be it resolved

These are my general resolutions:
1. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
2. One thing at a time.

Whilst cleaning, always cleaning, and sorting and organizing, I've found that I have enough fabric and eceteras to open a small store. I knew this already, but not to this degree. I have so much stuff that I've buried essential things and bought another one to serve in the moment because that was faster -- and, seemingly at the time -- more efficient than burrowing around to find the original. Also, the stress of always having to clear space, physical space, before being able to get something started and finished, is taking a toll. So -- reduce, reuse, recycle. This is part of the heritage of quiltmaking, after all.

In 2008, I explored entering reader challenges and making things in response to online prompts (Illustration Friday, Inspire Me Thursday, and such like). I thought it might be fun, but ultimately it was not and it took energy away from things that are more intrinsically interesting to me. Also, the seduction of shiny, untainted new projects is impeding continuing and finishing the things already underway. So -- one thing at a time.

More specifically, I plan to do at least two pieces each month -- one for the ongoing Moby Dick project, the other a moon panel. The moon panels are ever-so-slightly more frequent than once a month, but the Blue Moon is in December and I should have sufficient stamina by then to get it done. And I want to be more inner-directed in what other projects come up.

And that's about it. Modest goals, to be sure, but manageable.

Oh, and lose 100 pounds by Tuesday ;-)

but what are you going to do with that?

Last January, at my local Studio Art Quilts Associates meeting, we discussed goal-setting, and the key to that seemed to be Make a List, keep track of The List, stay in conversation with The List. So I made A List of fairly modest goals, and have managed to squeak all of them in, more or less. Technically, one is still upcoming in the third week of December (but I think it counts) and some I changed my mind about, but basically this is The List:
General goals
LIMIT TIME ON THE COMPUTER
Establish the habit of working
Specific goals
1. Keep record of goals and accomplishments
2. Enter challenges of some kind
a. Cloth Paper Scissors reader's challenge: True Colors, done and sent 3/3/08
b. Northern Star Quilters Guild: sent 3 MD quilts for the May show, agreed to be judged
c. Quilt National, sent disk on 8/30/08
3. Learn new things
a. Acrylic paint and alcohol technique (Denise Aumick, January)
b. Gelatin plate printing (Rayna Gilman, August)
c. Tissue paper collage / collage in general (ongoing)
d. Jane’s ink class (September)
e. brush painting (at Kripalu, end of December)
4. Create business plan? [oh, please -- first generate enough work to warrant such a thing]

All of which is not too shabby, for someone as generally lacking in ambition as moi-self.
Item 4 stills feels like an awkward fit. I'm not
a big fan of the can-do chestnut "do what you love and the money will follow." I think hobbies are too often denigrated when they should be celebrated for the good and honorable things that they are. Fun is it's own reward and all that. On the other hand, I think I might like being a "teaching artist" which would mean first, becoming known as an artist; second, becoming known for something other people want to learn; and third, being available to teach. Maybe that's the focus of A List for '09 . . .