Reflections on my Art Year
December is a contemplative month.
As the cold weather settles in and the skies open up to blanket us in snow, I’m snug inside reflecting on the year soon to be over before beginning to dream about the new year and plan for things to come. It’s in this reflective state of mind that I write about my art year 2022.
Intentions
My word of the year was abundance, the intention being to make more art, either finished or not and to work more quickly in the studio.
Using more of my intuitive sense rather than my critical thinking self was the goal. I did make more work than the previous year, despite long absences from my studio.
In all, 18 paintings were completed, as were 50 mini paintings on cards and 25 paper and thread experimental pieces for my 100 Day Project. There are an additional 9 unfinished paintings still waiting for me in the studio.
In January I wrote about my intention to work more collage material into my mixed media paintings. I’m sorry to admit that this didn't happen…I lost sight of this intention and I’m not sure why.
Winter
Website
The rebuild of my website occupied much of my time in the early part of the year. I made the switch from Squarespace version 7.0 to 7.1 and with this update ecommerce was added to my site.
This was a huge undertaking, involving cutting and pasting content from the old site to the new site in some areas (blog posts), and a total rebuild of content in other areas (most of the rest).
Navigating the techy aspect of putting together a website as a showcase for my art and figuring out how the pages of the site all fit together (and work!) was a fun and creative challenge.
Newsletter
For a long time I resisted sending out an email newsletter about my art practice, wondering if anyone would be interested enough to sign up to receive it and then actually read it.
But with the help and encouragement from the great community of artists at the Connected Artist Club, my first email newsletter was sent in January to my handful of subscribers. Over the course of the year, my subscriber list has steadily grown and I’ve sent out 10 Studio Journal newsletters to date.
Much like writing this blog, the process of writing the newsletter is just another creative outlet. Because my preference is to read short email newsletters from others, I keep mine relatively brief. The Studio Journal is filled with pictures and interesting information about studio happenings and other creative musings.
Spring
100 Days…or not
Taking part in The 100 Day Project this year was an entirely different experience than participating in the same project in 2021, both in the commitment to, and in the enjoyment of, my project.
From the beginning, I felt I was doing this project, not out of a sense of adventure or inquisitiveness but rather a sense of obligation to work on something that I said I would.
I was trying to “make art” rather than just exploring my chosen materials with a sense of curiosity.
I was uninspired and the project remains unfinished.
Whether to participate in the 100 Day Project this year or not is still an open questions. Should I decide to, I need to design a project that better captures my imagination to be a creative catalyst for my art practice.
Summer
Painting wall
When attending art school we students were required to work on large drawings and paintings. The idea was that the large scale would get the whole body involved in making art. Over the intervening years I’ve gotten away from working large, in favour of working on a smaller, more intimate scale.
I’ve wanted to return to larger work for some time now but working on an easel was never really comfortable to me.
The painting wall in action.
My painting panels seemed never to be at the right height and the paintings in progress fell from the easel too often while I was working on them.
This summer, my builder friend helped me to design, and built a painting wall at one end of my studio.
Having this new wall, which can accommodate much larger panels and canvases, has allowed me to work on multiple larger panels at once. I’m now able to work with greater ease on these larger supports.
Autumn
Demo day
Much of the autumn was spent in finishing new small works and minis paintings on cards, in preparation for a day of art making demonstration at Nancy Johns Gallery.
Being the feature artist that day in October was my opportunity to connect directly with other local artists and art lovers in the gallery space.
This experience reminded me of the joy of talking about art and my process with others. And how I’ve missed it.
Final thoughts
As 2022 winds down I can’t help but to look back with satisfaction on all that been accomplished in my art practice. My work has gotten stronger and I’ve made more connections with others who love art and the process of making it.
I lost track of some of my intentions that I had set for my work back in January. I’ll keep this in mind as my attention turns to planning for the new year ahead.
Once again, thank you, friends, for being here with me on this journey!
Add some colour to your inbox.The Studio Journal
A THOUGHTFULLY CRAFTED COLLECTION of STUDIO NEWS, CREATIVE INSIGHTS and INTERESTING TIDBITS JUST for FUN!