Twenty days into this year’s 100 day art journal challenge, I finally feel the rhythm settling in.
If you’re new here, I’m working inside a handmade accordion-style mixed media artist book instead of creating one finished piece per day. The focus this year is simple: show up, work intuitively, and allow the pages to build slowly over time.
This post is a visual milestone — a look at Days 1–20 inside my unfolding book, along with a few reflections from the process.
If you’d like to see how this book was constructed, you can read the full story and watch the process video here:
The First 20 Days: What This Phase Taught Me
When I started this 100 day project, I told myself there would be no pressure to finish a page every day.
That promise changed everything.
Some days I added only a few marks.
Some days I layered paint.
Some days I simply prepared backgrounds.
Working inside this accordion artist book has made the process fluid. When one page is wet, I move to another. When a layer needs drying time, I shift again.
This is what intuitive art journal practice looks like in real time — responsive, imperfect, alive.
A Note on Process Over Perfection
In these first 20 days, something important became clear:
Consistency feels different when you remove expectation.
Instead of asking, “Is this good?”
I’m asking, “Did I show up?”
That shift has made this creative daily art practice sustainable.
And sustainable practice is what will carry me through 100 days.
🌿 Free Art Journaling Class for Beginners
In this class you learn how to use found papers & discarded boxes, and turn them into beautiful art journals that feels inviting to work in.
This beginner-friendly art journaling class is not about making something perfect. It’s about gathering, assembling, and allowing meaning to emerge—both on the page and within ourselves.
✨ Visual Journal: Days 1–10 ✨
Video: Flip Through
What I’m Noticing About My 100 Day Project Progress
Looking at these first 20 pages together, I notice:
My marks are becoming freer.
I’m hesitating less.
Background layers are richer.
I’m trusting my instinct faster.
This is the real reward of a 100 day art journal challenge — not the finished pages, but the internal shift.
The book itself is slowly thickening. The layers are adding weight. The structure feels more alive.
That’s the beauty of working inside a contained mixed media artist book — you can physically see growth accumulating.
What Happens Next?
I’ll continue working across these pages until Day 40, and then I’ll share the next milestone.
There will likely be a shift in energy. A new rhythm. Maybe even resistance.
That’s part of the process.
The goal is not to avoid those moments — it’s to keep showing up.
Final Thoughts
Twenty days in, I don’t have 20 finished masterpieces.
What I have is:
20 days of consistency
20 days of presence
20 days of practice
And that feels far more valuable.
If you’re doing a 100 day art journal challenge, I’d love to know:
How are your first days going?
Are you focusing on perfection — or practice?
Tell me in the comments below.
