This time of year, wrappings are a faded memory, and bare and dry Christmas trees line the street on the curb waiting for pickup.
Generally speaking, it is a time when we all make resolutions, exercise more, eat healthy, drink less alcohol, or drink more water. How about being more organized in the kitchen? Food preparation and planning so that dinner would be readily available after painting or writing.
I’m grateful for my accomplishments in 2023: developing a new website, overcoming learning curves, establishing a newsletter, and publishing Song of Jaybird. I was not alone. Many people supported this effort and believed in the story.
I enjoyed discovering a play on words because the resolution has meanings that I found applied to my work. In a new year, we think of the more common meaning according to the dictionary: “a decision to do or not do something.”
However, the resolution also means to “define the sharpness of an image and make something clear” in photographing artwork and making sure the image is 300 ppi (pixels per inch) for submission and documentation necessary to post on social media, submit for exhibition, sale on line and keep inventory of work.
In writing, resolution means ‘the end.’ The end of a story. The end of Song of Jaybird is the resolution of Delia’s search and what eventually happened to Etna.
Resolution can mean trying to solve a problem or conflict. It is “a computer word” and “defined in laws of physics and science.” In my case, resolution means “to solve a problem.” There is a lot of that in my studio! Choosing the suitable media for an idea, planning a design, and determining the color, line, and shape for each new work is challenging.
For the New Year, the traditional meaning is “a decision to do or not do something,” I believe a more appropriate word is GOALS. So, in favor of making goals and not resolutions, I will do myself a favor and NOT plan the whole year, but smaller chunks of time. What are my goals for January? Promoting Song of Jaybird.
However, goals can change, but you need to start somewhere; at least, I have always told our kids that. Then there is the forgiveness factor: forgiving myself when I cannot scratch off goals on my mental or paper list. For example, I have not edited thousands of photos building up on our computer for years.
Are you having a difficult time thinking of goals for the new year? In case you need a few ideas, I found a list of 65 items on Goodhousekeeping.com. Here are some examples I found stressful and helpful.
Helpful: #6 Read more books #55 Go outside without your phone (I love that one!) #58 Add more citrus to your grocery cart #59 Eat blueberries and walnuts
Stressful: #47 Do one thing at a time (impossible!) #7 Create a cleaning schedule (Never happens! I clean when someone is coming over!) #38 Keep clutter out of the kitchen (it only becomes re-cluttered) #50 Make your bed every morning. (Which my mother always taught me to do and ritually does herself!)
I would love to hear about your favorite goals, what works for you, and what doesn’t.
