Time to Reflect on...

What's Next...2010 (I will pronounce it "twenty-ten" as opposed to what I've heard others say "two-thousand and ten" ...that's just too long). So let me have my cup of coffee and think about this.

Are goals in order for this decade? Last year my goals were simple...more studio time (check!), get my work into galleries (check!), and license my work (still on the to-do list).

I am still keeping this simple list, but will work at it more aggressively. I now have a schedule of exhibits to submit work to on a regular basis, more gallery connections to pursue, including my own solo show in September 2010 at Galatea in the South End (check!), and a refined list of art shows to apply to, as opposed to art & craft shows. As for licensing, still a vague concept, but I have friends already doing so whose brains I will begin to pick.

Simple goals really, but lots of tasks to work at one at a time. Starting...NOW!

It's such a strange time of year, when some things are ending and others just beginning. Last night marked the end of Boston Handmade's one month holiday gallery in Downtown Crossing. It was so much fun, and a fitting end to a year in which my main goal was to become involved with other local artists, and get my work out in front of people. I'm so thankful to have joined Boston Handmade and the Salem Arts Association, and for the opportunities that presented themselves in 2008.

So now it's on to new goals for 2009. There are several juried art shows/festivals locally that I will apply to for the first time, and I plan on marketing myself online and with printed materials in a more frequent, consistent manner. But the three main goals I have for myself this year are to:
1. Work 5 days a week in the studio
2. See my work in three new galleries
3. License one or more of my designs

Are goals 2 and 3 at odds with each other? I don't know the answer to that yet. But I'm excited about new opportunities ahead, even during an economy that seems to be going further and further down the drain. The way I see it though, is that just being there is half the battle, and I'm there.

New Year's Art Resolutions

One look at this mess and I know I have some New Year's Resolutions to make.
1. Clean the studio. Organize. Use the cabinets and drawers I have. Use the wallboard for inspiration, which is what it was intended for. Clean up after myself (isn't that what I tell the kids all the time?)
2. Join some local arts associations. There are arts associations in all the towns and cities around me, which I've researched, and one seems more fitting to my style. So my goal is to join it, and apply to other local groups. My hope is that by doing so I will "get myself out there" both in terms of meeting other artists, and finding places to sell my work, other than online.
3. Make art every day - for a series or collection. Whether it's working on a digital collection for blank greeting cards, or textured or painted mixed media collages, I want to make pieces that work together. I've been pretty sporadic and inconsistent in the things I've done (I think because I like trying so many different techniques), but it's time to pull it all together.

These may seem pretty generic, but I have more specific goals within each larger one. I'm excited to see where the year takes me!