fresh Beginnings
There’s something about a New Year, the taking down of old calendars and hanging new, the prevalence of New Year’s resolutions that frequently fall by the wayside in a week or two. I suspect that most of us that are goal oriented approach this time of year with plans and aspirations. Looking back is part of the new—picking out what worked, the successes, the failures, and the almost.
My father passed on a lot of Bohemian superstitions from his mother–and some from his father–such as don’t start a new project on a Friday–as that would mean working on Sunday. And whatever you spend New Year’s Day doing is your focus for the following year.
I spent many New Year’s Days working in the ER; this one was spent cleaning out file drawers and working on Mulligan blocks–a cleaning up of fabric scraps–too big to throw away and too small to make into a useful piece; learning to photograph old photo albums whose photos are slowly fading–and taking Dora–the more docile of our two dogs for a neighborhood walk.
I also made the requisite Black-eyed Peas and Peggy’s Cabbage–a sweet/sour stir-fry cabbage dish that my three boys cleaned up their plates.
And I had some time to look over my sewing room journal and notebook.
In looking over my past year—art-wise—I had more hours making art than I thought. I also completed more UFO’s than I thought possible given all the medical issues I have had over the past several years. The shelves containing these are beginning to look bare and I may be able to get to my goal of only one or two projects at a time. Art seems to need some time to percolate but the mundane projects of baby gifts, Boys Haven charity quilts, stockpile of quilts for weddings can proceed at a steady pace without a lot of thought given to them.
I hope to spend a lot more time in working on art this year, finishing up four books I have written, and begin to actively market my work. By nature I am not an extrovert and the joy I have in making art is in the adventure, the challenge of making it and I am more likely to give it away to someone. Once finished I am ready to move on to the next challenge.
Ps: for those of you who have UFO’s lurking under your beds/closets/etc, I will not be accepting any suspicious boxes left by the mailbox or by any friends who just happen to drop by and ‘forget’ one of those totebags in my sewing room. And I will sit on my hands when a volunteer is needed to finish up this or that project. Those shelves need to be totally empty!
Sylvia Weir Art 