How can we recognize and value the artistic work that people do on the side? How can we appreciate their contributions to our personal growth? How can we find creative outlets outside of work to stay calm and grounded? With so many avenues to explore and learn, how do creative individuals stay focused and engaged?

If you're looking for a way to exercise your creativity outside of work, consider starting a creative side project. I try to take on one each year. Not only is it a fun way to explore new ideas and techniques, but it can also provide a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Here are some of the side projects I've done over the past 10 years.

After moving to New York, I found it difficult to secure a job due to visa issues. To remain calm and productive, I decided to combine my love for trends and t-shirts and created a unique side project. For 100 days, I brainstormed based on the trending tweet of the day and turned it into a t-shirt design. This resulted in a collection of 100 t-shirts, each with a unique design inspired by a trending topic. At the end of the project, I conducted a poll to select the top designs and print them. This project not only allowed me to add a cool new project to my portfolio, but it also provided a tangible way to document and remember the different moments of that year.

While working in film and theatre production in New York, I had the opportunity to collaborate on a play with filmmaker and production designer Robert Eggers. During the preparation for the show, he taught me many nuanced aspects of wardrobe design. Since the play was a musical about the lives of amputees, I was responsible for creating props and assisting with wardrobe design. It was an unforgettable experience, and the opening night was particularly memorable. It's amazing how working on creative side projects can lead to unexpected opportunities and experiences.

In collaboration with Belen Tenorio, I worked on an impactful art project for the Grouphug art exhibition called "Urban Perception: Trigger in a Neighborhood of Strangers". Our goal was to explore the correlation between real and perceived risk. We sought to investigate the conditioned reaction of people in diverse urban spaces when triggered by the sound of a gunshot. The project was an exploration of the human condition in urban spaces and challenged viewers to consider their own perceptions of safety and fear. The result was a thought-provoking register of portraits that revealed their fear-related physical features.

In 2015, I participated in the second year of the Grouphug art exhibition where the topic was nutrition. My proposal was Robin Food, a fake character that would disperse absurd nutritional and health advice to mock the rise of social media health gurus. The advice was dispersed from a gumball machine in the form of fortune cookie-style wisdom that was inside capsules alongside a wearable pin. The idea behind the project was to provoke thought about how people consume, interpret, and act on nutritional information, as well as to encourage people to question the sources of that information.

I worked on a short indie film titled "Midnight" with award-winning director and cinematographer Carlos Cardona. I was the Production Designer for this drama thriller about a German musician who lives alone in an old home in the Catskills. He's working on his magnum opus when someone from his past shows up unexpectedly. The set and setting were beautiful, and the actors and crew were amazing. We had an incredible time working on this project, and I'm super proud of the results. It was an unforgettable experience and an excellent example of the kind of creative side project that I love to pursue.

The first time I participated in a Michael Bierut Yale-style 100-day creative challenge was in 2018, when I took on the topic of line portraits. The only rule was to create a portrait every day for 100 days. I had some portraiture experience from the many figure drawing classes I had taken at the School of Visual Arts in New York, but this project made me see portraits in a whole new light. I was happy to succeed at my first attempt and had an incredible time working on this project as well as seeing the progression of the work and the collection and overall results. Since then, I've tried to participate almost every year and challenge myself to explore new forms of expression.

Once I moved to Los Angeles, I decided to exercise my creativity, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills by founding and building an iOS app focused on women's wellness. The app leveraged cycle tracking to help users plan high-energy and high-focus times within their cycle. I built a diverse team, and we worked closely to create a beautiful MVP.

Despite it being my first time building an app, we were highlighted in the App Store and selected for the Apple Entrepreneur Camp in Cupertino, where we had the opportunity to improve our product with the team at Apple. I was thrilled to be on a mission to create inclusive tools and raise awareness about the importance of investing in women's health research. I'm proud of the impact we were able to have and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such an innovative project.

In 2020, I attempted a creative challenge where I selected random photos from Unsplash and intervened in creative ways. I had taken the idea from some of the original line portraits that had been successful by mixing mediums with photography. My goal was to take one photo per day and add a creative element to it. Unfortunately, I only made it to day 40 before running out of steam. The pandemic had taken a toll on my creative energy, and it felt like the project had gone as far as it was meant to go. Nonetheless, I'm proud of the results of the challenge and enjoyed the creative interventions that I was able to make on the photos.

In looking to heal my relationship with work, I undertook a 100-day project in which I wrote stories and memories from my past experiences at different jobs. Some of the story topics included commuting, food, people, and more. This was my first time taking on a writing journey with a more private nature. After completing the project, I edited the stories down to my favorite thirty-something. Now, I would like to expand upon it by creating really cool illustrations that match the theme. Although I have never shared it publicly, my goal is to create a book that combines the stories and illustrations to share with others who may be able to relate to or find humor in the experiences.

In 2022, I decided to jump on the NFT craze and spend 100 days creating a generative art project called Cinerama Dog. My inspiration came when I found out that the Cinerama Theater in Los Angeles, an architectural gem and iconic piece for the city, was bankrupt after the pandemic. I wanted to use my project to raise funds and awareness for the historic preservation of this and other historic landmarks.

I partnered with my friend and colleague Galen Weber to guide me through the technical aspects. I spent hours upon hours drawing hundreds of features, backgrounds, and variations using Procreate on my iPad Pro. The process of creating generative NFTs was fascinating, and I learned a ton. The results were some super cool time-lapse GIFs.

This year, I'm working on a new creative side project: 100 Days of My Life in Objects. I was inspired by a New York Times piece titled "Life in Objects" and by the fact that I've moved so many times in my life that I started to wonder about the permanence of the objects in my life. I started digging into podcasts and books like "The Art of Collecting" and why people decide to surround themselves with the objects and things that they do.

For the first 50 days, I embarked on a Sotheby's course on The Art of Collecting. I purchased a cyclorama backdrop and made a list of my most significant objects and have been photographing them alongside little notes that attach them to a word that explains the meaning the object has for me. One of my goals with this project is to do it again in 5 or 10 years and see how many of the present objects remain in my life.

This project has been incredibly meaningful and has allowed me to reflect on my life and the objects that have shaped it. I'm excited to continue to see where it takes me next!

Every year for the past decade, I've had the wonderful opportunity to participate as a temporary staff at the Frieze Art Fair in both New York and Los Angeles. This experience has been incredibly meaningful to me, as it has allowed me to stay connected to my roots in fine arts and to witness firsthand the latest and greatest in contemporary art. I'm grateful for the experiences and connections that I've made through this involvement.