Today it is the First…the First day of the First month in this new year. It always sounds so grand, the potential for hope and happiness of the year ahead hanging in the air. Many people start a new journal on this day…recording details and events, musings and observations. I have tried…but I always give up, often before the end of January…for some reason daily journaling just doesn’t click with me.
So when I saw this idea for a different kind of “journal”, it struck a chord with me. Paying attention is important to me…noticing details and making conscious decisions of what I create.
I read about this idea from Dayna Davidson Collins, who lives in Oregon and is an abstract painter. She is on Instagram, @daynalovesart, where you can read the details of the #artpunch2026 project on her December 20th post. In a nutshell - your “journal” is a compilation of squares (or circles) that you cut out one a day to represent something from your day…some small detail to be remembered. It might be a punch from a piece of junk mail, a greeting card, a piece of art, a magazine or catalog…and then you glue that one square (or circle) into your journal. Dayna is using a 2” square paper punch for her daily punches. I liked the idea of 2” square (fits with my aesthetic!) but didn’t have a paper punch that size…so I cut out a 2” square from a piece of rigid plastic, using a 2” wooden cube for a guide. I like that the plastic is somewhat transparent so I can accurately position whatever image I want to cut out.
I plan to include more than just paper as daily options…maybe fabric, maybe natural materials, maybe found objects…I’ll see how each day goes. Right now I’m planning on mounting each square on loose pages of heavyweight watercolor paper…12 squares on a page…but I’ve also thought about doing one continuous scroll using heavyweight kraft paper. Maybe I’ll group all the squares together from one week to see what story they might tell…the point is to just begin…see where it goes…no hard and fast rules.
If you decide to play along, you can share your punches and your journal on IG or Facebook using the tag #artpunch2026. And feel free to tag me on IG too - I’d love to see what others are discovering with their one-a-day punch!
and one more quick thing … I’m having a SALE ON EVERYTHING in my website shop… the sale runs until January 9, so be sure to check it out www.studiofourcorners.com/shop
