Checking Into the New Year

Happy New Year to me, to you, to everyone.

I'm writing this post because I'm trying to avoid doing what I have to do, which is to upload greeting cards to the shop.  It's not because I have anything that I feel I need to say.

And that's really why I haven't posted anything.  Unlike the days just after Newtown, when I was filled with angst, with urgency, with anxiety, there seems to be little urgency about my life these days.  I have a lot going on.  I'm serving on a sub-committee for the city of Central Falls, one tasked with coming up with proposals for bringing the arts and tourism to the city.  I'm still doing my gallery volunteer job.  I may be helping with publicity for the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative.  And I'm trying to do art, trying to do the shop.

It's a good busy--not a frantic busy.  I'll admit to a couple of days where I felt particularly manic for one reason or another, but overall everything is cool.

As always, when the New Year rolls around thoughts turn to resolutions.  I don't call them resolutions--they're goals.  And they're more or less manageable.

For one thing, I want to do MORE art and BETTER art.  And experiment more.  One thing I realized is that people really, really like the work I do.  I wish they'd buy more but they like it.  So I feel as if I need to respect that enjoyment and make more of it.  At the same time, I need to also push the boundaries and do other things.  So that's on my goal list.

A second thing is to push myself to be out there more--to be more visible and not hide behind my self-erected walls.  This is more difficult than it may seem.  People don't realize that I am very shy.  That I'm uncomfortable around 90% of people--heck, closer to 98% of people.  Even people I know.  So I'm going to try to be more social, more active.  Which is why I emailed the guy in charge of publicity for the collaborative.

Third, I want to really push the art business.  Market myself better.  Work harder at it.  And trying to distract myself from doing it is not a good thing.  I need to create a work schedule as if I was working a 'real' job.  Because this is a job.

And last but definitely not least--I want to be more in control of my symptoms.  So that when I am in a particularly manic frame of mind I can control it better.  I was able to do that last Friday--I want to continue that control.

 There you have it.  Four goals that are at least partially achievable.