The Year Finds Its Footing

2014 is off to a pretty good start. I've done my first ACEO of the year (something I intend to do a lot more often this year), the handsome fellow above. Watercolor pencils and ink on watercolor paper. I love the very soft gray I used for his feathers, and his eye turned out gorgeously. The green makes me rather long for spring, although I really am doing my best to enjoy winter and the various pleasures and coziness thereof.

First salad of the year, our favorite local little hippie grocery store's house salad mix, with added cucumber and red bell pepper and organic goddess dressing. Yum! The way I devoured this thing, I suspect my body is absolutely craving colorful vegetables and more of them. I must remember to oblige it. 

Speaking of the pleasures of the wintry season, my first vanilla steamer of the year, something that Mr B enjoys when he's had enough coffee for the day (crazy words, I know: enough coffee, ha!) and now I do too. Seriously, I don't get why vanilla is supposed to be synonymous with boring. It is rich and delicious. 

First bike rides of the year! We've been having a rare dry spell, and even on days like today where it was gray and drizzly, there was just enough time where it wasn't raining for me to dash out and put in a few miles without feeling like I was riding in purgatory. Yes, I will melt if I get rained on; I am, in fact, that darned sweet.

One of my goals this year is to ride (or walk) every day, and I'm going to keep track of my bike mileage. So far, I'm up to just over 36 miles, which does not make for a bad little daily average.

A Clean New Page For 2014

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

—Mark Twain

2014: Looking Ahead

With 2013 just about gone (and us hoping that it doesn't let the door hit it on the ass on the way out), I have some big goals for 2014.

At the end of 2014, I want to be able to look at myself and feel happy about my health. I want to look around the house and see things that I like, nicely arranged and organized. I want my house to feel like home, comfortable and attractive. I don't want to be as worried about finances as I am today.

Maybe most of all, I want to feel like my artwork is continuing to go in the right direction.

I'm making some personal resolutions: the usual ones, to lose some weight and be healthier, to declutter more and be better organized, to make more art. Backing them up, I've set some concrete goals and broken them down into steps and set up systems to keep track of progress on all my goals. 

For example, one step to make home more serene and organized is to discard 3500 things over the course of the year. That's about ten items a day. I'm going to keep monthly track of how many items have gone into the discard pile. 

My art and crafty goals are to make about 10% of my income for the year from art sales, to do a minimum of six sales or shows (I did three this year), to get to and maintain one hundred listings in my Etsy shop, to make one crafty item per week (if it's a big project, it can span a few weeks, but progress has to be made each week), and to do a minimum of one blog post each week.

I want to make a lot of art and to keep my inner artist happy and healthy. 

On the whole, life shows definite signs of being good now, and I am happy and excited for the year ahead.

2013: Looking Back

Oh, 2013...I'm so glad you're almost over.

I thought a lot about art. I got over a bad case of creative block and started making art again.

I waited patiently (sort of) for winter to be over. 

Spring came around at last.

There were delicious salads.

I said goodbye to my lovely aunt.

 

As she approached the end of her life, she was grace, strength and love personified.

I was never so grateful to turn towards the last leg of the trip home as I was coming home, after she was gone.

I looked for beauty everywhere to help remind myself that life is beautiful even when it's hard.

Fall came. Waking up on the first of September felt like we had "made it" in some undefinable way. October was gorgeous. 

I had many a cup of coffee.

The first frosts sparkled.

We spent Christmas in Seattle with Bear's family. I caught a glimpse of the Olympics, briefly unveiled by the clouds, and it felt like a good omen for us for the coming year. 

Toby is curled up next to me, purring.

Bear and Pyewackett, deeply contented. 

Looking for Light

This time of year, the scant hours of daylight start to get to me. It's not that I don't love the beauty of winter twilight, or enjoy the coziness of the season, because I do, but here we are, in the darkest days of the year, and nothing makes me feel better than days like yesterday when there were a few hours of sunshine and I could get out on my bike and ride for a while in the crisp air and abundant light. I am essentially a creature of sunlight.

I find myself creating illustrations that evoke light in the darkness. They make a light in my inner darkness as I continue to mourn the loss of my aunt. She loved light at Christmastime, too. Her Christmas village was a thing of legend. Someday, when we have room (and space where the cats won't find it a temptation), I'm going to have my own village set up, with twinkling lights and tiny trees.

I shudder to think of what Tobycat, who looks so innocent here, would do to a tiny village if he had the chance. My sweet silly ginger boy! I do love him. Even if he IS the reason we can't have nice things.