The Inner Circle Project

It Started With One Hundred Circles.

In winter of 2021, during the ongoing Covid pandemic, I joined thousands of artists all over the world to participate in The 100 Day Project. I’d never finished any kind of challenge that required a daily effort, but I set out on this one anyway, wondering if it was possible to explore and exploit one single shape, my favorite shape, the circle.

Not only was it possible, but it was creatively exciting to do it and these circles rolled out day after day, even amid a move from Yardley to our new home in Hellertown, PA. I was ignited by challenging myself to narrow parameters and fascinated by how many different ways one could paint a circle within a square. They became a powerful, visual source of delight and comfort, as well as metaphors for the kind of outer and inner places that make me feel safe, at home and authentically myself.

The other part of this project was born nearly ten years ago, when I started thinking about something I called a “nightstand book.” In my mind, I imagined a small, colorful book with short, thoughtful intentions to read just before bed or upon waking. This idea bounced around in my head until 2021, when it collided with the 100 mixed media circles I created while participating in The 100 Day Project, and The Inner Circle deck was born. This printing is a “Collector’s Run,” a limited edition of just 1,000 decks with a beautiful gold foiled box.

The Inner Circle is a completely independent publishing project which means that everything from inception to design to production was conceived, directed and funded by me, Dar James.