what is the first color you notice when you open your eyes? Create a monochromatic collage) and 337 of 365 of my 365 days project (work blindfolded). BLUES.

Day 336 of 365

336 of 365 of my 365 days project "365 Days in the Mourning" about grief and loss (censor something that doesn't need to be) and Day 2 of CreativeSprint (make something inspired by the meaning of your name). Thinking about the meaning of my name (Regina is the latin word for "queen"), I always wonder if "being queen" is a goal to live for or an attitude to live by...

Day 335 of 365

Creativesprint starts today (woohoo! ) and I'll combine my 365days project (it's the last month!) with the daily prompts in October. Day 1 = Make something that fits in the palm of your hand and Day 335 of 365 = Make something to protect a delicate object. In my yearlong project I think about grief and loss and dying - the human heart is such a delicate object, and most of the times it seems to me, that I try to protect it with bare hands.

Day 334 of 365

Work with barcodes today. This is a little Banksy tribute.

Day 333 of 365

Make a trophy. Hell yeah...

Day 332 of 365

Create a wheel chart. How is this going to end? --> Video on Instagram! 

Day 331 of 365

Make a flower out of everyday objects.

Day 330 of 365

Time for finger painting! - Is this meta finger painting? 

Day 329 of 365

Work with tissue paper today. - Tears of joy on tissue.

Day 328 of 365

Make something with a snack before you eat it. My grandpa loved these sweet cookie sticks with nuts from Switzerland called "Nuss Stängeli" - and I love them, too!

Day 327 of 365

Create an alternate alphabet for a new culture. We need to talk about death and everything related if we want to create a death positive culture.

Day 326 of 365

Use the world of amphibians as your inspiration today. My nailpolish-color is called "Urban Chameleon" and I bought it because of that name (and because I like the color, too - of course).

Day 325 of 365

Create a wallpaper using any technique. I am now the proud owner of a kaleidoscope app which is super fun! 

Day 324 of 365

Make something that would not normally melt seem like it has. A melting heart today...

Day 323 of 365

Work with music media. Cassette-owl.

Day 322 of 365

Make alternate signage for bathroom doors.

Day 321 of 365

Create a visual diagram for something that would not normally need one. When I'm frustrated or sad, I make some art so that I'm not that sad and frustrated anymore. Do I need to be sad to make art? Fortunatelly not: I am also creative when I'm relaxed and happy. Lucky me, my art alows me to have all the feelings!

Day 320 of 365

Make something out of keys. Mixing keys today...

Day 319 of 365

Write a ten-word murder mystery.

Day 318 of 365

Work with only rubber bands today. Lately I noticed, that a rainbow might be one of my favorite symbols...

Day 317 of 365

Something that goes over a foot. A little memento mori to go.

Day 316 of 365

Work with rice.

Day 315 of 365

Create a clear version of something that is normally not transparent. Ehm...yes... Current state of mind. 

Day 314 of 365

Create a tattoo. I actually think this might be a good tattoo one day: grief and hope (feather and rainbow).

Day 313 of 365

Work with fire today. I didn't want to burn the hotel room down, so instead I decided to tell the story of my great-grandmother catching fire... Every year my family gathers around a large pot of red wine punch around Christmas time and every year the tale is told that years ago, my great-grandmother's clothes suddenly catched fire and one had to blow it out quickly... I never got to know my great-grandparents. They died before I was born. But even my younger cousin said a few years ago while sitting in front of the red wine punch pot: "Do you remember when great-grandma catched fire?" and everyone replied immediately: "Yes, of course!"

Day 312 of 365

Work only with black materials today. - Home is where the heart is, right Pladdi? 💜

...

Day 311 of 365

Reflections.

Day 310 of 365

Make something with items that would be found in a hardware store. - I don't know where this came from. But it was the first idea I had today.

Day 309 of 365

Create something that can be rolled down a hill. - Rolling rolling rolling with the ghost of the past... 

Day 308 of 365

Make something that you can see only from far away. - When in doubt, look up and notice that at least the Big Dipper is still with you. - And now I have it on the ceiling above my bed. Sidenote: sometimes it is much easier to make the art, than to document it.

Day 307 of 365

Create something based on the shapes found in a plant. - 🐦

Day 306 of 365

What can you do with a pad of sticky notes? Ehem... It was the last sticky note on the pad and I didn't have another one. So I made it my theme for today: I wrote on it the last note from Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven". 

Day 305 of 365

Transform a piece of advertising so that it has a new message. Death - operates quickly and natural.

Day 304 of 365

Make chimes out of whatever materials you like. Kohlrabi chimes in memoriam my grandma and her garden.

Day 303 of 365

Use the world of reptiles as your inspiration today. - Going a little Saint-Exupery today...is it a hat or a boa constrictor that swallowed up a heart?

Day 302 of 365

Work only with boxes from packaged food products today. Is this paradise?

Day 301 of 365

Pick a random date in history and make something inspired by what happened that day. - Mansplaining started early...🙄 - On this day in 1789 Wilhelm Herschel discovered a new moon of Saturn: Enceladus.

Day 300 of 365

Make something in which the sense of touch is the essential component. In times of trouble, I place my head on the wooden table I inherited from my great-grandparents and just the touch helps me to calm down.

Day 299 of 365

Work only with silver materials today. I found this little guy abandoned in a box on the street with a sign "take me with you" on it. How could I not? I made him the King of Silver Linings. 

Day 298 of 365

Try doing a normal activity in reverse order. - When the background casts a cloud over everything else...

Day 297 of 365

Make something on glass. "Cover me with soft earth... jasmine, lilies and myrtle, and when they grow above me...they will breathe the fragrance of my heart into space." (Kahlil Gibran)

Day 296 of 365

Go someplace where you would normally never do something creative and work there today. I worked in a flower shop and in the shower - two places, in which I sometimes easily experience a sudden feeling of grief...

Day 295 of 365

Write a letter to a fictional character. I love "The Hound of the Baskervilles"!

I wrote this letter with a pen I got from someone I met recently, who learned about my project and gave me his pen: "this might be useful one day." - So, yes! Thank you, it was very useful today!

Day 294 of 365

Make something that is normally portable into something that isn't anymore. - Grief.

Day 293 of 365

Work with salt. A little umbrella in the pouring rain...

Day 292 of 365

Work only with squares today. I did a little "light at the end of the tunnel"-stamping for today's prompt.

Day 291 of 365

Make something outdoors look like it's indoors. Okay, this turned out not quite as I planned, but still: I know exactly, what my grandma would have said to the poor plant: "go to the hairdresser's! You look like a witch!"

Day 290 of 365

Write a short love song about a pet. This is for my pet fly Rufus: I let you go - I know in time, you will come back.

Day 289 of 365

Do someone else's job for part of the day and create something based on the experience. I am on vacation, so I tried to be a beach beauty for a few hours...

Day 288 of 365

Make something inspired by your favorite television show as a kid. I liked the episode of the "Sendung mit der Maus", where they explained to kids (and adults) what happens when someone dies. And the presenter tested how it feels to lie in a coffin.

Day 287 of 365

Make an anagram of your name: REGAIN. Sitting at the seashore always helps me regaining my strength.

Day 286 of 365

Do something in which silence is an essential component. Silence is weighing me down tonight.

Day 285 of 365

Work with disposable plastic utensils. A friend's friend got a tattoo of his late wife picturing her as a mermaid. I love the idea very much. 

Day 284 of 365

Make something that looks like it was turned inside out. A Grief-matroschka: when you feel your loss and you feel it through all your layers...

Day 283 of 365

(Finally after three days offline) Make something that makes a sound on its own. Didn't we all think as a child that the shells make the sound of the sea on their own?

Day 282 of 365

Use a toothbrush as your central component for today. Let me intodruce you to the Toothbrush from Hell! From hell? Yeah, you heard it right: it came with this steaming and smoking machine and brought its flag with it. 😈🏴 (sidenote: I've never seen a black toothbrush - or at least I never noticed! 😍)

Day 281 of 365

Imagine you are an animal and work as that animal would today. I dotted a self portrait of a dragonfly. I killed one today while racing down a hill with my bicycle...RIP and I'm very sorry!

Day 280 of 365

Work with balloons. A sad and breathless poem for today: Roses are red and these balloons, too. I can't inflate them, shoobeedoobeedoo.

Day 279 of 365

Make a monument to a mundane event, place, or person. RIP toilet paper: Toilet paper roll tombstone in the design of a weeping angel. 

Day 278 of 365

Create something inspired by a piece of spam e-mail you have recently received. Some dadaesque thoughts on a Sunday evening. Powered by my #spamfolder...

Day 277 of 365

If you could do or be anything in the world, what would it be? I wish I would be self-confident in the right moments (and not just pretending to be). So here is my practice in self-confidence for today.

Day 276 of 365

Put your finger on a random location then research the place and make something based on it. PARIS! It's a Parisian/ Montmartien inspired wallpaper. Oscar Wilde lay dying in his room in Paris and it is recorded, that he told his visitors: "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death - one or the other of us has to go."

Day 275 of 365

Use your pocket change to make something worth more than what you could buy with it. SOLD! (Just kidding - but I did the same when I was in school: my friend and I created a sculpture just like that in the picture and we put a tag with "10.000,- SOLD" on it and attracted some attention...those were the days! - Okay, one of those two or three happy days in school. 😬😶)

Day 274 of 365

Go back to the future. Present Tree and Future Tree.

Day 273 of 365

Work with a tin can. Hang in there!

Day 272 of 365

Make something that goes over a hand.

Day 271 of 365

Add a door where one wouldn't normally exist. Door to the glasshouse.

Day 270 of 365

Work with ice cubes today. Shortly before meltdown.

Day 269 of 365

Make a Venn diagram in an unexpected way. Sometimes I miss the people who didn't like my haircut - I miss some of these people more than others though.

Day 268 of 365

Use sand as your inspiration today. It is really hot here...

Day 267 of 365

Recreate a famous work of art. Banksy for today: During the last days, I attended a conference on the critique of domination. Amongst other things, we talked about the grief-like feeling, when thinking about (and trying to act against) all the abuse of power, social injustice, political backlash, etc.

Day 266 of 365

Work with a cardboard box. This is a test pattern I draw on cardboard: it appeared when communication and radio reception broke down. During the past days this came to my mind...

Day 265 of 365

Make a unique miniature golf set. When the Grim Reaper comes knocking... See video on Instagram

Day 264 of 365

Work only with Duplos today. Tiger and sheep.

Day 263 of 365

Make a unique checkers set.... Or kind of checkers set.

Day 262 of 365

Carve something unusual. I carved a mushroom: in German, there is the term "Trauerkloß" which literally means "grief dumpling", but might best be translated with "wet blanket".

Day 261 of 365

Start something and let someone else finish it. I arrived at my parents' house late this evening without any great ideas or a finished daily project.  Everyone was tired, so we did this in 2 minutes: I did the head, my mum the torso and my dad the feet: Exquisite Corpse completed!

Day 260 of 365

Make something with only the color brown. Short coffee break to recharge one's batteries.

Day 259 of 365

Make something that would normally be considered cute and cuddly into something that isn't. Really: I tried!

Day 258 of 365

Make an artificial window. This is a collage with the newest sticker from the FeministStickerClub. How about some blooming power when you're looking out of the window?!

Day 257 of 365

Put pen to paper and draw for thirty minutes without stopping or lifting the pen from the page. Light and darkness.

Day 256 of 365

Use tape to make something three-dimensional. Stereotyping and -taping the landscape I come from...

Day 255 of 365

Make a good luck charm. This is a pin and the design is inspired by my dear friend and creative surprise bag M.

Day 254 of 365

Create something involving a pet. Since two days I have a pet fly named Lorelai. I tried to show it the way out of the window, but it seems Lorelai didn't get my intentions... 🙄 So today I tried to make friends with it: I made a companion and gave Lorelai something to read - maybe we share the same interests...?!

Day 253 of 365

Create something that can transport you (and others) across a room. I lined up the furniture in my living room to (in theory) walk across the room without touching the floor. And isn't "the Ground is Lava!" a good metaphor for being in mourning?!

Day 252 of 365

Work with natural materials to make something that would not normally be found in nature. Today's prompt comes with a wagging finger: how ecofriendly are our burials? How can we make them more ecofriendly?

Day 251 of 365

Make shoes out of an unexpected material (they don't have to be functional). Lack of seriousness today, so here  is Edition "One Foot in the Grave" for you.

Day 250 of 365

Narrow your focus. Pick a small area and use the details you would normally overlook to inspire you. - A few years ago, I painted this wall and spilled some paint and never removed it. Lucky me.

Day 249 of 365

Make something inspired by popcorn. This is a remake of one of my favorite comics (by #theawkwardyeti).

Day 248 of 365

Open a random drawer and create something with just the contents: Legacy. 

Day 247 of 365

Hide and seek. Trying to find myself... 

Day 246 of 365

Use a needle and thread. Important information today! 📢 

And a reminder for myself to stay humble...

Day 245 of 365

Create the illusion that the world has been turned upside down. - In my experience, this is exactly what grief feels like. 🌪

Day 244 of 365

Frame something.

Day 243 of 365

Make a postage stamp. My grandmother loved cyclamen. For some inexplicable reason (Sorry 😬).

Day 242 of 365

Use markers as your material or inspiration today. Slaying old-fashioned social rules on "how to mourn" with a lightsaber? Yes! And the force was strong with this one: The sun made it light up when I took the picture! 😍 

Day 241 of 365

Make up a new sport. Okay, it's not new, but still not olympic: dead man's floating.

Day 240 of 365

Make something with disposable chopsticks. Painting with chopsticks.

Day 239 of 365

Create the illusion that the color has been removed from something. A rainbow.

Day 238 of 365

Make a mural. I named this "My own Guernica".

Day 237 of 365

Make a unique bookmark and leave it at a library for someone to find. This is a book by Georg Pieper a psychologist specialized in trauma therapy who wrote this book about his experiences with people coping with loss and traumatic circumstances. I left a flower in it for someone else to find.

Day 236 of 365

Carry something with you all day and document it. I painted this stone during breakfast inspired by Franz Radziwill's planets. Why a stone? Because it symbolizes the heaviness I carry with me everyday. That's fine by me, but people who don't know me well, are often surprised that there is this dark and heavy side...

Day 235 of 365

Use the human body to make something. I tried to paint more intuitivly today - my inspiration were the lyrics from "Walking in Space": "My body is walking in space, my soul is in orbit with God face to face. [...] my mind is clear as country air, I feel my flesh, all colors mesh..." 

Day 234 of 365

Make alternative labels. Ehm, yes.......

Day 233 of 365

Create a portmonteau (a new word created by sticking together parts of two preexisting words, whose meaning is basically a blend of the two original words. I wanted to combine "grief" and "creativity" because this is what I try to do the whole year: greativity. But today, it's only "grief" and "rage": GRAGE.

Day 232 of 365

Be inspired by clouds. I generated a word cloud out of Joan Didion's words on grief. "Grief when it comes, is nothing like we expect it to be."

Day 231 of 365

Create a new superheroine. This is the superwoman who has the superpower to accept that she is not always strong and embraces her weekness (and in case you might not recognized it: she is wearing sweatpants).

Day 230 of 365

Make a container. This container out of arms and hands carries a heart.

Day 229 of 365

Be inspired by a bicycle. These Ghost Bikes are also part of the city I live in. They mark the places where fatal accidents happened with cyclists involved.

Day 228 of 365

Make something perfectly balanced. In grief councelling, I often work with this metaphor: something perfectly balanced is suddenly in total imbalance through death - and it takes a lot of time to somehow get the system in balance again (and not by removing the deceased from the picture, but by incorporate him*her in a new way and balance this out). 

Day 227 of 365

Transform a room into a new environment. The basement in my house will never be the same...

Day 226 of 365

Make a unique playing card. Death and the maiden - one of my favorite themes during this project.

Day 225 of 365

Make a unique cathouse. This is a kind of collaboration today with my late grandfather: he built this rack to store kitchen utensils - I don't think he imagined it to be someday used as a cathouse... Surprise!

Day 224 of 365

Use dirt as your medium today. This might look like broccoli in the first place, but it actually is a brain out of mud (coffee grounds and flower soil).

Day 223 of 365

Create a Mad Libs-style story (remove words and replace them with blank lines) and have a friend fill it in. Squirrels and ducks.

Day 222 of 365

Make something appetizing seem unappetizing. My grandpa used to dunk almost everything edible in his tea with milk. I remember, as a child I was in disgust and in awe at the same time. And he used to tell us this joke again and again: "Don't forget to eat carrots, so you don't need to wear eyeglasses - look at the rabbits: they always eat carrots and I never saw one rabbit with eyeglasses!"  So here is a carrot rabbit dunked in tea with milk. Eeeeh! 

Day 221 of 365

Make something inspired by trees. Annual rings.

Day 220 of 365

Work only with blue materials today. Scuba diving in a sea of tears: "I'm blue - Scuba Di Scuba Dooo"... 🎶

Day 219 of 365

Create a mosaic using cut paper. Currently no smile and order available.

Day 218 of 365

Be inspired by measuring devices. This was the first thing that came to my mind: a hommage to The Undertaker. Maybe I read too many Lucky Luke comics in my life?! 

Day 217 of 365

Create flip-book animation. This is how heart warming works. Find the video on Instagram

Day 216 of 365

Work with light. Today, there is lesser light than darkness.

Day 215 of 365

Make a legal graffiti. Surrounded by fossils and future fossils at the beach.

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Day 93 of 365

Make something with any screws or nails lying around. I wanted to make something inspired by the Dylan Thomas quote: "Do not go gently into that good night but rage, rage against the dying of the light."...well...this is the art for today, I guess...🤔😐

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Day 92 of 365

Write a letter to your future self. This is a letter to my dying and my dead self. I hope I won't need this letter any time soon, but just in case: these are 8 pages of my current thoughts on that topic. ✌😊⏳

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Day 91 of 365

Use coffee. Current state: pain. [coffee grounds on envelope].

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Day 90 of 365

Make a piñata. Today I thought about death in comics, Anime and Manga... Not that I am an expert, but my feeling is, that death is present in all narratives, but more like a threat or at a turning point of the story...Funny that the first thing that came to my mind was "Dragon Ball Z" and the death of Son Goku (my brother watched the series). 😌😁 So this is a Dragon Ball Piñata for today's prompt. 🤗

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Day 89 of 365.

Work with bubble wrap and other packing materials. I witnessed a car accident today and got the inspiration for this poem: "Roses are red, violets are blue. There is no such thing as ultimate protection, sorry and thank you." [bubble wrap and gift wrap]

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Day 88 of 365

Make something with stuff from your office. This weekend will be full of art and museums - that is why I was inspired to do a statue-like "person in grief".

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Day 87 of 365

Work with a candle. A quick one for today: Here's to silver linings where you least expect them! 🌈 [wax on wax].

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Day 86 of 365

Decorate a cake. I waited so long to do this: I made Brownies!!! And I need help to eat them! Any volunteers?  

UPDATE from yesterday's 86 of 365: I shared the Brownies with my grief councelling colleagues. We had so much fun! And I love, that they can share my sense of humour. 

Me: "Do you want a piece of this cemetery?"

Them: "Yeah, sure!"

Me: "A double grave or just a single one?"

Them: "I'm optimistic: Make it a double!" 😂😂😂 

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Day 85 of 365

Work with words. This is: Trying to live with "the WHY".

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Day 84 of 365

Work with soap. I painted a portrait of my grand aunt (my grandma's sister, who actually was like a third grandmother to me) with soap on my bathroom mirror. My grand aunt died 11 years ago - she was the first person I saw dead. And the past few years a lot of questions came to my mind  about how she lived her life, whether she was happy how she lived her life...these questions never came to my mind when she was still alive! Wouldn't it be nice to know the questions you want to ask a person ten years from today? ☺

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Day 83 of 365

Make a visual pun. Dead inside.

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Day 82 of 365

Invent an utensil. So this is a very handy utensil designed for everyday use. Today is #womensmarch anniversary, so this is a quick reminder: death positivity = feminist = body positivity = fighting for a good death for all people = smashing gender roles. As Sarah Chavez said: "Us morbid girls? We're going to save the world because we'll be fearless. If we aren't afraid of death, what is there left for us to be afraid of?"

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Day 81 of 365

Use erasers. I carved this in a technical eraser, thinking about my grandfather who had Altzheimer's: This is a terminal disease which in the case of my family was unsettling, baffling and we all hadn't enough knowledge about it to cope with it very well... Some days it seemed, there was a giant (and sometimes a small) eraser in my granddad's head, that deleted all the required and helpful information.

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Day 80 of 365

Try dyeing (or die trying)! Sorry, this will be the day of the puns... 😬😂 Attention! Attention! Important announcement: We are all dyeing (sooner or later)! 😱😍🎉 [watercolour on tissue] 

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Day 79 of 365

Search for litter in the street. I am spending my day at the airport due to a delayed flight and I only found this stain and turned it into a snail via smartphone... The snail symbolizes the slow and often invisible steps "forward" (what is forward?) in grief.

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Day 78 of 365

Make up a name and write a back story for a stranger. I visited a cemetery here in Madeira (of course): this is the grave of Vito Abreu Silva - he is remembered from everyone in his village as the man who always walked his dog "Pipo" along the road from his house to the churchyard, where he sat with the other elderly men to chat or more often to just sit and watch the people walking by.

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Day 77 of 365

Work with shredded paper. "What has that got to do with dying or grief?" "I don't know... Nothing... Everything!"

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Day 76 of 365

Make something you can wear on (or in?!) your ear. "If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive." (Brené Brown). 

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Day 75 of 365

Use chalk. I find it ridiculous to write "I was here" on public toilets, walls, hotel beds, etc. But it was the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about what to write on the Levada wall in Madeira. And it's funny: I never think about my own death as much as I do when I'm on vacation [I don't like being on a plane for instance 😬😌] So today I was thinking about legacy and leaving something behind for others to find when I die...you know...something that says: "I was here"...

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Day 74 of 365

Be bold: go to a restaurant and ask what they let you do. Soooooo...I am not the bold one it seems...but I went to a restaurant and made this camp fire [egg yolk, jam, Nutella, coffee on napkin]: when I worked with young people we used to do camp fires regularly and sitting around that fire always made the young people to open up. Often we talked about grieving and death. The death of the beloved hamster, but also being a witness of a violent death...this one goes out to camp fires, brave young people and social workers who sit with them!

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Day 73 of 365

Work with gravel, sand or rocks. "In grief, people reach their water table. Tears are nothing short of ground water."

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Day 72 of 365

Use your shoes. Memento mori. [pen on Converse].

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Day 71 of 365

Time travel: Make something inspired by another era. As it seems, I get to sleep tonight next to a human mummy... [I'll remove it before I leave the hotel room, I promise!]

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Day 70 of 365

Calculator operation! 1: What everyone thinks the grieving process looks like. 2: What it actually looks like.

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Day 69 of 365

Make a puzzle. In the light of current events: It's a blessing and a course.

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Day 68 of 365

Make something out of paper maché. I made a big tear with the words from Antoine de Saint-Exupery on it saying: "It is such a secret place, the land of tears." 

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Day 67 of 365

Ten-word science fiction story with illustrations. 

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Day 66 of 365

Go to the grocery store and find something new to work with. I went to the tea section and found an appropriate tea for grieving people: It's called "Inner Balance". A nice thought to sip some tea and then get your inner balance back! I tried some outer balance game with spoons, too.

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Day 65 of 365

The classic tangram shapes. Sad man walking. Find the VIDEO here:  https://www.instagram.com/p/BdiW4a7hAk2/

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Day 64 of 365

Today's theme is: It's all about me. So this is a self portrait with confetti and a crow.

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Day 63 of 365

Make a mask and wear it. An easy one for today: I printed the most famous funerary mask in the world from Tutankhamun and cut out the eyes. Done!

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Day 62 of 365

Make something with your dinner today. Once asked where I get my energy from in tough times I said: "Sitting on my red sofa in that specific spot between the second seat and the throw cushion on the right side energizes me." (And eating comfort food like pasta with pesto.)

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Day 61 of 365

Use only things you find in the bathroom. Happy Birthday to me! Here's to a new year and to old wishes that remain unfulfilled...yet! 🍾🍷🔮🎉 [toilet paper, tooth paste, nailpolish, Q-tips]

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Day 60 of 365

Document a shadow. This is a shadow of the past as Joan Baez sings: "Well, I'll be damned, here comes your ghost again...". 🎶 Every now and than I wished my younger self knew more about self-protection and setting boundaries...

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Day 59 of 365

Combine two things that generally don't go together. My grandma used to keep her yarn in perfect order. This is why this little yellow guy is slightly embarrassed about his whereabouts. 

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Day 58 of 365

As big as possible. My parents now have a huge snow owl in their backyard. Mythology knows a lot about owls and death: they are supposed to be connected to the wisdom of the soul and creatures of the world inbetween life and death...

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Day 57 of 365

Use a disposable plastic bag. Today's theme is: mourning your first car. My mum's first car was a sky-blue VW Beetle. She lost it during a car accident but it still lives on in her stories...

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Day 56 of 365

Make something heavy seem light. In grief the only way to make something heavy seem light is to wear a mask of serenity. 

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Day 55 of 365

Write an advertising jingle for something in nature. Want to hire the Professional Earth Worm Team? Now available at your local cemetery!

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Day 54 of 365

Make something with dots. Light in the dark with dots from candle wax.

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Day 53 of 365

The sense of smell. A cup of coffee was the last thing my grandma wished to drink before she died. The smell of coffee is also used as basal stimulation for dying people. It is a smell that is stored well in the human brain - plus: coffee powder absorbes objectionable odour that occurs in the dying process! ☕ 

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Day 52 of 365

Work upside down. The hourglass usually symbolises that time is running out at the end of life...

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Day 51 of 365

Make something that would not normally be considered cute or cuddly into something that is. First draft of "Kitten Coffin"! 

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Day 50 of 365

All white. Some new Christmas tree ornaments with snow flakes. I am going "home" for Christmas to visit my family who lives at the other end of Germany - the snowy part 😉. And it's funny because I never get homesick, except for when I am going home. 🤔 So the last days I am really looking forward to seeing everyone at home. 🤗

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Day 49 of 365

Quantity over quality: Work with a lot of something. I have a lot of postcards - some are over 15 years old. Some are from people that are already dead, some postcards are from people I haven't spoken in years... I think I keep the postcards as mementos... 

And there is a funny story, that some years ago, a friend stayed at my house and he was very surprised that there was a postcard from Brussels on my shelf - he couldn't remember that he himself send it to me! 

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Day 48 of 365

How tall can you make something that stands on its own? A suitcasetower. I have this thing with inheriting the suitcases of my ancestors: The red one was my great aunt's and I still take it on vacations. The little one under the red one belonged to my grandparents who took this suitcase with them when they went on their honeymoon - it was their only luggage (!!!). 

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Day 47 of 365

Work with flowers. Every Christmas my mum used to buy a bouquet of snow roses for my grandma. 

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Day 46 of 365

What can you do with faces? A face of grief. 

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Day 45 of 365

Use tape today. The human heart is a fragile thing...

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Day 44 of 365

Make something that lights up. Are you a giver or receiver of light in the dark? 

This was a not so easy idea to realise: or to be precise, it was easy in theory but not that easy putting it into praxis - a third hand would have been great. 

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Day 43 of 365

Learn something new. Ask a friend for a new technique. This was the possibility to try what my friend W. taught me a few weeks ago: painting portraits with a bundle of toothpicks! Here you can see a self portrait of the artist: This is me, hiding from the world outside and the gloom inside...

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Day 42 of 365

Make something better out of junk mail. Collage: when everything is shattered, be on the watch for love and light in the shambles.

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Day 41 of 365

Think big. Big shoeprint. 17 years ago we were searching my grandfather who didn't came back from a walk. It was snowy and cold and it became unrealistic to find him alive... However we went through wind and snow for many weekends, but it was April until someone else found his body. The current weather reminds me of that quest.

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Day 40 of 365

Make something with yarn. Little embroidery on a patch. And a little reminder in times of grief: your rage is okay.

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Day 39 of 365

Make a haiku about something you did today. Cookie galore!  

"Cookies like armies 

Perfection made by grandma

Unrivelled since then."

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Day 38 of 365

Work underwater. Acrylic colour on the bottom of a plastic can filled with water. I had to be quick: the decay came immediately.  

The theme for today is Meat Loaf's "Not a dry eye in the house. After loves curtain comes down. Listen and you'll hear the sound. Hear the sound of a heart breaking." 🎶 I so love this head line: what a dry sense of humour! When you look around you in times of grief and heartbreak and you can't find a dry eye in the house... 

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Day 37 of 365

Make something with a stapler. "Friendship, that’s like home." Kurt Tucholsky. Some of you might know friendship bracelets one exchanges with friends... I have those. But I also have a friendship stapler! 💪😎🎉 (and friendship bags, friendship pins, friendship nailpolish, friendship magnets, friendship dresses...). And often, when I feel lost and I'm not sure, where "home" is, I look at these friendship signs and I'm better.

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Day 36 of 365

Make something old look new. This is a sewing machine pedal without and with glitter...In my theory, there is a correlation between today's date (6th of December), certain birthday girls and sewing: it was my late grandmother's birthday today and she was a dressmaker. And it's the birthday of my dear friend Fr. Kirsche who is the coolest sewcialist I know. Glitter and gold and a happy birthday to you! 

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Day 35 of 365

Create instructions. How to do a cemetery stroll. In 5 steps. Try it, it's easy!

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Day 34 of 365

Work with wire. The skyline of Grief Mountain. 

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Day 33 of 365

Work with pens. Me when I'm upset.

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Day 32 of 365

Make something ephemeral. Combining art with necessity: liquid cleanser on bath tub. 😁😎 Next week it was 17 years ago that my grandfather went missing and in April it was 17 years ago that someone found his body in the forest. My family planted a tree at the place of discovery. 🌱

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Day 31 of 365

Make a path. Mourning is sometimes symbolized by a labyrinth: every time you think "now I am getting out of it" - there is a turn to get you deeper into grief. Yet it might also be a symbol of coming closer to your midst (?!).

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Day 30 of 365

Work with toys. This is a story of Rudolph going into the light (it is a picture story ;-). 

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Day 29 of 365

Make a disguise. Today: napkin doodeling, "grief comes in many disguises".

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Day 28 of 365

Use school materials. Little Laura (she's in 2nd grade) told me: "....and at Linda's funeral we had red balloons. They flew very high so Linda could see them and could catch one!" 🎈 

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Day 27 of 365

Inspired by a recent dream. Liberty or death: a flight through a tunnel with around 50 children, my brother and a guy called Tilman (hmmm...I don't know any Tilman)... Hello again, dear subconscious mind!

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Day 26 of 365

Make something portable which usually isn't. Hey Jude: "...And any time you feel the pain: Hey Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulder..."

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Day 25 of 365

Work with nature. Little flower skull.

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Day 24 of 365

Everything green. "When you work with (grieving) people, you are like a chameleon: You can easily adapt and change your colour, so that people feel understood, accepted and appreciated the way they are." - one of the best compliments I ever got. Find the video on Instagram! 

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Day 23 of 365

Something out of the recycling bin. A medieval death lantern ("lanternes des morts") out of an orange juice package and tin foil.

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Day 22 of 365

Make a bridge. Bridging feminism and death awareness is like being a Ninja Turtle driving a volkswagen beetle: it doesn't make sence to everybody straight away, but it does to me (and to a lot of other people, too!) ;-)

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Day 21 of 365

Ten word story. With illustration.

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Day 20 of 365

Something out of clay. "There is a body burried within us: The body of the person we wanted to be with the one we loved." [Barbara Pachl-Eberhardt]

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Day 19 of 365

Floating. I discussed conceptions of afterlife with a friend a few weeks ago. Is there anything at all? Would we call it heaven?... One can discuss this endless because as a matter of fact (or in this case: no fact) we don't know it. But I think: if we don't know it, we can choose what helpes us put our minds at rest: For me it is helpful to think about a nice place (maybe with a bench where you can sit and chat) rather than to think about the great void, etc.

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Day 18 of 365

Make something with what you find in a car. "Call me. Something's happened." A short message from my parents that gives me the creeps: The last time I got that message almost two years ago when my grandma died. I grabbed my satnav, got a rental car and drove all the 7 hours to my hometown. 

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Day 17 of 365

Make something that goes over an eye. Rainbow.

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Day 16 of 365

Make a unique print. Inspired by the poem "Gone from my sight" from van Dyke: I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side, spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.

I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone."

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast, hull and spar as she was when she left my side.

And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone," there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

 

And that is dying...

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Day 15 of 365

Make something with paper currency. I started folding the banknote like this and remembered the night after my grandparents died, I dreamt about them standing like shadows in front of an open door looking at me...It was like a last greeting...In these instances I am very thankful for my subconscious mind... ;-)

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Day 14 of 365

Make something microscopic. The last days I thought about these tiny moments of freedom in the grieving process: laughter without feeling guilty, enjoying the sun and good music without feeling sad, going out with friends and actually having fun, being alone and not feeling lonely...

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Day 13 of 365

Make something with tea (bags)/ inspired by tea. I remember working with people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. One woman told me that one day she got really upset and overwhelmed with her feelings at a train station and she said she couldn't understand the reaction of the policeman who found her: "I was so upset and crying and that police officer brought me a cup of tea?! What was he thinking???" - I tried to explain the making of tea as a social ritual: trying to comfort oneself and the other person when you're not really sure what else to do (and when you know you can't do anything else!).

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Day 12 of 365

Camouflage something. Done it myself too often...

Day 11 of 365

Use your nondominant hand. I listened to "Green fields of France" and "the Band played Waltzing Matilda" and the theme for today was found: Grief and war. I painted this with my left hand... I remember both my grandfathers used to paint with (and favored) their left hand (however they had to learn to write with the right hand in school). 

Next weekend I'll attend a workshop about grief and wartime children, I guess this triggered some thoughts...

Day 10 of 365

Use only water. Diving in sadness. [water on cleaning rag]. See the Making-of video on Instagram.

Day 9 of 365

Make something with your breakfast. I went a bit Wehrli ("The Art of Clean Up") this morning. But here comes my all time favourite muesli-metaphor in times of grieving: Grieving is like a muesli - lots of stuff you just eat because it's in it, some really odd looking things you're not sure they're REALLY healthy,... and you have to digg deep to maybe (and it doesn't happen every day) find a piece of chocolate or another good thing!

Day 8 of 365

Transform an old book. I learned today: I really really can't cut into a book. But I did some sewing and hung the book on my lamp... I found this old copy of "Dead Poets Society" - a story full of grief and loss and guilt and anger but also full of love and admiration and about good teaching (!) and of course poetry. And I felt I should do some standing-on-a-desk today while reciting Thoreau: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die discover that I had not lived." 

Day 7 of 365

Make a stencil. This stencil says "mourning" and is shaped like a tear. I tried it on a shirt with textile colour and on a wall with spray paint which did not turn out well. The next stencil I make will be with more space between the letters! :-)

Day 6 of 365

Make something out of the first fruit or vegetable you see in the kitchen. This is a very ecofriendly banana coffin for day 6. I am not very pleased with the outcome, but think I just go with it and take it as an exercise in unperfectionism. ;-) 

Day 5 of 365

Make something with a collection: The broken one.

Day 4 of 365

Take a 5 minute walk outside and create something with materials you found on your way. Grieving sometimes feels like walking a tightrope.

Day 3 of 365

Experiment with paper without using scissors, glue, etc. Home and heart. Out of pages retrieved from the magazine of the (German) Federal Agency for Civic Education. I thought about losing home ("Heimat" in German) and making knots to memorize everything one had to leave behind. When I made the knot I saw that it resembled a heart...

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Day 2 of 365

My favorite animal: The grey haron. I find it comforting when I see one. 

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Day 1 of 365

Head and heart.

Ehem... I got a little overwhelmed with the thought of 365 days ahead. And I did, what I always do, when I get that feeling: I made a list. But I really don´t want to be too rational during this project, instead bring rational thoughts in line with my instincts and emotions. One can draw a parallel between that and dealing with loss and grief...

I am a mourning person.

It´s the final day of my second CreativeSprint. This time I stayed relaxed and optimistic throughout the whole challenge. And this gave me the courage to do a yearlong project inspired by Noah Scalin´s book "365: A Daily Creativity Journal".
I´m going to stick to the daily inspirations in the book for a while and see where it leads me from there.

People who know me won´t be surprised when they hear about the theme I chose for my project. Recently I found a printed shirt with this sentence on it: I am a mourning person. This is so right! I am a mourning person (to be honest I think everyone is). I think I always was. I can not count the things, places, dreams and of course people that I lost in my life so far. And since I was a young girl I am interested in death and grief and their effects on people and relationships and systems. I know, this sometimes seems like a very scientific view...this is a part of my coping strategy I think: Trying to understand the incomprehensible, trying to stay in control,...all these things.

However, I always tried to not stay detached but to get closer to my own grief and to the grief of others. Two years ago I became a qualified grief counselor. I am a hospice volunteer. I made a lot of good and appreciative friends in the field of grief counselling and hospice care. It is a very supporting and caring community (like the CreativeSprinters!). I am very grateful to get to know a lot of wonderful people coping with loss. And if there is one thing I learned in recent years:  Mourning and grieving and coping with loss is an art itself and we are all raw beginners...which nicely leads me to Day 1!

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