Resolve

Drawing 701

Drawing 702

Drawing 703

Drawing 704

Drawing 705

I tend not to make New Year's resolutions, but I am aiming toward a few goals (not related to the turning of the calendar, more in general). One of them is to get rid of stuff I don't need. I'm beginning to feel oppressed by the level of stuff in my house and garage, and I'm slowly whittling away at it. I think this oppression is preventing me starting projects (or finishing them), simply because I feel overwhelmed.

To this end - the whittling - each day I aim:

• to clean/tidy something (at least in part - could be in the house/garage, may be in the garden)
  
• work on a sewing or art project (don't have to finish, just progress)
  
• draw every day (which I do, but it doesn't hurt to restate)
  
• chuck something out (might be in the bin, might be in the box for freecycle/op shop, could be the "sell on Ebay or Etsy" box, might be in the "Sculpture Stuff" box, purpose of contents as yet undetermined)

This is a minimum, if I get more done, hey, bonus! And it's not hard and fast, if I miss a day it won't matter. It's to aim for.

Today I have:

• put away a basket of clean laundry
• worked on a sewing project (a drapey asymetrical vest, in glorious purple)
• made my drawing-a-day, plus an extra drawing and a half (!)
• sorted about a third of my wardrobe, culled one outfit for the "sell" box, and set a top aside to refashion - it needs shortening at hem and sleeves

Little by little, I intend to win the Battle of the Stuff.

Reflecting

One of my ink drawings

I don't do New Year resolutions (can't keep 'em, no point in making 'em!), but today I was reflecting on the past year. On February 2nd, it will be a calendar year since I left paid
employment for full time study, and what a year it's been! I've learned so much, both in terms of my creative skills (which would be an essay in itself), but also in the sense of learning more about myself, what I'm capable of, what I can deal with, how much I've grown in a year.

When I think back to the first weeks of the course, I remember how scared I was. Everything was new: new place, new routine, new teachers, new classmates, new things to learn. I left the job I'd been working for sixteen years, and it was hard to move out of that comfort zone. Hard to leave the routine. Hard to leave colleagues. Hard to leave the pay cheque! I wasn't at all sure I could do it, leave the safe and known for the scary and unknown.

But you know what? Here I am, a year later, thriving. Happier than I've been in a very long time. No more job stress, no more instant anxiety the moment I wake up and realise it's a week day, no more 1am freakouts. Now I wake up in the morning - and to be honest, I'm really NOT a morning person - and instead of my first thought being one of dread, now I look forward to the day. What will I make/draw/paint/sculpt/sew today?

Anything is possible :)