Update 2025 – A Thousand in One
Since the completion of A Thousand Days of Ensō I have wanted to revisit this project in a way that allows all the ensō to be viewed in a single image. Tiled images, spaced compilations, and collages have all fallen short until I was inspired to attempt layering the ensō to coax out the singular path I traced again and again. The result is a near perfect circle that is both solid and ethereal, fading to a central point of light that invites you forward through time and space as you follow my journey towards “the light at the end of the tunnel”.
A Thousand Days of Ensō – 2017-2019
What is A Thousand Days of Ensō?
A Thousand Days of Ensō is an extended art project involving painting the ensō every day for 1,000 days after taking a photo of myself. I’m doing this as a way of chronicling my life over the next three years while challenging myself to do art every day. The ensō is said to be representative of the individual at the moment of painting, so by juxtaposing an ensō with a photograph each day I hope to create an internal and external portrait of this time frame. As the project goes on I will also share various essays about my transition, health, what I learn about sumi painting, thoughts, and other subjects that come up over the thousand days.
Why are you doing this? Why a thousand days?
Over the last few years I have been struggling with health problems that have made it difficult to do many of the things important to me, including art. Because of this I have found myself rather lost artistically and wanted to create a project that would combine physical, emotional, and artistic healing that spanned a set length of time as a personal challenge to get me back into what I love doing most. My goal is to explore the changes of the next three years through the ensō, meditation, and daily notes.
When/Where?
I will paint the ensō every day starting April 1, 2017, and post the ensō and associated photo on Instagram, Patreon, and here. Other posts will be more random, but some aside from the monthly blog post will likely become scheduled depending on feedback from patrons and followers.
get me back into what I love doing most. My goal is to explore the changes of the next three years through the ensō, meditation, and daily notes.
The Ensō
