New Year's Evolutions 2020

So, the earth has orbited another graceful ellipse around our sun, and once again I take this time to take stock of the year that was, and set intentions for the year to come.

But of course, this year has been like no other. It will go down in history as one of the craziest, horriblest, nastiest no-good rotten years. 

ornament by www.plumdandy.org

We have all lost something this year; loved ones, income, opportunities, travel plans, the simple joy of congregating, or the privilege of having faith in our institutions and compatriots.

Through this difficult time, I have made a practice of counting my blessings each day. Sure, my art career took a hit. But I have plenty, I am surrounded by loving family and friends, I am safe and healthy. I am indeed one of the lucky ones. For this I am grateful. 

The Year of the Pivot

Boy howdy, we all had to pivot, and my artistic path was no exception. For some time now, I've been cruising along, avoiding change. Then Covid hit and I was forced into it. Here is the list of all the new things I did this year:

1. I invested in an art business class by Alyson Stanfield at www.artbizsuccess.com Through working with her I have rebranded my website, had more fun with the language I use when talking about my work, upped my social media use, and, as you may have noticed, wrote more blogposts!

2. I taught myself a whole new medium, printmaking. Again, as the economy has contracted, my hope is to have a wider array of price points to appeal to a larger audience.

3. I have set up my first online store so I can sell some of my work directly to you.

4. I had a major exhibition “Story Without a Plot” at RiverSea Gallery. Along with the regular preparations for a show, I took a crash course in online communications, producing a live video recording of the opening and an online artist talk. These videos are preserved on my blog here.

5. In response to Black Lives Matter, I made a commitment with a few friends to learn more about racism, and how I unwittingly contribute to white supremacy by my own lack of understanding. As you can imagine, this work has been unpleasant and difficult, but I am so glad I have the opportunity to learn and to hopefully be part of the solution in my own small way.

Perseverance

If there is anything my new-found middle-aged wisdom has taught me, it is that without perseverance success is impossible. I have committed time, money and effort into my career with no immediate results. However I've got the feeling I am headed in the right direction, and I am truly excited by what lies ahead!

I would like to thank all of you out there who have supported me over the years, and I dearly hope that my efforts have brought at least a weensy bit of levity and inspiration to you.

I am sending you all warm thoughts and hopes of good luck and a Happier New Year.


PS. Alyson sent along a wonderful article by Rosie Spinks: 2020 Will Never End Unless You Grieve It. It helped me have more awareness about the collective emotions we have about the year that has been. I hope it does the same for you. Love to you and yours.