I wanted to send a 'hello' and an update newsletter before month's end, and I just barely got it together in time! Last year, I made huge strides toward my goals of pivoting into the children's book world. One of the tools I used was this free booklet reflection notebook thingy called the Year Compass. I worked through the questions and came up with some dream goals and let go of some emotional baggage (unrealistic expectations of myself). Most difficult of all, though, I focused on one main goal.
The post I've linked in the button below was written because I wanted to take a moment to list and remind myself of last year's highlights. It seemed the year just flew by! So, I slowed down a bit and put them together. I used to do that every year when I was doing knitwear and sewing. You could SEE all the things I'd made and it felt like such a huge accomplishment!
Biggest challenge of 2018: focusing. Getting over the options I didn't choose. If you're curious, I've been blogging for 10 years now so you can really dig into those archives see the circuitous route I've taken.
It all looks so easy on Instagram. We take for granted the hard work and depth behind beautiful posts made by fellow creatives. It's so easy to compare oneself and simultaneously dismiss it all with fleeting 'likes'. Honestly, I'm a bit worn down by it. I've taken a short break from IG (not that anyone notices!) because I don't know why I'm posting other than to collect 'likes'. Seems like in 10 years I won't care much whether a post had 40 likes, or not. I still love looking at what everyone's doing, but it doesn't seem to propel me forward or create a mental space for motivation to make work that works for me.
Anyway, thanks for reading! I promise February's newsletter won't be this depressing. I've got loads to share, but I can't show my latest illustrations quite yet... (hint: an indie kid's book w.i.p.)!
How about you? Do you like to use social media in your art and design practice? How do you keep it relevant (to real life)? How do you keep social media active while maintaining a consistent creative practice?
I hope you had a happy new year, and that your 2019 brings you closer to being who you want to be.
