A Review of 2022!!!
Hey there! I hope you had a great Christmas? I always think it goes too fast. We always start enjoying the Christmas build up fairly early; decs go up in our house at the end of November and then the Christmas magic can officially begin! However, when we say goodbye to our last visitors, new toys are found a place to live, the food has been eaten and the fizz has been drunk, I am ready to take down the decs and look forward to the new year ahead! I am not a big New Years Resolution kind of person, but I LOVE to plan and part of planning is reviewing the past year which is what I have been thinking about these last few days, as we leave 2022 and begin 2023!
Professionally, 2022 has been a big learning curve for me. There have been many frustrations and lots of juggling but I am really happy where I am now. This time last year I was planning to build a website, set up my Etsy Shop and even small things like ordering packaging and formatting scans of my work for printing felt pretty big. But I guess they always are when you haven’t a clue what you are doing, are making it up as you go along and then decide to wing it and hope for the best!
I remember reading a blog by an artist and one of the pieces of advice she gave when starting an Art business was to ‘just say yes to everything’ because you never know where that opportunity could lead and what doors it could open. I took that advice this year and even though at times part of me wanted to say no (usually the self critical part!) I forced myself to go for it and to see where it might lead.
I think one of my best achievements this year was the Fishponds commission. It was such an amazing opportunity to create something for the local community and I knew if I didn’t go for it I would regret it big time! So, I said yes! There were lots of moments where I doubted myself and the large panel scared me because it was just so big! However, it gave me a huge confidence boost and I am super proud of it and 100% glad I went for it. The Fishponds piece then led me on to the Pets on the Parade pet portraits which was such a lovely, fun commission, and then on to ‘The Bond’ elephant piece and the ‘Rolo’ portrait. These, along with building a website (which I never thought I could do!), have been my 2022 wins. These are the ‘yes's’!
Of course where there are successes there are often challenges! I do believe it is these challenges which make the wins so much sweeter. I think for me its been times when I have had to juggle and try to do everything, constantly carving out time to complete this, organise that…. My kiddies are still pretty young and I’m determined to continue to do the ‘mum-thing’ whilst also trying to do the ‘follow-my-dreams-thing’ and I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to do this but it doesn’t mean that at times it isn’t hard or exhausting.
The frustrations came this year when I was trying to figure out how to do something and it was not doing what it was being told to do - this was usually computer based tasks, give me a pen any day! However, I figured them out - thank you YouTube! Often the challenges will turn into wins, its just a bit of a frustrating journey to get there! Honestly though, the challenges and frustrations have been few and far between and I can honestly say I am proud of what I have accomplished professionally this year. 2022 has been a good year, albeit a rollercoaster of a year, but still a very good year! I am now looking forward to 2023 and all she holds. I am sure its going to whizz by but I hope she is a year full of happiness, joy and lots of precious memories for us all!
Happy New Year!
Kelly x