… that’s just what the beginning of a New Year is all about. I know, I know: It’s all a big cliche and by January 2nd we have abandoned our resolutions and moved on.

I have been there myself many times and I believe the key to following through is careful planning. Here is why I am sharing my resolution:

Last week I stopped into one of my favorite stores in Calgary, Inglewood Art Supplies. I had some time to browse and came upon the book Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin. Why would it capture my attention, you ask? Artist Trading Cards (ATC) are not a new phenomena in the art world and the book was published in 2007 – not a new publication by any stretch! Yet, I felt compelled to pick up the book.  I was drawn to its cover and the decision to purchase it was made quickly. I am sure many of you can relate to similar experiences… I have an extended library for my textile art, collage and altered book resources but this book has something to add. A long day in the car back to Saskatchewan ensured uninterrupted time to leaf through the colorful pages and read the general instructions covering a wide range of techniques that were not necessarily new to me. The techniques are presented in a straight forward manner and sparked a strong interest in me.

While reading I pondered the question if I would become an active creator of ATCs. The answer at first was inconclusive: I created ATCs years ago – supporting the premise of never selling one of these cards, but to gift or exchange them as a random act of kindness. I have nothing against this practice, but at this time I am looking toward creating a journal capturing my artistic vision. Large white pages always put me off and require much energy to overcome irrational fear. Here is my decision: I resolve to create a small work of art, about the size of an ATC (2 1/2″ x 31/2″) each day during 2012. These “Artlets”,  will be joined by month to provide me with a record of the year.

My resolution for 2012 was to create more art, even while traveling! I believe I have found a way to commit to this practice by packing a small art kit, including precut card stock and devote at least 15 minutes to the creation of a daily “Artlet”.

It’s time to gather paper, scissors, crayons and images for the first “Artlet” of 2012! Watch for my next post where I will share images and progress!

Happy New Year!

 

 

01 Jan This entry was published on January 1, 2012 at 10:54 pm. It’s filed under Art, Creativity Update and tagged "Artlets", ATC, Collage, Journaling. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.