[Today’s featured artwork for Day 47 of the 365 Days Project is by Serena Kovalosky.]
#47 – Evolution is incremental and often goes unnoticed until enough change has been built up.
February 16, 2022
I have updated this 2012 essay on “artistic evolution” to point out an evolution that has been taking place in real time since the beginning of the 365 Days Project. The changes have been so incremental, most of you probably never noticed that as the series progressed I was constantly tweaking and improving each post. The article of Day 365 was a huge step from the short post I wrote on Day 1.
I began the series on January 1, 2012 with a simple premise: to write down all the positive attributes of an artistic practice and explore how artists can, in turn, positively influence the world. I compiled a list of affirmations and wrote an essay on each one, an essay a day.
Looking back over the past 46 posts, I can see some of the shifts that have already taken place as the project continues to evolve.
Day 1 is the shortest post. Very simple. The format began with the affirmation and the day # in bold followed by a shallow dive into the concept. Two images from a featured artist’s work provide the visuals.
Day 2: I started including a quote from a famous artist to support the narrative.
Day 3: I revised the format a little and moved the [Today’s featured artwork is by…] at the top of the page to better highlight the featured artist and the link to their website.
Day 4: I shortened the opening paragraph that precedes the affirmation to just a sentence or two. Honing the message!
Day 6: The art quote at the end of the essay is no longer in paragraph form, but formatted so it stands out from the rest of the narrative.
As the days progressed, some of the essays began to get longer, taking a slightly deeper dive into the subject.
Day 24: I started compiling several quotes from famous artists at the end of the essays to support the narrative and provide deeper insights.
Day 37: I reformatted the post, moving the Descriptions of the Images in the Post from the very bottom to just under the second artwork image where it makes more sense and provides a better flow. I moved the Subscribe button to the bottom which provides a better resolution to the post. I’m liking how this looks now.
By Day 46, the essays have become much longer.
Today, Day 47, is another turning point for the project. After 47 days of writing solely from my perspective, I started incorporating quotes from the artists I featured in each essay.
So starting tomorrow, Day 48, you’ll see a subtle shift and the beginning of an interview style that will continue to the end of the project.
These changes might seem small and unimportant when taken individually, but when you get to the last article on Day 365 and compare it with the first post on Day 1, you will realize that the robust format and content didn’t happen on the first try. It took three hundred and sixty-five essays over the course of a year. Because it’s incremental, it often goes unnoticed by the viewer as well as the artist until you wonder, “How did they do that?” and realize that nothing comes out fully formed.
I hope you are enjoying this process as much as I have enjoyed revisiting it and gaining new insights into the art of creation.
Thank you for joining me on this journey!
To follow the Evolution of a work of art, check out these writings from my studio journal: Creative Journey of a Riverbowl
The 365 Days Project
In 2012, Serena Kovalosky committed to writing an article a day for 365 days as an exploration into the lives of artists and the value of creative thinking in our society.
Experience the full evolution of the project! Click below to read the entire collection of articles.
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