A clean slate, a fresh start. Time for looking back and planning ahead. Last year, my main goal was about balancing all aspects of my life, and that was surely a challenge this year, considering my husband's travel schedule, the girls attending camp this summer, and our new puppy! Since I can't separate out my art from all other facets of my life, I have started including all of it in my blog posts and added the subtitle "The collage of my life: a work in progress." I intend to keep balance in mind permanently as I continue on this year.
My other vague goals were "to sketch more and play more (both with my family and with art materials) ... to blog more consistently and to put comments on other artists' blogs, to begin building an art network for myself and to continue to create and submit and be open to any possibilities..." I did blog more consistently, comment on others' blogs more often and attend local meetings in order to be part of a community of other artists. I think that goal worked, considering the group show at the library in March and my participation in Fiberart for a Cause and Art Every Day Month, as well as the charm swap through Cloth Paper Scissors magazine.
So on those goals, I guess I did fairly well.
I did play a bit more, although I noticed that I often call it "experimenting," as you can see by a few blog entries with that name (I think "experimenting" is a left brain activity; play is more right brain, no?). I played (or experimented) with the paper cloth and what I could make out of it, like swap-art, bookmarks and coasters. But I think I need to make play a more prominent part of the process; I need to have more fun and not be so concerned with the outcome. I tend to be extremely product-driven and goal-oriented, so this year I am going to take a step back and try to focus on enjoying the creative process and not be in such a hurry to see the completed creation.
To that end, I have just started working through a book called Living Out Loud by Keri Smith. I've been looking for a creative book, but not necessarily one that tells how creative others are, or teaches a certain creative technique. This book has prompts and activities that are open-ended and designed to get you to play, without being concerned with the product. I think it is exactly what I've been looking for and I hope it helps to loosen me up a bit, get my creative juices flowing, and helps me to find my own style. I may sign up for some local art workshops too, just for the fun of it, and to widen my horizons. I am contemplating taking part in some other projects as well, but my formal goal for the year will be to PLAY!
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