The year 2020 was so different from the expected that it feels odd to make any plans for 2021. But I love planning and have some exciting art plans that I want to share with you!
Getting Further in Fabric Design
My education is in design, and I have designed fabrics now and then, mostly for my own needs for quilting (one of my dear hobbies). But in 2021, I really want to dive deeper into designing surface patterns.
I want to start selling my designs, but also share them and the creative process with you. I want to create a class that uses those ideas, maybe a Gelli printing class, or a class for making patterned papers, or a class for enriching expressive paintings with fashionable pattern repeats. I will take some time to learn more about fabric design, and it’s exciting to see what will come out!
Painting with Confidence
Last year, my art got a new kind of freedom. I started trusting myself more and my inner world became much larger. The size of the paintings and the speed that I made them also grew.
I want to continue in this path, making even bigger and bolder pieces, and more importantly, feeling confident yet open. I want to be open so that I express my sensations with all my senses, not only what I see. I want to honor my idols Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky like I have already done in the class Floral Freedom.
Writing about Art
It has taken a long time for me to realize that my job is not only to paint but also to write. I write these weekly blog posts, weekly and monthly newsletters, short stories to my Facebook page, and scripts for videos. It’s often more than a thousand words per day. Even if I am a visual person, I like to find words for what I do and see. It also makes me a teacher, I think.
For a long time, there’s been a battle in my mind related to writing. “People like to see, not read,” I have said and tried to get away from writing. Being a bad reader myself, I know! But words don’t leave me no matter what I tell them. So, let it be so. I will continue to write about art in 2021, and I want to grow as a writer as I have grown as a painter and a teacher – get more confidence and skills so that the result is both unforgettable and refreshing.
Art Plans – Change in Identity
Art plans always hold the change in identity. In my plans, I am not only a painter and teacher, but also a designer and writer.
What art plans do you have for the new year? What kinds of titles does your plan give to you?
I plan to continue to expand my knowledge on abstract art and get freed from the need to be realistic. I still enjoy painting that way but I leaves me tense. I can’t relax and enjoy creating as much. Also, I would like to explore abstract watercolor art. Have a great day.
Thanks, for sharing, Phyllis! I love what you have created so far in Floral Freedom.
Thank you so much. I have learned so much in your classes.
I want to let go and reinvent my art. Let go of the “tried and true”. Stretch and fly,listen to me inner voice more. I turn 70 in March ! Age has never bothered me but this is a mile stone for me,have no idea how I got here. Design and invention are,I believe the secret to youth. Happy New Year !
I love this: “design and invention are the secret to youth!” Thanks for sharing these lovely thoughts!
I love your art and am looking to let go of an inner voice that tells me it’s not perfect. It’s not finished etc. I’m in my 70s and am loving the time I now have to try different things. I love art and I do read, so keep writing.
Thank you, Yvonne! I think that in art, it’s good not to fully quiet the inner critic, but alternate. At least my inner critic seems to become gentler when I listen to her and ask what she really means!
I want to become more free with paint, acrylic and watercolor, and better at mixing colors and creating lovely color combinations. I really would like to do fabric design as well as I’ve been considering that for a long time. I hope you do create that class.
Thanks, Cheryl! To be free – so many others have said it too. Freedom is the word for year 2021, I think!
I always enjoy your words, whether written or spoken. I majored in art history and literature and taught art and English during my career. Now retired, I am a studio painter, print maker and writer. Your plans for 2021 are exciting. Your fabric designs are beautiful. I look forward to a move to a larger studio soon. One of my ideas for this year is learning more about printing on fabric.
I look forward to your writing and speaking. I am reading Kandinsky’s book, The Spiritual in Art. Loved Helen Mitten’s comments on his art and her acting.
Thank you, Barbara! On Spiritual in Art is a great book, a little less practical than “Point and Line to Plane” which I use in the class Floral Freedom, but Wassily’s thoughts are always interesting. It feels that when he says three words, I get 30 ideas and 3 more questions!