New Year’s Resolutions of a Collage Artist

"Fearless", Mixed Media Collage, December 2010

For decades, the start of a new year never signalled much for me.  Each one held surprises: good and bad.  But when I turned 39, the New Year took on great significance.  At the mid point of my life, I decided to make a conscious effort to ensure my remaining years would be fruitful ones.  I’d love to share some thoughts about this with you… 

At 39 my life was a mess.  I’d lost several friends due to life outlook changes; I’d gained over 10lbs in one year and found myself in poor health.  To boot, my art career was floundering.  Having a high cholesterol level and numerous warnings about heart disease and diabetes from my doctor, in January several years ago, I decided to tackle my health issues first by joining a popular weight loss program.  As a result, I not only lost 50 lbs over two years, I gained insight into creating a long-term healthier diet and life style for myself.  I reaped the benefits as my bad cholesterol went down and my mood and energy levels rose!  Every morning, after a good breakfast and exercise, I’m raring to work in my studio!  I’ve found taking care of your health is an important life style change – it can make a big difference to your overall well being and zest for life.

The next New Year, I was ready to resuscitate my art career.  This was an even bigger challenge for me; one that would take years to accomplish.  Instead of procrastinating about making art, I began to take weekly courses in mixed media which I had long dreamed of exploring.  I gained much needed technical knowledge of the medium and began to produce a steady series of works.  Bent on promoting that work, I felt the need to develop some art business skills; the following New Year I attended a course given by artist Susan Ashbrook.  I discovered that it took much discipline to become a “working artist”; putting into practice what I learned, I made several pieces that were subsequently published in magazines. 

Delving deeper into finding new ways to promote my art, I looked outside Canada and discovered the SmARTist telesummit, a virtual conference which I’ve been attending every January since 2007 to brush up on my business skills.  The brain-child of art coach Ariane Goodwin, the telesummit features professional art-related guest speakers of various national and international backgrounds.  Attending the teleconference each year via the internet or phone enables me to connect with other artist entrepreneurs of all levels from the United States and beyond.  Two years ago, after listening to many artist success stories, I decided to take the plunge and learn how to start my own business.  I took another SmARTist related course run by Ariane Goodwin and art coach Jennifer Lee (Artizen Coaching): The Right Brain Business Plan which gave me the impetus I needed to create my own business plan.  In 2009 I sowed the seeds that produced Collage Your World… this past year it’s taken root and blossomed into a small, steady business. 

As an added bonus, taking courses and going to teleconferences, allowed me to make new artist friends along the way – accomplishing two goals at once!  Losing my previous set of friends had made me want to withdraw from life.  Enrolling in courses and reaching out to others enabled me to create a new network of friends.  This past year I’ve realized how blessed I am to have these wonderful people in my life — I don’t know where I’d be without their advice and encouragement.  I’ve found having a supportive circle of friends is crucial to my creative life.

As I look back now, it all seems like a dream… one that started with making a New Year’s resolution.  So this New Year if you’ve been throwing your life into the wind and hoping that everything magically falls into place by chance, perhaps you might consider making a wish, jotting down some thoughts as to how you could make it happen and then trying to take some action to make your wish a reality.  Even if it’s just one small simple wish, know that in the following year, it could lead to much more!  Remember too, it’s not too late make a resolution any time in the year.  And, for those of you who began the past year with goal(s) you actually accomplished or are still in the midst of accomplishing (sometimes things don’t always work out the first try!), don’t forget to acknowledge your efforts and give yourself a pat on the back for your hard work!  Best to you all in 2011!  If you’d like to share your New Year’s resolution or goal with me, I’d love to hear from you.