Welcome 2017

I went back to my Welcome 2016 post to see what goals I made last year that I may have accomplished or not. If you're interested in the whole post, click that link...the goals are down toward the bottom, if you're the scrolling type. (Hey, no judgement, I like that scrolling action, too.)

In this post, I'm going to do the same type of thing. I'm going to set my goals for this year and reflect on anything I might have learned this past year. I know some of it is the same as last year! But this year, I'm ahead of the game and thinking about this stuff a month earlier. I wonder if that will mean I'll get more stuff accomplished!

Goals accomplished in 2016:
1. Inspiration Wednesday Journal Completed! It was completed in good time and before the start of the next year. All those posts are labeled with Inspiration Wednesday so if you click that label over at the right, they'll all come up. Overall, I had a good time with it. But as with all art journals I have completed so far, I never like it all. I've got some ugly mixed in there and it will stay there. Just as I've got some great stuff in there and it will stay there. That is how I approach art journaling: keep it all because it's a snapshot of a moment in time.

2. Art Journal Adventure Completed!  This was just completed early this year with the same caveat as above...a bit of good, meh, and ugly. But I can honestly say my favorite page is in this journal. I'm hoping for more of THAT this year.

3. Color Palette Journal still underway. I have not worked in this journal in quite some time. I have several ideas for palettes laid out but have not done them. I think I got wrapped up in keeping up with the two above journals that I couldn't find time to work in this one. It may also be that this one was going to be fundamentally different in technique as I decided to use less paints and more "scrapbook" type things. I'm calling this one a FAIL as the goal of starting this journal was to look at that Pinterest board and utilize it for inspiration. That really didn't happen.

4. Designing Calender Pages is progressing.  I do have some of these pages done but I don't share them here. Perhaps when I get them done and I'm happy with them. I am making some but my focus for them has shifted over the year. I started thinking they'd be very representative of the "season" or "holiday". But I changed my mind and starting doing pages that just feel like that month in color or shape. I haven't decided whether the ones I already had finished will make the cut. So a FAIL in that I didn't get it done but it is a work in progress and I'm ok with that.

5. Design a Divination Deck.  Did you read #4? Ditto here. My major challenge here is that I'm changing my mind a lot. I like to have things "themed" rather than just a random assortment of artwork. This may be my stumbling block. So yea, it's a small FAIL.

6. Make more altered books...um, big FAIL. Didn't make a one in 2016. Ugh.

I also accomplished:
1. A couple winter/Christmas canvas'.

2. A load of Halloween projects to keep this blog very active for the month of October. (Despite the loss of my cat-friend, Aussie, in that month, too.) I was quite proud of another Poe canvas called, "Black Cat", which pairs quite well with "Raven" from 2015. Even my mom, who isn't much into Halloween, liked that canvas and allowed me to display it all month in our living room.

What I learned in 2016:

1. Distress inks and it's color palette are my favorite. I dissed the Distress markers last year and vowed to use them up and not replace them. I may be changing my mind. After having purchased and used the Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers, I was still going back to the Distress Markers for the colors. The Zig I had purchased were bright and bold and I found myself wanting the paler, grungier colors of the Distress palette. Whether I will replace the Distress markers as they "go up", I'm not sure. It's the color palette I like and I can color with the ink pads as well as a marker.

2. I learned a lot about color this year. Not just that I think of colors in terms of the Distress palette but how certain colors layer over each other and mix together. I am feeling quite confident in my color instincts. I have also become obsessed with making swatches of all of my colorants. (How bad is it? I even swatched out a box of crayola crayons. No kidding.)

3. I get great enjoyment from Halloween projects. The 3-D pieces that I completed this year were along this theme and I had a fantastic time making them. I LOVED it.

4. The most important thing I learned this year was that creativity comes from action. The less time I had to play around in my basement with art journaling, the less ideas I had for any projects I wanted to complete. When I had a rare two days in a row to create, I found that on the second day, my energy levels were up and I got a lot accomplished. I needed to start something, anything, just to get my juices flowing. Each subsequent project was more satisfying and seemed "better" to me. Creativity comes from motion, from play, and from giving yourself the time to let that happen.

Goals for 2017:

1. Work more in the Color Palette Journal. What the heck, maybe this year!

2. Make altered books!  What the heck, maybe this year!

3. Make Halloween projects whenever I want!  Why stick to October? I'm going to start earlier this year. I think I started a month ahead last year. I may just do them whenever I want and save them for October.

4. Finish Calender and Divination Cards pages.  Hopefully, I'll have a finished project for both this year. These may help with the next goal, too.

5. Get the Etsy shop back up and running. I had a shop a while ago but let it fall away. Now that I cam taking photos of just about everything I create, I might as well post them for sale. I have a horrible time selling anything at craft fairs as I don't have the time or the support. For me, it's hard to set up a table in an outdoor venue as I have no help to put up a tent. So the Etsy shop may be a way to sell some cards and canvas' to support my art habit. This also means I will be investing in a "business" which brings the decision as to whether to "brand" myself differently. My challenge here will be to just make a decision and stick with it.


Well, I wonder if any of these things will get done this year. I'm hopeful. I should be working a bit less so I'll have some time to devote to these goals.
-Wy