Review of 2022 and plans for a creative 2023

I always like to do a creative review of my year. It's great to celebrate everything I've done and I loved gathering projects from around my studio to take this photo.

Check out my Instagram or FB artist page to see photos of all the projects and play I've had this year since I do give some of my creations away. What follows are my favourites in a bit more detail.

At the end of last year I was admiring the small monthly Daily Creative Practice journals I was seeing around (especially Willa's collected from 2021 HERE) and decided to make my own version.I did manage to create a book a month for the whole year. By October I was flagging creatively with doing the same format every month so joined Megan Whisner Quinlan's class Journal into your Art- it was fun to take a different approach to my November and December journals and I'm so happy I completed the year.

I love that each journal is a reflection of my month last year - the techniques from classes I was doing, the amount of creative time I had, the seasons and important events. You can see all my posts about the individual journals by clicking here. 

I decided to cover a box to house them and happily I was gifted the perfect size for a secret santa gift. Just shows you shouldn't plan too far ahead. I just cut the top flaps off, ran masking tape over the 2 raw upper edges and then went looking through my papers. As soon as I saw a leftover strip from my snippet rolls I knew that would be perfect. I added a few more centimetres of stitching and love how that looks glued to the sides.

I put a scrap of underpaper on the bottom so I could keep the details of this project (including my personalised stamp)

The inside measurements of the box is 12.5cm (a whisker deeper than the width of journals) x 13 cm across the front. The finished journals stand 18cm high.

I've done other journal projects in the past that last a whole year but I'm going to take a rest from that in the 2023. I've been really interested in Wendy Solganik's blog series about Finding your Artistic style. There have been some things that have really resonated there, the most recent being Tamara Jones : When you are taking a class and you think, “Wow, I could make a 100 of those.”  Listen to that voice!  You just found YOUR style!  Something that is part of you!  When you take many classes and keep hearing that voice with multiple different types of art, they are ALL your style. 

I felt like this with many of the book projects I made this year - this one is truly an example of my style : 

And this

And this 

And this is just the base but I adored this class and want to spend time on filling it in my holidays.

One of the things about Instagram that I love is that if I look at my page, I can see my style on display with the common colours and things I love to return to making over and over - books, including stitch and found words, paua colours, fabric and paper together, stencils. 

In my last project for 2022 which I shared here I was limited to not include as many layers and texture, but it's still a book form and it's still my colours and words. 

As I start 2023 I am continuing with Fodder School 2 but not signing up for anything else at present so I am free to try anything that feels inspiring to me as the year unfolds. The only exception is that I keep thinking it would be great to have a small stitching project to take to my Monday night quilt group (since you may have noticed I didn't do any quilting last year!). I did start a stitched roll in 2020 but it was too much for me alongside everything else that happened to me that year. I have recently seen Roxy's Journal of Stitchery for 2023 which is a themed large snippet roll called "Down the garden path". I have the base photoraphed here next to a mixed media roll I completed in 2018.

The project begins on the first Wednesday of January and there will be a new video each Wednesday from Rachel and Sarah with new prompts being announced every 2 weeks until June.  

See the project intro and gathering supplies videos on YouTube here. I'll share if this becomes a project that I love. 

You may have come across the Word of the Year concept. You can find yours with Susannah Conway's guidance free here (password delight) or through Ali Edwards who has developed a year-long course. My word since 2017 has been SHINE and I change the focus slightly each year as I use it as an acronym. 

As I continue to Shine in 2023, I am supplementing my definitions for my words of Self-care, Home, Intentional, Notice and Ease with the word Sustainable. So far it's led me to ask : Will I be able to keep up this weekly or monthly challenge or do I want more freedom? Do I need to buy that thing or do I already have something already in my cupboard that I can use or alter? I want to continue to find value in what I already have.

I'll keep sharing my main projects on this blog, and probably an end-of-month review, but please check out my Instagram or FB artist page for more regular updates of my projects in progress. What are your creative plans for 2023? I wish you creative joy and discovery in the year ahead.

Shine

I'm so glad I have an art journal with pages ready to fill because yesterday (my New Year's Day in New Zealand) I got an email from Effy Wild which included a speed painting to inspire embracing your wildness. Here's the email with the link to the painting. After a nap (stayed up til midnight - not used to it!), and a swim (my weather app told me it felt like 29 degrees celsius), I jumped into my journal. I love how her face started off looking so kind.

One of the things that attracted me to Effy's version were gorgeous silver doodles in the black spaces. I am wanting to incorporate more of Klimt's style into my work this year, and this seemed the perfect place for that. I decided to use my new stencils.

As I added all that gold and iridescent turquoise, she evolved into a celebration of my word Shine. This has been my word since 2017. In 2022 I want to Shine, to continue being intentional, with an emphasis on releasing what no longer serves me so that I can live with ease. I explained it more fully last year if you are interested in exploring my acronym focus words in more detail : Self-care, Home, Intentional, Notice, Ease.

I had no idea that I would be in my art journal so quickly into the new year. Last time I used it was early September! It's been completely unexpected and a great way to start the year given my previous post where I acknowledged that my creative time is precious and I really want it to be time that is making me feel fulfilled and is heart led. Unplanned creative joy for the win 💜 

Review of 2020 and continuing to SHINE in 2021

I've been exploring which word of the year best fits for 2021 with Susannah Conway's FREE offering. If you've been here a while, you'll know my word since 2017 has been SHINE, but in 2019 I tweaked it to focus on Ease, and last year I wanted to Shine with Intention. When I chose Intention, I knew I had been diagnosed with breast cancer although I hadn't shared it publicly. I wanted to be in control as much as possible and I was indeed intentional in the way I shared my diagnosis, asked for what I needed, and approached each step with optimism and gratitude for the successes. I spent time doing what I loved creatively, and accepted the support of others which was so generously given. 

As I look towards a new year, I want to continue being intentional, with an emphasis on releasing what no longer serves me so that I can return to living with ease. As is my habit, I've turned Shine into an acronym. It's fine with me that some intentions appear under more than one word. They are the really important ones.

S = Self-care 

Regularly spend time doing what I love : do what recharges me

Rest

Healthy eating + Gym habit = improved energy

Nourish body and soul

Explore Oracle/Tarot to strengthen my relationship with my inner self

H = Home
Rest

Reflection = improvements to habits

Light more candles

Release = clear out old belongings to create spaces that make me happy

Nourish = continue to explore new recipes
I = Intentional
Be present

Actively choose how I want to spend my time
Align my actions with my dreams
N = Notice
Embrace joy - seek it out - sit with it
Practice gratitude and love

Be present

Explore Oracle/Tarot to strengthen my relationship with my inner self 

E = Ease
A gentle approach - self-compassion
Following the path that feels good for me

Letting go of the unrealistic expectations I wouldn't hold for others

Going deeper, not wider = finding value in what I already have

2020 was a tough year for everyone. I continue to be grateful to live in New Zealand where our government moved swiftly so that we only experienced 46 days of full lockdown. I really hope the rest of the world can return to more normality as soon as possible. In my personal world, 2020 will always be about my fight with Breast Cancer. Art was a huge support. 

As I release the hard stuff of last year, I need to celebrate the main creative projects I achieved. I continued to work in my altered art journal. Begun in January 2019 I didn't expect it would take 2 years to fill but art journaling isn't all I do creatively....This is how it looked in January this year.

I filled it with lessons from Book of Days, A Year of Rumi, and Journal Jams and completed my last spread in September and the cover soon after. See all my 2020 pages in this journal HERE.

I decided to take on a Creating a book a month project. Although I didn't manage to complete every month, I am thrilled with my collection

And then I decided on a weekly project too! Journal 52 was created on a deck of jumbo playing cards including found words and stitch. Look back at the previous post for more details of this project - this is a peek at some of the cards.

I even managed to make quilts - so lucky to begin and end the year with weddings of close friends. In February

and December

Can't wait to see what 2021 has in store for us creatively. I am ready and optimistic 💜

My Word of the year, 2019 project review and 2020 Intentions

I have the habit of choosing a word of the year. The approach I like best is Susannah Conway's FREE offering. Find the link for that HERE. If you've been here a while, you'll know my word since 2017 has been SHINE, but last year I tweaked it to focus on Ease, and this year I'm going to SHINE with INTENTION.
This year I didn't need Susannah's class, the word just came. It started in October when I shared a post from Roben-Marie Smith that really struck a chord :  

That word has stuck in my mind - I want to be intentional and really examine why I'm doing things. Is my Inner Work journal practice still serving me in its current form? Am I doing things in a particular way out of habit or because I think I should? I want to be present - to be active in moving towards my dreams and goals. Are there things I do that don't serve my present desires? I focus on a word for each letter of Shine. 
In 2020 I will SHINE with INTENTION

S = Self-care 
Stitch, make Art, read, listen to music - do what recharges me
Develop relationships - support others and accept support 
Believe in myself
Share - I'm an extrovert so this also recharges me
H = Healthy
Good eating + Gym habit = Energised
Be mindful
Rest
Nurture body and Soul
I = Intentional
Regularly spend time doing what I love
Reflection = improvements to habits
Be present
Align my actions with my dreams
Using Oracle/Tarot to strengthen my Intuition and Intention
N = Notice
Embrace joy - seek it out - sit with it
Practice gratitude and love
Be mindful
E = Ease
A gentle approach - self-compassion
Following the path that feels good for me
Letting go of the unrealistic expectations I wouldn't hold for others

Making space for silence 

Rest

I had another creatively busy year in 2019. If you are interested in a broad overview of everything I did, check out my monthly reviews. 
See my 2019 art journal pages in my altered book in this Flickr set (includes links to my blog posts). I'm loving that I'm seeing my own unique creative voice emerging

and will continue to work in this journal and share as it blooms. 

Another very rewarding thing last year was teaching both art journaling and quilting. I led a neonatal quilt project at school which resulted in these wonderful donations in November.  

I am hopeful I will be able to continue with more teaching opportunities in the coming year. 
I managed 2 other quilt projects : my poppy quilt at the end of my school holidays in January

and a baby quilt for a friend in July 

While quilting is no longer one of my top joys, I do have a couple of projects in mind for the year ahead. We will see if they come to fruition....

My most enjoyable mixed media project was Klimt in the garden with Rumi

I definitely want to find another mixed media fibre art monthly project and I enjoyed the Rumi quotes so much I would like to do all the prompts again following the lessons more closely in my art journal in 2020.
And I was thrilled to include stitch in My 2019 December Daily

This journal format was so enjoyable, creating loose pages and then binding them together, and I was so inspired by this project that I am already thinking this would be fun to recreate in June - following the same prompts but with the focus on Winter and my birthday month. 
My other creative intentions for 2020 are not fully formed yet, but I've only enrolled in one online class (although I'm not ruling out others that might spark my interest later in the year) 

I'm not sure that I want to continue with my inner work journal in its current format, and I love the idea of a daily/weekly journal...still percolating ideas about that. 
And of course I've got a couple of treats for these January holidays that I purchased in the Black Friday Sales 

That's already quite a list of Intentions isn't it? It's good to dream big! I look forward to continued sharing of creative joy.

P.S. I will not be updating my Flickr account with 2020 art. You can look at past projects there including those mentioned above. I continue to be very present with current art on Instagram and my FB artist page - links in my sidebar. 

My Word for 2019 and introducing my new art journal

While I've followed the practice of choosing a word of the year for about 10 years now, I wasn't looking for a new word this year. I've had SHINE for the last 2 years and I think it's with me for life ♥ but while watching Effy Wild's first live broadcast for 2019, she mentioned the word EASE and my heart answered. This year I am looking for lightness, self-care and compassion. I want to slow down and practice gratitude for what I already have. I love Kiala Givehand's recent blogpost where she explains about a Depth year for 2019 - going Deeper, not Wider. It really resonates with me and supports my intention of inviting Ease. You can read it HERE. 
In my past practice I've focused on a word for each letter of Shine and this year I'm really excited by my change of focus words

My Word for 2019 is SHINE with a focus on EASE

S = Self-care 
Stitch and make Art - do what recharges me
Develop relationships - support others and accept support 
Believe in myself
Share - I'm an extrovert so this also recharges me
H = Healthy
Good eating + Gym habit = Energised
Be mindful
Rest
Reflection = improvements to habits
Nurture body and Soul
I = Inner Work
Affirmations
Self-care and self-compassion
Continue to explore my intuition and inner wisdom via Tarot and Oracle cards
Reflection 
N = Notice
Embrace joy - seek it out - sit with it
Practice gratitude and love
Be mindful
E = Ease
A gentle approach - self-compassion
Following the path that feels good for me
Letting go of the unrealistic expectations I wouldn't hold for others

Making space for silence 

Rest
Going deeper, not wider - finding value in what I already have 

And the day after I'd decided all that, Victoria Erickson (huge fan here) posted this poem ♥

I began the year with gratitude and ease - read about my family holiday in Hawaii HERE. Now I'm ready to begin 2019 with a new art journal. I loved working in my previous altered book so much, I decided to go with another recycled old book. Trying to use what I already have, I looked in my stash and had 2 choices 

I love the cover design of the Girls' Treasury without alteration but it's just too small for me this year. The book that I've chosen is still quite a bit smaller than my previous journal but it's good to be stretched in different ways, and if I do as many stitching projects as I intend to this year, it will be great to spend less time filling smaller pages in my art journal! 

The new pages measure 7 1/4" x 9 3/4" (18.5cm x 24.5cm) and they are old-fashioned thick ♥

Given my previous journal ended up bulging, I've already taken out some signatures. There's a mix of glue and stitched signatures. In places, I clipped the stitching and lifted a folio of 3 folded sheets out before taping over the seam left

I have pulled out 6 signatures of 3 folios each = a total of 72 pages. In my book I still have 82 pages so I've removed about half. 

That stack of signatures is ready to be turned into another journal in the future ♥

I have left the damaged top of the spine at this stage (you can see the exposed glued signatures) in case I need to split the spine and rebind as I did in my last journal. 

I usually save doing my cover art until I complete the journal. See details of my previous journal cover completed HERE. 

My new journal will contain my art from Effy's Book of Days 2019 (which is a collaborative this year) and may contain some interpretations also from A Year of Rumi, although I have a different project in mind for that class : Klimt in the Garden with Rumi. Despite my initial trepidation about beginning a new journal of such different dimensions, after preparing it all I couldn't wait to get started. 

My first art journal spread is inspired by the Opening Ceremonies lesson from Effy Wild focused on our word of the year. This post would be huge if I went on to share the full story of my first spread so check back for that tomorrow...