Every day we make choices, and are presented with opportunities, some small, some big, but none of them inconsequential. I firmly believe that it is our everyday actions that form the kind of lives and people we become. We are what we repeatedly do.
Be Bold
These are the words I choose to inspire my 2017.
Now, I have been cruising along in my little creative routine for a few years now. I dream up paintings, I create them. I work on building connections with others by attending art fairs and sharing online. Repeat. It can be easy to fall into too much of a routine. And my actions begin to lead to the same results over and over, but fail to reach my larger dreams. Sound familiar?
Dream Big
I see this phrase plastered on hobby lobby wall art, hand towels, and other home décor. And yet I still love this phrase. There is a reason it holds such appeal. It is inspiring. It is hopeful. It is a rallying call to be better, to work toward more, and above all to Be Bold. You can’t reach your dreams by holding back.
It’s sometimes easy to come up with reasons why I ‘just can’t’ do more.
I’m too busy, I’m tired, I have a nine month old baby, I don’t have time , my art isn’t good enough anyway, I’m not a real artist. I have to work through these thoughts. I’ll admit that sometimes they win. But having a dream, having a larger goal, helps keep me moving forward.
Writing also helps me move forward. Every year I sit down and outline my major dreams as an artist. Then I put together a plan of smaller goals to help me reach them.
This year I am going to be shaking things up. I’m attending Spectrum Art Live in April. I’m working with a local artist collective, Des Moines Girl Gang, on a show that supports women’s literature and a Young Women’s Resource Center. And I am embarking on a yearlong series of art to raise awareness about planting native and prairie restoration, a subject close to my heart. I can make a difference.
So bring on 2017.
I’m going to be living boldly. Will you join me?