Looking Back at 2011 - Elevation and Quiet

I remember being pretty bummed out at the beginning of this year. A lot of lame things were going on. 2010 was a bad year for jobs for me. I had been unemployed for the first few months since I my graphic design gig fizzled at the end of 2009. I did a temp job and a sales job back to back, before ending up at Wells Fargo as a temp at the end of the year. I wasn't terribly optimistic for 2011 for improvement, I really felt like I was just picking pieces back up and trying to get them in order. 2010 was a miserable rollercoaster at times. I really just wanted to get a sense of stability.

And in 2011 I got it.

I enjoyed my temp job at Wells. I indexed account documents, so I was able to listen to audio books and podcasts like there was no tomorrow. I listened to a little over 50 books I don't think I would have read otherwise. My fellow temps were, and still are, amazing people. It was a chill gig until a contact from last year offered me a position at the casino she works at. Which was an amazing opportunity for which I am still grateful she thought of me.

My art health has been better too. I remember in 2010 having a hard time defining why I draw art when now and then it didn't actually make me happy. I don't think I draw as much now, in 2011, but I'm much happier with what I do draw. I'm happy with my spirituality, and how my work flows through me, however slow or fast it happens to be. I was invited to an art show called RAW, which was an amazing event, and I held a table at Animeland Makiba. I already have plans to do conventions more often this year.

I also feel I've become quieter, artwise and speaking. I think there is a pressure to produce produce produce as an artist. To be prolific, and talk a lot about art. "Maintain a presence," they say. "Post art, post sketches,  be active on forums, do things all the time," they say. Which lead me to set a lot of unrealistic goals for my art, and make a lot of time consuming commitments to maintaining comments on art sites. Even now I'm doing my best to look at every single art on my devwatch on Deviantart (10,000+ pieces!). I feel I've become wiser by letting those things go. I will speak when I am certain I have something I want to say. And I will draw when I feel I need to finish it. My goals are to make art that's important to me, and share it with people that want to see it - pushing art out harder doesn't make it better. Not for me anyway. There are some pieces I never even posted... It's just not necessary anymore to show everyone everything. I will keep some things for myself. :)

2012
I hope to launch a small comic project. I'll have some bigger paintings brought back to the front burner that I left unfinished. And I want to return to writing regularly. I have a story I still haven't decided if I will leave in novel form, or move to the undertaking that is a graphic novel.

I think this year will be a good one.
I sincerely wish everyone a happy new year.