{"id":7442,"date":"2012-01-06T07:57:37","date_gmt":"2012-01-06T11:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?p=7442"},"modified":"2012-01-06T07:57:37","modified_gmt":"2012-01-06T11:57:37","slug":"developing-personal-projects-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/7442\/developing-personal-projects-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing Personal Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nPersonal Projects<\/strong>
\nDefining a project is one of the single best ways to develop your body of work. When you define a project you focus, set goals, set quotas, set timelines, create a useful structure for your images, collect accompanying materials, and polish the presentation of your efforts so that they will be well received.
\nFocusing your efforts into a project will help you produce a useful product. A project gives your work a definite, presentable structure. A finished project makes work more useful and accessible. Once your project is done, your work will have a significantly greater likelihood of seeing the light of day. Who knows, public acclaim may follow. Come what may, your satisfaction is guaranteed.
\nCreate a mission and set goals.<\/strong>
\nDefine the purpose of your project and what you\u2019d like to achieve through it. Many times, people adopt the mission and goals of others without first checking if those goals are personally beneficial. Some have professional aspirations, others don\u2019t. Your goals will help you determine projects and timelines that are appropriate for you. The few moments (or hours) you spend clarifying why you\u2019re doing what you\u2019re doing and what you\u2019d like to see come of it will save you hours, months, even years by ensuring that you\u2019re going in the right direction \u2013 a direction of your own choosing. When you take control of your personal projects, you also take control of your life.
\nMake a plan to achieve your goals.<\/strong>
\nA plan will help make your project a reality. A simple action plan is all you need to get started. Action plans define the steps that are required to achieve completion. Action plans should be clear and practical. Action plans should be flexible; odds are, things will not go exactly according to plan and you\u2019ll need to modify your plan to accommodate surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant. Reality happens. Grace happens too. Having defined what you need to accomplish, your unconscious will go to work on the task, generating many ideas. You\u2019ll find yourself ready to make the most of unexpected opportunities as they arise.
\nSet a timeline.<\/strong>
\nA timeline can be used to combat procrastination and\/or distraction and encourage you to produce work. Set realistic timelines. Unrealistic timelines simply produce frustration.
\nIdentify where and when you\u2019ll need and who will help you.<\/strong>
\nWhile many artists define and produce projects themselves, some artists engage a curator, gallery director, publisher, editor, agent, writer, or designer to help them realize a project, in part or in whole. Finding the right collaborator(s) can improve any project. Above all, seek feedback. Seek feedback from people with diverse perspectives whose opinions you value and trust. One thing you can always use, that you can never provide for yourself, is an outside perspective. People with different perspectives may identify ways to improve, expand, or extend the reach of your project. Remember, feedback is food for thought, not gospel. In the end, all final decisions are your decisions; it\u2019s your project.
\nStay focused and follow through.<\/strong>
\nYou can work on multiple projects at a time. Be careful that you don\u2019t get scattered. Starting projects is easy. Finishing them is hard. Make sure you\u2019re working on the best project. List all your possible projects and identify the ones that are most important and the ones that are easiest to finish. If you\u2019re lucky enough that the same project fits both criteria, focus all of your efforts there. Otherwise, you\u2019ll have to strike a balance between what\u2019s practical and what\u2019s most important to you. Only you can decide this and the balance is likely to shift as time passes and circumstances develop. Look for a common theme among projects. Often your projects will be related. Focus your efforts in related areas. It\u2019s very likely those areas have greater relevance for you than others. Your work will be perceived as stronger and more cohesive if your projects relate to one another, implying evolution.
\nWhat\u2019s your project?<\/strong>
\nA project is a wonderful thing. It gives direction. It brings clarity. It increases productivity. It produces tangible results. It brings personal growth. It presents your work in the very best light. You and your work deserve this. Pick your projects well. They define not only how other people see you but also what you become. You are what you do. Take the first step today; make a commitment to create a personal project. (Write something right now \u2013 put your words somewhere where you\u2019ll constantly be reminded of them and can continue refining them!)
\nPlan to plan.<\/strong>
\nMany people refuse to plan, especially in creative fields where discovery is desired. They say, \u201cFailing to plan is planning to fail.\u201d Everyone needs a plan. Often, when you start a project, knowing you need to learn more as you go forward, you feel like you don\u2019t have enough of the pieces to make a plan or you don\u2019t have all of the pieces to make a complete plan. My recommendation is to start with a rough plan and continue to refine it as you go.
\nStay flexible.<\/strong>
\nThe best plans aren\u2019t written in stone. The best plans remain flexible. Flexible plans allow you to make course corrections along the way as you learn more about your subject, your medium, yourself, and your audience. Expect to update your plan. I find that, if I don\u2019t update my plan during the development of a project, this a clear indicator that I haven\u2019t found the insight(s) necessary to complete it. I expect to be changed, for the better, by the projects I engage in. I expect to grow.
\nIt helps to have a mission.<\/strong>
\nYou have so many options before you, and so many more will soon present themselves to you, that you\u2019ll find it challenging to choose which project(s) to move forward on or which path(s) to choose during project development. Defining a mission for your creative efforts in general will help ensure that you stay on track.
\nBe prepared to be surprised.<\/strong>
\nYou don\u2019t have to know all the answers before you begin to work. You just have to know the most important questions. Creating is a matter of solving mysteries, of finding answers. You don\u2019t have to solve a mystery completely; you just have to find a few answers that you can stand by. If you\u2019re lucky, you\u2019ll find new questions and new mysteries along the way.
\nFind your groove. Find your message.<\/strong>
\nDoing things consciously, repeatedly, and consistently brings mastery. Repeat your successes \u2026 and find meaningful variations on them. When you do this you give your work a theme and style, which communicate a message. When does a groove become a rut? Don\u2019t worry about the rut too soon, most people don\u2019t stick with one thing long enough to find a groove. They go off road, traveling anywhere and everywhere, by any and all means, and ultimately don\u2019t end up anywhere in particular, much less a place to return to, a place they can call their own.
\nPast projects lead to new projects.<\/strong>
\nOften the seeds of future work lie in present work. Themes that were unclear or latent, at the beginning of a personal project, once developed, lead to new lines of inquiry and more work. A creative life is never truly over. The best creative lives evolve; growing deeper, more complex and more sophisticated.
\nPrepare to make your work effective.<\/strong>
\nEven the best images will go unnoticed if they\u2019re not presented and promoted properly. If you\u2019ve spent a significant amount of time and resources to develop a personal project, you own it to yourself to see it presented well. This may be as simple as presenting your images well to yourself or as complex as promoting a publication and or exhibit, physically and\/or virtually.
\nMake visible touchstones to guide your progress.<\/strong>
\nIf you\u2019ve got a personal project you want to complete, make a visible touchstone and keep it in one or more places where you can see it frequently. By doing this, you\u2019ll be directing your conscious mind to focus on it and suggesting to your unconscious mind that this is a matter of importance \u2013 both will start to work on the challenge, even when you\u2019re unaware of it. You will literally be sleeping on it. Many of the best ideas come during this period of gestation and incubation.
\nProjects take time.<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s unlikely that you\u2019ll be able to finish a project in a day. Projects can take weeks, months, or even years to complete. Some projects are ongoing and never end, producing many milestones along the way (publications, exhibitions, commissions, etc). Some projects lie dormant for a period of time and then suddenly come to life again. Projects have a life of their own. Personal projects require commitment, but the depth of your commitment will be reflected in both you and your work and in the achievements you make with it.
\nRead more and see specific examples on scottkelby.com.<\/a>
\nRead more in my free creativity ebooks.<\/a>
\nDiscover and develop your personal projects in my digital photography workshops.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Personal Projects Defining a project is one of the single best ways to develop your body of work. When you define a project you focus, set goals, set quotas, set timelines, create a useful structure for your images, collect accompanying materials, and polish the presentation…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5,269],"tags":[2713,2308,2192],"post_folder":[],"yoast_head":"\nDeveloping Personal Projects - John Paul Caponigro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/7442\/developing-personal-projects-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Developing Personal Projects - John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Personal Projects Defining a project is one of the single best ways to develop your body of work. 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