Last year's resolutions and how I did

I didn't do too well with my predictions/resolutions from last year, so I'm not sure I should make any for 2012. My word for 2011 was BELIEVE, and I believe I should not have made so many predictions for 2011. I show them below in BLUE.


1. This year I am going to sell my first work of art. It's not just a goal, it's a statement! And it's number 1 because I believe it will happen.

Well, that didn't happen. I keep saying I'm going to sell something, but I end up giving all my inventory away to friends.


2. Revamp my blog posts, making even more days special, similar to Silent Sunday, Tea Tuesday, and Whats On Your Worktable Wednesday (WOYWW).

That didn't happen either, but I DO post tutorials (when I have them) on either Monday, Thursday, or Saturday. I also post minutia on those days, since I have four days I set aside for special or dedicated blog posts.

Sunday: Silent Sunday
Monday: open
Tuesday: Tea Tuesday at Kimmie's
Wednesday: WOYWW at Julia's
Thursday: open
Friday: Inspiration Avenue challenges (the day I chose for this)
Saturday: open


3. Interview one artist a month.

I didn't interview a single person in 2011, but I plan to do so in 2012


4. Continue visiting the Xerox site (link on my sidebar under "Eye candy and Freebies") at least once a week, and sending postcard support to our troops until they are safely home out of harm's way. See this post for the specifics.

This is one thing I continued through September of this year. After that, I knew troops would be coming home from Iraq, so I stopped visiting the site.


5. Interact more with my blog readers and followers.

I try to do that, especially with all the challenges I partake in. The fact that I spend the majority of my time on the internet reading others' blogs, shows my interest is less about my own art, and more about others' art.


6. Continue to work on my Hands AB and Altered Recipe AB.

I'm not sure I've even picked up my Hands AB in 2011, and my Altered Recipes are out of undecorated pages. Little did I realize in late 2010 that my focus would change so drastically to include fabric, surface designs, and wood, and less on altered books.


7. Offer a few meaningful swaps, not just on ABC, but through my blog, too.

That didn't happen unless you count the round robins I participated in.


8. Create at least one tutorial each month.

I stayed true to that one. The list of my tutorials continues to grow as I learn more surface design techniques.


9. Once a month, revisit some techniques I've not played with for quite awhile.

I was not very faithful to that either, focusing more on learning new techniques instead.


10. Create one assemblage each month.

When I wrote that on Jan 1, 2011, little did I know that my basement, where I have dedicated to create my assemblages, would flood, the stairs to the basement would collapse, and all my materials would have to be packed away at some off-site storage facility. I was without any assemblage materials for over nine months, and it took another month or so, just to straighten things out after the boxes that housed my materials were returned to me.


And finally:
11. Make meaningful art, not just something I throw on my blog because I need a post for that day.

Not sure I've done that, either, but everything I make is meaningful to me. And of course, I try to show the process I go through as I make each piece.

So how did I do? Not well at all. I could sit and justify all day long, but the truth is, I spent more time reading other blogs in 2011 than I spent making art. And with limited art supplies, I shifted my art focus to include fabric, which put a strain on my nearly non-existent art budget.

So what are my predictions for 2012? Here are the things I plan to do:

1. Continue to make meaningful art and show the process along the way.

2. Create at least one tutorial each month.

3. Interview one artist a month.

4. Interact with my blog readers and followers (just as soon as I have a working computer, that is).

5. Create one assemblage each month.


That should be enough because I'm no longer going to promise to sell something this year. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it just means one of my art friends received a piece of art originally designated as inventory, or a scrappy journal I hoped to sell.

Once again, I'm choosing a word for 2012. This year I hope to inspire. Inspire both my blog readers and followers, as well as myself. This year, I'm hoping the focus will be on how well I can inspire people with my art, my tutorials, and my blog posts.

Now I'm inspired to get a working computer, but since this is a scheduled post, I will be watching the Rose Bowl Parade about the time this post hits blogland! How much more inspiration do you need than the Rose Bowl Parade? Well, maybe a trip to the computer stores when they open on the 3rd!

Sorry there are no photos, but I hope you saw my year in review here, which has loads of photos, along with my take on blogging. Once again, I hope you are having a super New Year!