While I am once again away from my regular studio for two months, this time for good reasons, I am working on another daily project.

Before leaving home I used a circle punch to make sixty circles with a diameter of 3.5 inches from red, grey, black, and white card stock with the idea I would use these as the basis for the intended daily project. I didn’t plan anything beyond using these materials and left things to chance.

On the first day of the project I decided to draw intricate leafy vines in white gel pen on black paper and carried through with this same motif over the following three days to create a set of four. And that is the idea I am going to stick with for the rest of the series – coming up with a design to explore four times using the different coloured paper and gel pens.

I like this idea because it allows me to explore an idea more thoroughly by doing variations of four. It also means I only have to come up with fifteen different ideas rather than sixty unique designs to fill all of the circles.

The series is working well so far. I am pleased with the first three sets of four. It’s amazing how quickly the work piles up with a daily project.

I wrapped up my daily project, 31 Days of Scribbles, a few days early in March because we were preparing to move back into our apartment this past weekend. I knew I would not have time or space to work on the last few, so I made the effort to create two each day while I still had time. I mostly used handmade paper with metallic screen printed patterns, which was lovely and spectacular to work with as a material.

I tried to explore different configurations of overlapping lines and overall shapes of the scribbles while not making them too complicated to cut in a short amount of time. It was a good learning experience to work with irregular shapes, as well as paper that is much more fibrous than materials I typically use in my work.

I have a few more sheets of handmade paper similar to those I used in the scribble series. I would really like to use them to create large work making use of the entire piece of paper for a single design. I am excited to get to work on that once I am settled back in my studio.

The photo below was taken on Friday and shows all of the scribbles piled together that were created to date by that afternoon. It’s the most satisfying part of working on a daily project – seeing the accumulation of finished pieces in a short amount of time.

I managed to use up one of the handmade pieces of paper I bought last month in Seattle, which was my favourite screen printed with multicoloured polka dots. I must track down more of this paper at some point!

I’ve been trying to explore different line shapes and forms as I go. I want the pieces to seem similar but not the same. Sometimes I sketch out an idea first and other times I start directly on the paper I intend to cut. Swirly looping lines seem to be easier to make work as a paper cut than jagged lines.

This week I want to lay out what I’ve created so far for this series, and think more seriously about their potential as an installation. I’m just over the halfway point now so I feel there is enough work to get a sense of the larger series.

I decided to continue working on a daily project after the conclusion of 28 Days of Hearts in February. This time the theme is scribbles, and it’s called 31 Days of Scribbles. I was intending to also explore squiggles and knots for variety but I am sticking with scribbles because they are fascinating and work well as paper cut pieces.

These are the first eight of the series. I’m using the project as an opportunity to try different papers than I normally use in my work. The white pieces are Strathmore parchment paper, and the polka dot ones are cut from a screen printed handmade Himalayan paper. The grey paper with red and blue is one of the pieces of Canson Mi-teints I used for a layering of block printed patterns earlier this year.

My process for these has been to quickly sketch out a scribble making sure to overlap the lines so it holds together as a cut piece. I try to keep them spontaneous with an eye to structure. They’re steadily becoming more complex and intricate as the days go by. My intention is to eventually turn a grouping of these into an installation.

I would really like to create large pieces exploring this idea, but it will have to wait until I return to a proper studio space.

Along with the arrival of the end of February came the conclusion to my daily project of 28 Days of Hearts. It was the best thing I could have done for myself after the unexpected stress and displacement I experienced in January. I loved having this small creative touchstone to look forward to and work on each day. I am pleased with all of the work I made for this, and will definitely explore some of the designs I came up with in larger finished work.

Here are all 28 Hearts together in a slide show I shared yesterday on Instagram.

A post shared by Rachael Ashe (@rachael_ashe) on Mar 1, 2018 at 8:30am PST

I immediately decided to begin a new daily project to carry me through the month of March. Check out the first piece in the series on Instagram.

To get myself back on track after the displacement from my studio last month, I decided to work on a daily project in February. I was feeling both drained and depressed, and decided what I needed was a little more love. So I went wth the plan to create one heart a day for the month of February.

I alternate each day between drawing with gel pens, and cutting the designs by hand while coming up with something new to do within the same heart shape every day. I have been enjoying the heck out of this project. It has lifted my spirits and fuelled my creativity in a HUGE way. I reached the half-way point of the project on Valentine’s Day this week, and so here are the first fourteen hearts I’ve made so far.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

I hope you had a happy love day!