100 Days Project: Alisha Henry
100 Days Project is a simple creativity project that requires one thing, every day for 100 days.
This year’s 100 Days Project is well underway, featuring its usual exciting, and unexpectedly wide range of creative endeavours. This year close to 700 participants have signed up in New Zealand. We grabbed a few moments with designer, Alisha Henry, to find out how her 100 Days Project was coming along:
Hi Alisha, you’ve signed up for this year’s 100 Days Project. Is this the first time you’ve been involved?
This is the third time I’ve participated in the 100 Days Project; I also signed up in 2014 and 2016.
What inspired you to sign up for 2017?
Last year I’d only made it up to day 80-something, so I was really determined to have another go. I really got a lot of enjoyment out of creating something new everyday, and wanted to push my creative boundaries a bit with this years’ project. That’s what really inspired me 🙂
Can you tell us a little bit about what you’re doing each day?
This year I decided to create a whole zine a day. They’re all completely different and range in size, shape, content, material, etc. Some are made digitally and then printed, some are all hand-done. Some feature poetry and writing, some illustration, some photography. Some are serious and some are light-hearted. The possibilities are endless with zines.
How did you come up with the idea for this project?
I’d already been making a few zines for personal projects, and I thought it would be a real challenge to see if I could make a whole one a day. I initially thought I was over-reaching a bit, but we’re a month in now and I’m really happy with the outcomes so far.
Do you have a favourite to date?
In terms of content, I’m quite fond of the humorous ones; “Nicely Drawn Potatoes”, “The Little POP! Zine of Swears”, and “My boyfriend won’t let me make a zine about his (glorious) butt so here’s a zine about his pussy (cat) instead” are among those. In terms of the design and final outcome, I really like “After Hour”, “Anxiety”, and “Overlay”.
Do you see this benefitting your professional role, and can you explain how.
I’m freelancing at the moment, so hopefully it helps me to land a full time job! (Kidding). I really think this project is helping me come out of my comfort zone in terms of design decisions and content creation. I’ve made a rule for myself to never redo a zine if I make a mistake, so they feel really raw and personal, and I think that process in itself is really helping me grow as a designer. I feel like if I can make a whole zine in a day I can do anything!
What are some of the challenges and also some of the highlights for you?
One of the main challenges is finding the motivation to sit down and commit to an idea. It’s easy once I get going, but that initial little hurdle is what gets me. Also printing issues! The highlights are seeing peoples’ reactions to what I’m creating. My Mum loves them! And there are a few that I might expand into a series because of the interest. I’ve had a few people comment that I’m inspiring them to create zines, and honestly if my work can inspire others to create, or make people smile, or if my zines on mental health in particular can help people get through the day, then I’m doing the job right.
Do you plan to take part in the exhibition at the end?
I hope so! I have this image in my head of a full ‘100 Days of Zines’ collection, so I’m definitely aiming to be able showcase them all at the exhibition.
Where can our DA readers see more from you?
All of my zines for this project can be viewed here:
https://100daysproject.co.nz/projects/100-Days-2017/alisha-henry-52
https://www.instagram.com/zine100days/
And I can generally be found on most social media, and my website:
https://www.facebook.com/abmhdsgn/
https://twitter.com/abmhdsgn
https://www.instagram.com/abmhdsgn/
http://www.alishahenry.com/
Thanks for your time, Alisha, and good luck with the rest of the project!
Visit the 100 Days Project at: 100daysproject.co.nz to check on Alisha’s progress, along with all the other 2017 participants!
