Sunday, December 31, 2006

Resolutions

It's the last day of the year today - and a good time to review the artwork I've done over the year that I've posted in here.
(...much internal machination going on as I do this, so read on without me)

In a week I'm going to summer school again, and this year's goals for myself are shaping up already. I've chosen to take a class titled 'Fun with Fotocopiers' (yes spelt like that) and it's given me a few nightmares already. If it turns out to be decoupage with nail scissors and photocopies I'll be pretty gutted!
I suspect, since the tutor's the same inspirational character I had last year, that the photocopy aspect will be a means of starting and abstracting and inspiring work which hopefully will primarily be painting. Fingers crossed.

I really need to fan the creative flame, which was a little dimmed by too much thinking and work lately, so I'm looking forward to the stimulation, the sweat and the pace of a weeks intensive painting. (Not to mention the sunshine please... there's been none in Welly to speak of more than a day at a time and I feel like I'm beginning to suffer from SAD).

OK time for some resolutions for myself for 2007:

• Believe in yourself and trust what you do. This is probably the hardest one for me to maintain as a constant. But I bet I'm not the only one with this goal either, so it might as well be right up here first
• allow the work to change and develop, don't fret so much about variation. Who makes those rules??
• draw more - take an advanced life class, draw for longer and explore the edges. Get weird
• Bruce Mau's no. 5 - Go deep (more often) - look the hard stuff in the eye and try to describe it
• repeat things more often - sometimes they'll work and sometimes repeating will take the work somewhere else entirely which is OK
• contrary to Bruce Mau's no.26 Do enter competitions - they provide great small goals
• work outside more (but not in the rain!). Be mobile
• push through the torpid times and paint anyway
• submit work, look for guerilla gallery space or show to friends, but look for a way to get the work Out There

And lastly:
• finish that collaborative sculpture - it's cool and it needs to be completed

(I haven't added the usual 'have fun' because since I began this blog to record my art explorations I can honestly say I haven't stopped having fun - every single time I'm in the studio)

Ten resolutions. I think that's plenty !
Happy New Year everyone, I'm certainly looking forward to it.