Hi, this is Janice McDonald.

 

One year during the holidays I was given a small page-a-day diary. Somehow April 1 arrived and I noticed the little book shoved to the back of my desk, still empty. I thought it might be an interesting place to work with some of the small scraps of paper that accumulate in my studio — I work with recycled bits of everyday printed materials, including fragments of junk mail and household packaging. 

 

I didn’t think of it as an ongoing project when I began (in 2019), however I pretty immediately realized that working in the diary on a daily basis was fun and transformational so I've continued ever since.

 

The collages aren’t planned in advance — I just find an interesting paper fragment, glue it down, and then build a composition by adding one piece at a time. I often challenge myself to begin with an odd shape or color. Some compositions are better than others — I’ve realized that it’s the continuing exploration that is most important. Sometimes the least visually successful attempts actually teach me more than the collages that come together easily.

 

I usually spent 15-30 minutes working on a collage during a simple, wrapping-up-the-day process. My criteria is to work on each dated page sometime during that actual day. This daily practice has become a personal ritual of sorts, a quiet and meditative time. 

 

Each day when I’m done, I take a photo and post the composition to my Instagram story. What you see here is a projection of all 365 collages made in 2024 and nearby all the completed diaries are also on display.

 

This ongoing practice provides a real sense of creative momentum that carries over into other projects in the studio. I can see a personal symbology and new visual language developing over time.

 

I’m also regularly reminded, by the growing girth of the diary over the course of each year, that all the little efforts we make in life really do add up when repeated over time. 

 

Follow me on Instagram @janicemcdonaldart to view the most recent entries in the 2025 diary.

 

Thanks for listening!