My annual accountability post and my word of the year

Due to both welcoming Jo, Art Journal Journey's new host, and Second on the 2nd, I had to push this post back until today. 

It's once again time for my annual accountability post.  This is the one where I see how well I did the previous year, and how well I think I might do in the coming year.

Let's begin with my word for 2019, which was

Play. Unfortunately, I was busy much of the time on the computer, and seldom got to do that.  I also had a lot of days AT&T, my internet provider, was on the fritz, causing much stress in my life.  Also, I'd been so busy meeting (often self-imposed) art commitments, I lost the joy of playing.

Therefore, my word for 2020 is

Simplify.

Simplify is a verb.  It means to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier; to diminish in scope or complexity; streamline; to make less complicated, clearer, or easier; clarify; to reduce to fundamental parts.

That's definitely what I plan to do this year.  When I thought of the word Simplify, I thought of chaos, specifically collage chaos.  That's why there is everything on this square except the kitchen sink.  And because this 6 inch (15,24 centimeter) square shows my new word for 2020, I'm also joining Jo from Let's Art Journal, our host this month at Art Journal Journey with her theme Something New.

As for accountability, let's see my accountability intentions I made on January 3, 2019 and how well I did.

1. Continue to make art that I hope some will find meaningful and show the process along the way.
Old habits die hard, so this one I tried to adhere to, but sometimes I made art late at night and the craft room was so dark, it was hard to take process shots.  Whenever I could, I showed the process.  Whether I showed the step-out photos or not, I always explained how I created each page, tag, or object.

2. Create at least one tutorial each month.
These seem to be popular, so I've continued my monthly tutorials on the second Thursday of each month, although I've been a bit slow at times, pushing to the third Thursday of the month on occasion.  During April, I created several tutorials because I was often working with materials I don't normally use.

3.  Interview one artist over the course of the year. 
Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but I actually fulfilled this one, which has been my downfall in years past.

4. Continue to dye fabric in my own different and unique way
This was another no-brainer.  I love dyeing fabric and I'm always on the lookout for new ways to dye fabric using nontraditional eco-friendly dyes.  Some of you saw how different mordants and additives changed the look of cabbage water when I dyed various fabrics, mostly cotton muslin.

5. Sort, sort, sort.  
It's an ongoing process, but the flood in my basement in 2018 caused me to get rid of a lot of wonderful old (but not priceless) books.  It also forced me to decide what I want to work with in the coming years.   I had planned to get rid of my polymer clay, but realized I had too much invested in it, so I tried to make something using polymer clay several times in 2019.

6. Create four abstracts. 
This was one I struggled with and made it a priority.  My abstracts aren't as good as some I've seen on the internet, but I made four I can loosely call abstracts.

7. Redo my gardens.   
I found a decent place for my herbs, even buying new and different herbs last spring.  I completely got rid of my veggie garden. I still need to finish my front flower bed.

That is exactly what I plan to do again this year.  I hope to hold myself accountable to these same seven goals I set in January, 2019.

1. Continue to make art that I hope some will find meaningful and show the process along the way.
I don't think I'll have any trouble living up to this one.

2. Create at least one tutorial each month.
I will continue to create a new tutorial each month on the second Thursday, although it is getting harder and harder to come up with new ideas given my limited tools and products.  Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

3.  Interview one artist over the course of the year.
Nothing like waiting till the end of December to interview my dear friend Cindy, so I'm going to be more proactive in 2020.

4. Continue to dye fabric in my own different and unique way
I keep watching for different ideas on ways to rust, but there are only so many ways you can rust fabric.  I have created a lot of resist dyed fabrics.  But I must learn different ways to use products I have on hand or ones that are easily available to me in order to come up with new ways to dye fabric.  Suggestions are always welcome in this area, too. 

5. Sort, sort, sort.  
On my list of areas to clean and declutter is the closet in my craft room.  I'm specifically looking for a punch I own, so that's high on my list of things I want to find this year.

6. Create four abstracts. 
I realize my abstracts aren't always pure abstracts, but I plan to work on a couple in my basement studio this winter.

7. Redo my front garden. 
I need to spend some quality time in my flower bed this year.  That was one area I didn't work on as I had planned.  Part of the problem was it rained nearly every day in spring, causing a mosquito outbreak, and it was unbearably hot in the summer.  Perhaps we'll have a mild and less rainy spring this year.  I also want to redo my herb garden area, although I really like where it is, now.  I just want to make it a bit "artsy," if that is possible on that slab I call a "patio" out my back door.

Of course, you'll have to wait till January, 2021 to see how well I did in 2020.  Thanks for stopping by and seeing how well, or not so well I did in 2019.  Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated, too.