Planning to be Creative Next Year too

I’m planning to be Creative next year too. I hope you will join me. Not that creativity could be held down, right? It’s the force that can not be stopped. The planning and deciding is slow over here, so I’m just going to jump in here and make a list with words. Yes now. On my inner wish list right now I’ve got quite a few BIG words.

Next year I want more…

• Balance – into all of it; life, creativity, work, money – not tipping over to one side all the time
• Health – as in regular exercise such as jogging
• Projects finished– I will try deciding on what one project to work on for a while and trying to stick with that until it’s finished…. I guess this is where balance comes in again. I want to do so many things, maybe too much?
• Planning… That word again, to me it sounds so nice and like it would move my projects forward, give my life balance and maybe even make some money from my creations? I see myself planning blog posts and other writing projects, with applying for money making jobs, finding time (and energy) to exercise and updating my etsy shop more often (to make some money and feel inspired to create new art).
• Everyday Creativity – it’s been a year since I finished the Daily Art Card Project. No book in sight yet, but a longing to do another project. But what? Maybe more art, collages in a new size that will be put up for sale? I’m thinking maybe every weekday and take a rest at Saturday and Sundays. Who wants to join me for a year long project?
• Books by me – photo books, blog books, writing projects I have in my head that needs me to Focus and to be 1) planned, 2) started, 3) given time, 4) Finished, 5) Edited… Yeah, time.
• Focus – concentration, aim, goal, mindset…. As with balance focus is one of those words that sounds like magic. You crave it, need it, look for it everywhere but to find it you need to start focusing! You need to close those browser tabs, pause that podcast and get working. It’s easy and so hard. Still. Always.

Focus and inspiration right now

I believe that you should do all the things that you enjoy doing. I believe you shouldn’t have to chose a focus just because someone else tells you that you need to. Still I don’t know which road to chose right now, in my creative life. I’m drawn to fabric and embroidery, to collage and papers, to drawing and painting and also towards book making, publishing and layout. For my daily creative action these posts have inspired me collage-wise;

* Collage composition 101 by artist Martha Marshall
* Intuitive Collage Process – Day One
* Intuitive Collage Process, Day Two
* Creative Every Day Challenge 2010 – time to join!

and

then falling in love with Cathe Holden’s blog. She is a graphic designer who shares the most amazing Photoshop + printer projects on her blog, things that makes me drool a bit… Like

* Vintage cover notebook – scan, recycle and customize for your own projects.
* Game of concentration with a grid of beautiful images to print and use – love grids!
* A Singer notebook with printable images inspired by an old Singer sewing machine. Oh my, I want that notebook! I want to make/design notebooks!

I’ve really been enjoying Traci Bautista’s daily postings in December, lots of inspiration for sewing and painting in her posts! She wrote that Turquoise is the Color of the Year for 2010, as nominated by Pantone. It’s an inviting, luminous hue, and one of my favorite colors too. Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise inspires thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a comforting escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.

* It’s More Important to Be Happy Than to Be Rich is a interesting article where I found another list (!) that I think has something to consider for next year…

According to the research Tal Ben-Shahar shares in his book Happier, most of us would be better served by:

* Creating rituals around the things we love to do.
* Expressing gratitude for the good things in our lives.
* Setting meaningful goals that reflect our values and interests.
* Playing to our strengths instead of dwelling on weaknesses.
* Simplifying our lives ? not just the Stuff, but the time.

And that said, I’m going to buy Gretchen Rubin’s book that I’ve been eagerly awaiting for more than two years now, called The Happiness Project just as her blog. Last year I did a few youtube videos about my own wee Happiness Project, but there is still much to work on. When I was looking at her toolbox I got inspired by the table of Resolutions. They remind me of Rubin’s Resolution Chart’s that she prints monthly and fills in with different tasks to do daily. I got her chart a few years ago and really liked it. Each task should have a row in the grid and then you put a neat little cross if you completed the task that day. I’m designing a weekly grid for my Personal Resolutions and printing them into a kind of calendar. That will have to be another post, if you’re interested.

* More Tips about Making and Keeping New Year’s Resolutions Than You Could Want – a big link list also by Gretchen Rubin.

The Creative Plan

The Creative Plan is maybe as scattered and loose as the Creative life itself. Just jump in folks! So, let’s be creative every day, make many collages and paintings, experiment with every color there is but use turquoise a lot, write long lists, take (and edit) photos, write and publish books, find balance and focus, run when spring comes, enjoy life, do yoga, plan to use our strengths in a productive way, create colorful embroidery, network, call your friends, then twitter some, sell stuff, blog the creative adventure, make a bit of money, travel to beautiful places, meditate, pet the cat, remember to see the beauty at home, eat out, visit exhibits, read good books, smell the flowers, buy less and make more, make new plans, cut paper, glue paper, collect paper, visit thrift shops and flea markets, use our stash, dance more, do more – and share as much joy as we can next year. Okay?

Happy Creative New Year my friends!