Show Up and Deliver Every Day- Exploring the 100 Day Project w/ Sylvie Abecassis
One of the most inspiring things about Two Hands Paperie is the people who work in the shop and the creative energy they bring through the doors to share with all who enter. Meet Sylvie Abecassis- artist, designer, Two Hands Paperie team member, and dedicated 100 Day Project participant.
What is the 100 Day Project you ask? A global community of creative folks (open to anyone and everyone) who commit to a self designed project for 100 days (even 5 minutes a day counts!) and share their progress on Instagram using #the100dayproject hashtag. This year, Feb 13-May 23, 2022, marks Sylvie's 8th year participating and we're excited to share her creative journey and a few tips if you plan to take up the challenge now or in the future.What's your creative background? I was born in Paris, France and spent the early part of my childhood there. We then relocated to Montreal. I also spent time living in Sydney, Australia. All of these places have been a powerful influence on me and my work. I have a degree in design from the University of Maryland and prior to that I attended The Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC. I’ve worked as an art director, graphic designer and illustrator for many years and I still freelance. Some of theprinciples underpinning my work — shape, color, form, relevance/meaning, repetition, texture and emotive impact — are a consequence of my experiences, training and environment. All these things have helped to shape my creations and to determine the way my works materialize.
Which medium(s) do you work with? Because my graphic design work is digital and presented in the printed form, I enjoy working in 3D for my fine artwork. I love experimenting with multiple media including paper, clay and precious metal clay. I am fascinated by dioramas and miniatures — a lot of my work therefore involves layering in multiple dimensions to create my tiny worlds.
How and when did you start participating in the 100 Day Project? I learned about the 100 Day Project on Instagram (@dothe100dayproject) in 2015 and I have been an active participant in the project ever since.
Tell us about your previous 100 Day projects. Wow, when I think about it, there are so many themes over the years. These include:
1) 2015: Food Art (#100daysoffoodart) — The first year I kept it simple. I made fun digital food illustrations and small 3D ceramic food pieces.
2) 2016: Matchbox Dioramas (#100matchboxcurios) — I especially like this one. I incorporated many of my favorite elements/features – paper art, ceramics, and other media – into dioramas constructed within matchboxes.
4) 2018: Champagne cap dioramas (#100dioramadroplets) — This year was again about repurposing and embellishment. I used the metal domes from inside champagne corks as the base for tiny dioramas.
6) 2020: Quaranteenietown (#100tinystayhomedioramas) — Here’s where things took a turn, at least in part in response to the emergence of COVID and lockdown. For the first time I prepared 99/100 separate pieces that ultimately comprised one larger piece. It was a timely evolution because the small pieces – each a building – are a part of a village. Some of the homes – gnome homes – are in the shape of mushrooms.
How has your participation in the 100 Day Project changed or informed your artistic practice? The 100 Day Project compels me to define a theme and motivates me to show up and deliver every day. The 100-day objective definitely gets my creative juices flowing and inspires new ideas and directions for my art.
What advice do you have for people thinking about taking on this challenge?
DO IT, but don’t over think it. Just sit down, even if it’s just for 10 minutes, and produce something. I recommend starting small, or if you want to work on a larger piece, simply commit to working on a defined part every day, even if it is only for a few minutes. I often need to remind myself that there are no set rules for this project, I can make up my own. (It’s on my own terms!) For example, it doesn’t have to be 100 consecutive days and my project can incorporate more
than one theme. There is a lot of helpful information at The100DayProject.org put
together by Lindsay Jean Thompson.
Do you have any additional tips for staying accountable and on track? Sometimes things outside of your control make it hard to work on your project on a given day. Don’t stress about it, just continue the next day or whenever you can. Sharing my project on Instagram (@sabeca16) every day has been very helpful, even if I don’t love what I made that day. It’s important to work consistently and in a way that feels appropriate. It’s also a good idea to create a unique hashtag for your project so that you can refer to it easily and so that people can find it all in one place... your own virtual gallery.
What's Sylvie's theme for 2022? A ceramic and mixed media tiny circus! You can follow her progress on Instagram with the hashtag #welcometomytinycircus and of course you can learn more about Sylvie on her website: www.sylvieabecassis.com
Bio
Sylvie Abecassis was born in Paris, France and has lived in Montreal, Washington DC and Sydney, Australia. Sylvie now resides in Denver, Colorado. She studied at the Corcoran School of Art, The Maryland College of Art and Design, and Maryland University from where she received her degree in Design. Her love for Clay began in 2008 when she started to use clay as the primary medium for her 3 dimensional pieces but she also enjoys working in paper and mixed media. She is a professional graphic artist/illustrator and a mixed media artist who creates jewelry and sculpture. Much of her work is inspired by a fascination with dioramas and while many of her pieces are clay, she sometimes incorporates objects and curios into her creations transforming them into meaningful pieces of art. Sylvie has won awards in juried art exhibits and her work is found in numerous collections.