I had put together a self-care calendar for myself in January 2022. Just one thing a day for me to do to improve my mental health. My hope at the time was that, by doing one thing, I would get motivated to do other things. I think it worked. I know I got outside a lot more that month than I normally would have and being outside always improves my mood. Here is the re-cap blog post after doing one thing a day in January 2022.
Of all the photos I have put on Pinterest, the one of my January self-care calendar has gotten the most impressions(views) and the most likes of all the photos I have posted over the years. People seemed to be looking for a way to relieve some of the SAD (seasonal affective disorder) symptoms that they are feeling in winter.
February is more of a “gearing up for spring” month. The days are slowly getting longer and you begin to dream about the snow thawing and getting the garden going. You tend to be stuck indoors because the temperatures normally plunge to -40° for two weeks in February.
I thought I would try to create a creative calendar for February which celebrates all the things that make winter in Alberta special. I chose objects that I see in winter; things that bring back childhood memories of playing in the snow or things that are just beautiful in the snowy outdoors..
Next, I made a list of 29 things (it is a leap year) that I could use as an art medium. I started to try to come up with 29 different things I could use as a canvas but got stuck after ten.
My plan is to draw, paint, sculpt or glue to create whatever the object is for the day. I might go online to find different ideas of how to represent it on paper, cardboard, canvas or wood. I will roll a 30 sided die to decide which object to create and which medium I will use.
At the end of the month, I will recap my experience. I seriously doubt that many of my creations will be great or some even recognizable. It will be about the creative experience and not about the outcome. I might not get something created every day but I will try.
So, if you draw or paint or sculpt, why not try these object prompts in February. It could be just a tiny sketch each day. Kind of like writing a journal entry to start your day. This is just a way to get your creative juices flowing and to take your mind off the negative feelings you might associate with cold dark winters.
Feel free to change the objects to suit what you see in winter and change the mediums to what you have on hand.
At the very least, if you do try to create some of the suggested objects, you are doing “something”. It is hard to motivate ourselves to do much of anything sometimes during the cold, dark Canadian winter. Sometimes, just forcing ourselves to create ONE thing, can give us ideas of other things we could create. The combination of these small things can be like little drops of water that eventually creates a mighty ocean. The creative possibilities are endless.
Perhaps I’ll try to do one thing to make our home, better, for both of us. 🤗