Looking Back Before Looking Ahead
A chickadee perched on my hand.
Aside from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, the shopping and celebrating, December seems to bring with it the need to look back on the waning year, to reflect on what has been, before looking toward the new year to come.
So it’s with this spirit that I write about my art year in 2021.
A greater commitment to my practice and myself
In 2021 I approached my art practice more seriously by setting goals and establishing a plan to achieve those goals. A weekly planner to track my progress and to record my studio time became part of my practice.
It sounds simple and tiresome but keeping track of my time and my task list helps me work. Besides, what can beat the little zing of satisfaction when an item is checked off of a to-do-list? I’ve been known to add a task or two to a to-do list after it's done just so it can be ticked off!
It would have been impossible to work without a weekly planner in my previous working life but until now I hadn’t applied that same thinking to my art life.
It’s because of this renewed interest in planning, tracking and organizing that I’m able to easily identify what I accomplished this year.
Highlights
January
The year began by committing to writing this art blog...something I could never have imagined doing, even a couple of years ago, but here we are in December and this is my 12th blog post of the year.
My blogging mandate is simply to record my journey as an artist, map my creative evolution and share my experience with others who are interested in the art making process.
I’ve enjoyed the process of translating my thoughts into words, and all of the technical aspects of posting here. For me writing this blog as just another creative endeavour.
February, March, April
I’m proud to have completed the The 100 Day Project this year and WOW was that a great experience!
I learned what resonates for me in the process of making and what it is that I like to see in my work. My project was a daily sketchbook practice in which 50 pages were completed over the course of 100 days.
You can read about my project in this blog post.
May, June
In the spring, many hours of work were devoted to updating my website, with my goal being to make it easy to navigate while making the visitor experience more engaging.
There was a lot of technical learning involved in the process but steadily my website was updated. The current version is friendlier and offers my visitors greater insight into my art and practice. But my website is always evolving. Bigger plans are in the works for next year…stay tuned.
September
As the summer turned to autumn I reconnected with an artist friend who lives and works in another city and through that friendship my work is now on offer in her gallery/shop space called Blue Thornbury. I look forward to seeing where this collaboration will lead my practice.
October
After a ten month hiatus, I resumed teaching art classes in my studio with a lovely group of women, each on their own artistic journey. It’s always fun and inspiring working with this group of talented artists and the experience of teaching also helps me to strengthen and clarify my own artistic voice.
Some final thoughts
As 2021 comes to a close I look back with satisfaction on all that was accomplished in my art practice. I’m most proud of having developed a consistent practice and that I’m taking the steps to share my work with a wider audience.
Thank you, friends, for being here with me on this journey!
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