Earlier this year at the office, out of desperation after an especially difficult meeting, I grabbed a 3"x3" piece of paper from a notepad sitting on my desk and with my mechanical pencil, quickly sketched the first face I saw: D's face grinning back at me from a photo that was pinned to my cubicle wall.

After that I Googled images of Emily Carr and quickly sketched her face on another sheet from my notepad.

Then I sketched the face of Clara Rockmore because she happened to be the Google Doodle feature that day.

Just like that, out of desperation and without much thought, I'd sketched three faces.

I pinned them to my grey cubicle wall.

The first three: Emily Carr on the left, D. in the middle and Clara Rockmore on the right.

The next day I did the same thing. And the day after that.

Then I set a secret goal: each day in the office I would sketch three more faces until I had 100 of them pinned to my grey cubicle wall.

"Sketches from the Cube" was born.

I met my goal. It was met imperfectly - meaning that on some days I forgot to sketch or simply skipped it, but goshdarnit I met it.

Here they all are: 102 faces including one contributed by a colleague. Huzzah!

What did I learn from this experiment?

I learned a lot of things and I want to share some of them here because

a) I want to show you that making art doesn't have to be complicated, and

b) that it can be done even at your day job.

Alors voici, seven things I learned by bringing a regular art practice to the cube:

1. You don't need fancy tools to make art (but too cheap isn't good either).

I used a notepad I got for free at an industry conference and a mechanical pencil to do my sketches. When my freebie notepad ran out I bought a new one, but I kept it on the cheap.

Full disclosure: that second notepad ended up being frustrating to work with, it was too cheap and the paper was thin. Because I wanted to finish my experiment using inexpensive materials I used it anyway and made a note to find something better the next time. It could have easily become a deterrent.

2. You don't need a lot of time to make art.

Most of the sketches were made during my lunch break with the odd one completed in the afternoon if I needed to recharge. Three sketches rarely took more than 20-30 minutes, if that. The most time-consuming task was figuring out which photos I wanted to use as my models that day.

3. Pinning art on your cubicle wall is an amazing conversation starter.

It was fun to see my colleagues react when they turned the corner and saw my cubicle wall full of faces.

In almost every case the first thing they'd ask is if I was the one drawing them, which often led to talking about my art and my process. Many asked if I was drawing them, my colleagues, to which I responded "No, that would be awkward." One person mentioned he might set a similar goal with a skill he wanted to enhance, my cube neighbour contributed a sketch of James Dean on a yellow Post-It note, and another colleague - a fellow creative - hugged me when she saw the completed 100!

It was a fun conversation starter and you never know where those conversations may lead.

4. Regular practice leads to progress.

When I did my sketches every day, by the fourth or fifth day I grew more and more satisfied with my results. The flip side was true too: after having skipped a few days I struggled through the process and often noticed a decline in the end results. Consistency is key.

5. That being said, there will be "off" days.

Some days were just harder than others, period. My results were downright sucky and it took four or five starts for me to produce something I felt was wall-worthy, and even then I wasn't overly happy.

The trick when that happened was to pin those suckers up, move on and pat myself on the back for having persisted.

After all, I was now three faces closer to my goal.

6. Sharing incremental results is a good motivator.

Sharing my results and goal with my colleagues was a great way to stay motivated. The progress was made visible for all to see and because I have my pride, I wanted to make sure that wall saw the full 100 faces.

Sharing photos of my results on Facebook was a good accountability tool too and as a bonus, a great way to receive encouragement from friends and family.

7. Completing 100 instances of something builds confidence.

If you compare my first sketches with later ones, there's a noticeable difference in the lines, shading and even how I used the sheet. The early sketches are light, tentative and smaller in scale, while the later ones are much darker and assertive, and often go right off the edges of the paper. As I progressed I was less afraid of going strong with the pencil and broke many bits of lead - a good indication of confidence, I'd say.

Also I now know I can draw faces. I've done 100 of them - good, bad and everything in between. Whenever I feel flustered or intimidated at the prospect of capturing someone in a portrait I can tap into that experience and move forward with confidence.

BONUS: Bringing an art practice to the office reminds you that you are more than your day job.

We are artists and creators no matter how we spend our day in that cube. Having 100 faces or [insert whatever artwork you like to create] plastered across the walls is an excellent reminder.

~~~

Are you convinced? Think you'd like to give it a shot?

Let me know in the comments.

I'm contemplating a 2nd edition of Sketches from the Cube, this time with florals. It would be lovely to have you along!

I grabbed a canvas, flipped open my Matisse book and started to play.

Note: I originally published these tips in a Scoutie Girl post early last year. I'm re-posting them here because selfishly, I need to read them again.

~~~

This weekend, after several months away, I showed up at the art table. I painted with no motive other than to put brush and colour to canvas. It felt good.

Now I'm toying with the idea of bringing back my early morning, pre-workday painting routine (eep!) and I need all the help I can get.

The tips below work, I know that from experience.

For me, for you, here are five great ways to get started with a regular creative practice:

1. Start small

Don’t go in with the pressure of making art every day forever. Treat it as an experiment. Set a goal with a finite amount of time; five or seven days in a row is a good, doable target. Then, one day at a time, meet that. When you’re done take a look at what worked, what didn’t, and set a new goal.

2. Experiment with your schedule

When I had my regular painting practice, on office days, I went to the studio first thing in the morning. On days I was at home, I was more flexible. Experiment with the best time of day for you to focus on creating, and with the length of your sessions. Notice what works and what doesn’t. Shift where you need to.

3. Prepare things ahead of time.

If you’re like me and moonlighting at an outside job (ahem), do what you can ahead of time. Prepare your painting surfaces, transfer your photos from your camera, brainstorm your writing topics for the week… That way when time is at a premium you’ll be able to make the most of it. This type of studio prep work is also great for those days when your creative mojo may be on the low side; it’s forward movement that doesn’t necessarily demand too much energy.

4. Practice self-compassion

Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day, life happens. Just go back to it the next day. If you find yourself skipping a lot of days, try shifting your time of practice or the length of your creative sessions.

5. Reap the rewards

Thanks to my regular studio practice I declared more pieces complete in 15 weeks than I did the previous two years. Every session was an opportunity to learn, practice and get better at what I love to do. Reflect on what you learned during your experiment about your craft, your process, your resistance. What small – or big – successes came about? Acknowledge and celebrate forward movement.

Tempted to try it? Let me know in the comments. Maybe we can do this together.