If you're someone who practices art regularly, you might be familiar with the term "UFO."
Sorry, X Files fans, not that kind of UFO! In this instance, we're talking about unfinished objects. You know, those projects that you lost steam on, or hit a snag, or got frustrated with... The ones that get sneakily piled up in the hidden corners of our craft spaces and studios, pushed to the bottoms of project baskets, and stashed into closets, because out of sight is out of mind. Or is it?
The truth is, these projects still hang over us, even when we tuck them away. And when we run across them, we can experience feelings of guilt or shame for leaving them unfinished - ask me how I know! - and that's not good for anyone. We want our craft to be a place of comfort, solace, even healing... Not a source of negative feelings.
If you've got a pile of projects that need some love and attention, you're not alone. Plenty of artists and crafters are in the same situation. That's why we've created UFO October! It's a month long challenge to get you organized and on track to reduce that UFO pile, with prompts for each weekday through the month that you can use as a guide for posting on social media to keep yourself accountable.
Throughout the month, we'll be releasing some videos to get you motivated and thinking about your unfinished projects and how you can approach them. Each week will have a topic or theme to work on, including setting our expectations for the month, sorting through our projects, creating space, making a plan, and, of course, the final results. The Instagram prompts will line up with the topics to keep you on track, and we even have downloadable PDF worksheets to help you make the most of the challenge!
Another great thing about this challenge is that it's happening in October. That means we get to tie up these loose ends before the end of the year, and we might even end up with some gifts that we can give for the holidays! We'll be able to kick off 2024 with a fresh start - or at least a plan, and new knowledge about ourselves for the new year.
We're going to come out of this challenge feeling so refreshed and relieved of the burden of unfinished objects without a plan. Not to mention, we'll know a little bit more about what draws us toward the projects we're working on, and what turns us off of them - knowledge that could be very useful when starting projects in the future! I'll be working along with this challenge as we go, too, so I'm looking forward to sharing the month ahead with you and getting a plan together for myself!
Will you be taking the UFO October challenge, or are you unbothered by having unfinished objects around? Or perhaps you're the elusive type of artist who only works on one project at a time? I'd love to hear all about it in the comments - let me know what you think of the challenge and why you'd like to join us (or not)!
PS - The UFO October challenge is free to join - if you'd like to take part, you can get the details here >>.
