Inevitably, there is a lull at the beginning of every new year. i suppose folks are retailed out from Christmas shopping. And i know personally, i am compelled to let my bank account recover after the holiday once i see my year in review during tax preparation. This lull happens every year and never lasts for long. But it still freaks me out a bit every time….like, “will i ever be overloaded with work again?”

This year, i am trying to embrace the lull to get things done that always seem to be pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. i’m making new art, experimenting with materials, updating my online portfolios and shops, submitting my work to various companies, and making lists and plans for the business in 2014.

i have been taking a few online courses of late and it has been so eye opening. It has really pushed me to think about my art business, my “signature” style (do i have one?) and the kind of artist i want to be now, and well into the future. What kind of art do i want to make? What, if anything, makes me different? What lets my individuality shine?

i’m a little bit excited, because after months of mulling these things over, daydreaming about them, and experimenting a lot, i really think i have landed on the type of work i TRULY want to create.

It has been tough. Coming from a graphic design background, i spent years working for clients who had their own very specific ideas. In one sense, it makes you stretch your skill set. In another sense, you lose your inner compass a bit. i’d fallen into a rut of thinking about the buyer too much as i was creating and second guessing my own instincts and eye and creativity (read: weirdo ideas).

Don’t get me wrong. i want to make work that people will love and want to buy. But i’d really like my purpose and vision to be distinctly my own.

…and by george, i think i’ve got it!

i think you will all be surprised by new work i begin posting in the next few weeks…..i THINK.

i hope you will like it and will share your thoughts.