The New Year means making plans, new goals and looking back
on how far you have come from the previous year. In the past, the last part
usually makes me frustrated to revisit where I have been stuck in cycles of
negative thinking on what I haven’t done well enough, and that has resulted in
some fairly self destructive actions. While there isn’t anything I can do to completely
undo that damage, except thank the friends and family who continue to be
supportive of my pursuit of art. My Resolution
for this year is to stop being self destructive and channel that energy more
productively, so here is my plan.
Teaching
I have been blessed to have a place to teach at in Brea BeadWorks for all the wonderful people I have met there. Coming up with new
projects every quarter gives me an excuse to try out different techniques I
wouldn’t ordinarily take time to try myself. As mental/visual inspiration for projects
his year, I am putting a list of my students above my desk because they are the
reason I teach. Schedule 1 Project day every quarter with my friend and fellow
instructor, as 2 heads are better than one for motivation and hashing things
out!
4PAM – 4 Projects a month
In order to feed the creative beast of teaching projects, joining
the 4 Projects A Month (4PAM) group on Flikr will help me make time for my own “pet
projects.” After talking with Michael Sturlin last summer, I realize I haven’t
taken the time to understand and explore an artistic body of work. There are techniques that I have taught and
want to revisit, which is my focus for January.
I have had good feedback working with the Creative ArtsGroup gallery and their art shows last year. I hope to have distinct art jewelry pieces for
them this year, instead of a collection of shiny random things.
Online life
Blogging at least once a week for 4PAM is my goal to get
comfortable with writing and promoting my art by “putting myself out there with
my slutty skirt on” as a friend had so cheerfully put it! ;)
Ok, time to go clay as I do need something for this week's project!
thank you so much for sharing this Michelle. what resonates with me most here personally is what your friend Michael David Sturlin said about the importance of taking the time to explore an artistic body of work. i am working on that too, with much confusion and overwhelming time constraints!
ReplyDeleteyour art is just precious; i can't wait to see how it develops in the coming year!
You're welcome :) Michael David Sturlin definitely has a lot of good advice for artists. Being disciplined & scheduling time to explore is challenging sometimes. I love the automatons you've been doing and can't wait to see what you come with this year too!
ReplyDeleteall the best Michelle!! its tough to discipline oneself to 'work everyday'..joining projects on flickr last year really helped me get a fair bit done...i wont say 'lots'..so thats my determination for this year ; )
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you growing your art too Pallavi! I am determined to get more consistent with sitting down and working on project this year.
ReplyDeleteWould you like to discuss the tool designs for your art? Call me at 760-613-3337 or we can talk about it in class.
ReplyDeleteTrent