Accountabilty: how well did I do?

At the beginning of this year, I made some resolutions and spoke of the accountability that must accompany those resolutions if they are to succeed. You can see my resolutions in this post I made on January 1, 2009.

In reviewing, how well did I do?I'll let you, the reader, judge. Here are the resolutions and if I kept them or not:

Below are the resolutions in black and their outcome in green.

Make art every day and post to my art blog

I have to admit (and delighted that this was the first resolution on my blog) I was able to make and/or post something each day. Some days I worked on more than one piece, but always had something to show on my blog. Luckily, I have been able to post every day on this blog.



Complete my Seven Continent Swap (7-C) AB and post it on a blog as one complete unit when finished

Sadly, I have only created two or three spreads in this book. However, the really good thing is, I was able to get the pages and decorated spreads out of the book that was falling apart, including the tip-ins I had already glued in. Luckily, all pages, although not all together, were all intact. I also was able to use my friend Kathy's husband's drill press to "punch" the holes in the pages, after I decided that I would use a 3 ring binder for the completed pages. I had started punching the pages using my crop-a-dile hole punch, which took forever. Not sure if this is a realistic goal this year, either, but I'm sure going to try to get this book finished, now that the bugs of how to store the pages once they are finished are worked out.



Use only items I have already

Like most answers I write, there's usually a qualifier. The simple answer is the bulk of my art was made using what I already have/had. The only items I purchased this year are thread, material, and fusing, all of which were on sale. I've also purchased paint, but I figure that's something people actually have to replace once it's used. If I haven't gotten it on sale, on clearance, with a coupon, or free, I didn't buy it, including the items I bought for my new basement studio. The one splurge was whenever our We3 art group get together. I often found myself buying things I would never have considered and oftentimes never using them again. The one good thing is, I always buy these on sale or with a coupon.


Make paper every day it is nice outside

This resolution needs no qualifier. The answer is I didn't make ANY paper this year. None, nada, zip, ziltch. So this is one resolution where I failed miserably.


Begin and finish my Hands AB (and post to a blog as one complete unit when finished)

Little did I realize when I posted this resolution, or considered starting my Hands AB, that I would be offering a free beginning altered book class which would incorporate the theme Hands. If you follow my blog, you know I have been working on this book since February. I have never taken even a few days to make several spreads in a row, thus the reason the book is not yet finished. However, it won't be much longer before it's complete, since I am quickly running out of pages to alter in it.


Begin a Houses AB

Didn't happen!!! Even though I don't mind multitasking in my art, I can't seem to start another AB before one is finished. I can work on other types of projects and other people's ABs, but not two of my own ABs at once. Analyze that one, Freud!! That could be why I haven't been working in my Seven Continents AB, too.


Concentrate more on assemblages

Thanks to Seth Apter at The Altered Page, I was able to make a couple of assemblages this year. Not as many as I would like, but they were enough to allow me to know how much I prefer working with three dimensional art than flat art.


Recycle, reuse, repurpose even MORE in my art

If you look at the number of posts that use recycled materials, you will see that I have truly lived up to that resolution.


Learn no less than one new technique each month

The adage "Learn it, do it, teach it, has certainly been true this year. Not sure if I learned a new technique EACH month, but I've learned many, as can be seen in the sideboard listing called "Tutorials."


Organize my craft room and make a diagram of where everything is located, then post to my personal blog

I got rid of my personal blog, so it is no longer there. However, my basement craft room became the subject of many posts on this blog and I now have a functional, efficient, and well organized basement studio where I can work and entertain art friends.


Clean up the water damage in my basement, with the hope of getting my art room back down there, and post the progress to my personal blog

I guess the craft room I was referring to above is the one on the main floor of my house. The nice thing was, I was practically forced to rearrange and organize both rooms at the same time. So both can now be called completed resolutions. Thankfully, the insurance company helped clean up the water damage in my basement, so I had a bit of help on that front.


Devote no more than one hour a day to the computer

I knew when I wrote that resolution that it would last possibly a week. When I had my old computer and still running Win 98, it would take 5 or more hours just to post the AB lesson of the week. I also had to prepare the lesson and create art examples, keep up my blog, scan or photograph everything, so that was a really, really, really unrealistic goal. Now I have more time with a better graphics card, but I still spend a lot of time on the computer, often going to my favorite blogs and leaving messages.


Sell my first art piece

Sadly, that is also something I also haven't done. Nor have I had a show, but I do have a place lined up where I may get some exposure after I have no less than 20 pieces completed.



How did I do? Better in some areas, not so well in others. However, I hope that tomorrow's post, where I become accountable for 2010 resolutions will show how much thought has gone into each resolution and how I truly intend to be accountable to each and every one on December 31, 2010.