This last year has been an intense rollercoaster of events, opportunities and opened pathways. No great and lasting change in life is ever instant. It is the accumulation of many smaller decisions and events that ramp up to big changes.
Pots, Pets, and Plants, Centre for Creative Arts, 2022
The 2022 year has been just that. The first half of the year was slow moving with small decisions being made in the direction I wanted life to lead me. I created illustrations for a local author’s novel that is now published. The summer was a big time for connecting with my community in my neighbourhood and creating many great friendships. This also forced me to consider creating boundaries and tighten my circle through traumatic events that stretched over a couple months.
My vacation trip to Vancouver was productive and eye-opening to the career advancement into Masters of Art Conservation, which I am currently in the process of entering.
Masters with a Twist, Centre for Creative Arts, 2022
The Integration painting was hung in the provincial gallery this autumn. The Mucha inspired painting was brought into a group show (Masters With a Twist) at a Creative Centre, and I was invited into an exhibition group show (Pots, Pets, Plants), many artists of which were together in an exhibition in 2019. These shows were both uplifting and reminded me just how much my art is able to impact and bring people together. Many of my friends, neighbours and even coworkers had attended the event. There had not been an event so moving and impacting on me in a very long time.
I was also approached with an offer to film some television programs as a part of community connection to the arts and the broader audience on a local and national reach.
Through the Eyes of an Artist, Eastlink Community TV, 2022
Through the summer and autumn I have been able to create wonderful connections to artists, industry professionals, and colleagues. My network has been growing strand by strand with every thing I do.
I have two paths moving forward in my work. The path of ease, is the path of the commercial artist that creates paintings in tandem of the current interests of the buyers. The path of heart being the morbid curiosity I always have explored behind the scene. I have spent many hours pondering on what it is that makes my path unique, my perspective intriguing to others. It’s a curiosity, an emotional exploration into aspects of life that everyone experiences in life at one time or another. Against all temptation, it will be devastating to my career and spirit to pursue the path of ease. It is a balance of pushing my spirit’s path forward while being able to weave into the market.
For the coming year’s commitment, 2023 Unus Annus Pactum, I have some year-long themes and agreements that will be used to guide my monthly goals. The categories that I will be creating this year will be split into Professional and Business, and Personal Well-being and Social.
Month - Month
Business
Figure drawing turned into painting
Content creation for Studio
Two hour painting for practice
Different mediums for figure drawing
Year Long
Personal Well-Being
Social time with friends, downtime
Learning Polish, piano, flute
Participating active sports, activities
Being a bit selfish
Business
Creating smaller, generic paintings
Paintings for business spaces
Admittance to Masters of Art Conservation
Bringing community together in projects
Work on source material - the self
Attending any shows, events exhibitions
Personal Well-Being
Reducing clutter, living space aesthetic
Being more spontaneous, taking experience
Digging into the uniqueness of the self
Improving on communication anxiety