IT"S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR!!!! Goal Setting for 2011

Now that 2010 is almost behind us, I've been thinking long and hard about moving forward in all aspects of my life in 2011.   While 2010 yielded some great opportunities, they came at a price, which resulted in a great amount of stress.   After alot of thought, I plan on approaching the next year a little differently.   Here are some of my goals:

BLOGGING - I want to have a semi-structured calendar to send out blogs. I realize now I  approach writing a blog as a huge event!  Shouldn't I  carry a notebook around  (which I have tried to do before) and make an effort to record some random ideas and thoughts I have?  I'm going to try to post  new work regularly, review books I have read (maybe a blog on the Steve Martin book An Object of Beauty will be next), and maybe have a guest blogger or two!
I plan on reading and commenting on more blogs in the future.  Commenting on a blog is like leaving your business card around town, just that you are leaving it on the internet.

WEBSITE - Sadly, my website was not updated in 2010.  I need to update my website quarterly.  I've made notes and written ideas, but never followed through.  I have photographs of all my artwork, but they are on discs sitting next to my computer.  What good is that doing anybody?

NEWSLETTER - One thing I accomplished in 2010 is learning how to use Constant Contact.  I want to learn more!   My goal is to send out a newsletter on a bi-monthly basis (starting with a holiday newsletter prior to the end of the year), and I want to expand my email list by a minimum of 150 people in 2011.

INVENTORY - I have investigated several inventory options, and over the holidays I'm going to start recording my work.  This way I will  know where every piece of art I have made is at any given time.  I also want to keep better track of the materials that go into each piece, therefore giving every piece a unique story to share.

SUBMIT - There are several websites out there that feature artists, or publish articles written by artists.  This is something I plan on investigating and finding the right fit for me.

MISCELLANEOUS - I want to learn to use the video on my camera, duh!  I will try a new art technique every month - and top of the list is experimenting with burning paper using unique things such as gunpowder, hot wax or incense.

INVOLVEMENT:  I am a member of the Women's Caucus of Art in Georgia, the Atlanta Collage Society, and a past member of the Atlanta Artist Center.  I want to do more than just pay my dues!

PERSONAL GOALS:  I will make exercise a part of my life.  I will also begin journaling (this goes back to carrying a notebook to record those random ideas).  Other things include eating healthier, meditating, and getting organized.

I grew up with the belief that what you do on New Year's Day is what you will do for the remainder of the year.  Because of that belief, I have a tradition of tying up loose ends the week before New Years, cleaning out drawers, closets, filing, etc.  That leaves me able to do my favorite things on New Year's Day -be it reading, painting, exercising - the list can go on and on.  I feel this is a positive approach to begin a new year!

Thanks fo Alyson Stanfied, The Art Biz Coach,  I know what I will blog about before the end of the year - my accomplishments in the past year, which she suggested in this recent blog.

CONNECTING INTERNATIONALLY WHILE READING ABOUT DE KOONING

If someone had suggested to me a month ago I'd be reading a biography of an artist with people around the world on Twitter, I wouldn't have known what they were talking about. I had heard of Twitter, but I didn't know what it really was, or that people connected there. To start at the beginning, this began when I took a blogging class from Alyson Stanfield and Cynthia Morris. Alyson is known to many artists are the "ART BIZ COACH". Well, after several weeks of working on my blog and reading fascinating blogs by other artists, we were told to subscribe to Twitter. At first I resisted. Understand, I don't text, IM, or have any phone apps. But, I succumbed and dutifully signed up. At first I was totally lost, but I slowly started getting the hang of it. Alyson thought it would be a good idea to use Twitter to read a book as a group. This helped me learn to navigate through Twitter, interact with people internationally, and read a great book - all at the same time.

The book, De Kooning, An American Master, is 600 pages long. The intent was to read 100 pages a week and discuss it for 6 weeks. Unfortunately, once I began, I couldn't put it down and completed the book in less than two weeks. We use #dekooning to connect through Search/Twitter.

The book is rich in detail, the world De Kooning inhabited is alive within the pages of this fascinating story of a fascinating era in American art. Heavily researched and ten years in the making, it deservingly won the Pulitzer Price.

It begins with Dekooning's childhood in Rotterdam; his mother beat him with wooden shoes, he was trained in old school portraiture, he arrived in the US as a stowaway, and then made his way to the bohemian art world of New York. It covers his marriage to Elaine, his womanizing, his ascent to being one of the most important artists in the 20th century, and his descent in alcoholism and finally Alzheimers.

It is a page turner, with people like Jackson Pollock, Gorky (his mentor), Franz Klein, Rothko inhabiting the pages. (Paul and Linda McCartney make an appearance, as does David Bryne.) The book is both chatty and educational as many chapters end with a lengthy dissertation on a particular important painting of the era.

DeKooning put his work above all else, and it took him a long time to get a body of work. He never learned to drive, he didn't have a checking account until he was in his 40's, he was always worried he would be deported, as he entered the US illegally. He was both charming and abusive to his friends and lovers.

I highly recommend this page turning biography!

(above painting EXCAVATION)