Tag: goals

Goals for the Year…

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( This post was originally published on Art Elements blog)

Hello all – I hope your 2018 dawn broke in whatever fashion you desired! We went out to a concert on New Year’s Eve Eve with friends and had a blast. On the last day of 2017 I got a good nights sleep and rang in the morning with coffee, and lots of it. Then I proceeded to start cleaning the studio. Did you see Niky’s post this week? I can SO relate to that…

So studio is being reclaimed. Organizing, decluttering, displaying treasures to free up space on my work table. Now I want to look forwards. 2017 was a year I was happy to say goodbye to… aside from the greater world situation/trauma/news/horror I had some personal challenges, and family issues that were , well – upheavals.

I have a renewed sense of “Live life to the fullest” and as such sat down to make a top 10 list for the year: 

My “Birch” page as I study the Celtic tree calendar.

1. Jump start my art journal practice. This is a project I an renewing this year for the third in a row. Last year I made it halfway through the year, before stress derailed me. And that was an improvement from the prior year! Im working large, IMO, in a 11 x 14″ spiral bound mixed media sketchbook. There will be watercolor, collage, drawing… whatever I want! This is a practice for me alone, and while I may share some spreads on my IG, I can play and be messy, and do art therapy, and no one needs to see. Im taking a yearlong class called Moonshine with Effy Wild ( of Journal52 and Life Book) and so far love the themes and prompts presented.

so many books!

2.Read. In the last few years of living this creative entrepreneur’s life, my reading levels have plummeted. I work all day in the studio, at my part time job, in the “work” ceramics studio… and only read after i crawl in bed. Yeah, < laughs> that doesn’t work out so well. I have a growing pile of mythology, women studies, fairy tale analysis, art and technique books which ARE work related. So I CAN read during the work hours….

3. Play. This past year I was stuck in a rut of production. I started the year strong, and spent the summer and fall making new work just in time for the next show. Needless to say, I didn’t have the time to try new things, to play, to experiment. And I felt stagnant creatively. This year I am working part time at the fabulous Sarafina Fiber Arts “Art House“. The environment and the product are very conducive to creativity. I want to felt and bead and sculpt. I want to try polymer mosaics. I want to do larger tile pieces. I want to do another series of goddess figures… See?

4. Planners and mindfulness – Yes this one seems to not go together… I treated myself to the Desire Map planner by Danielle LaPorte. Part daily planner, part woo woo, part daily positive affirmations. Filling out a day’s page in the morning over coffee keeps me organized, yes. But mindful as well. And reminds me to take care of myself…

5.Health and happiness. This one really needs no explanation. As I mentioned earlier – family health issues. Health is prioritized! Mental health, meditation or the like, down time. Hydration! Healthy eating. I am trying to shift my mindset of preparing dinner from a chore, to a mindful daily ritual. Think good music, and bocking the time in so I am not so rushed.

Mythical creatures! Witchy cauldrons!

6. Overhaul my tile inventory. As in retire old designs! Design new tiles! And sketch them… I have a few molds that are worn out and need to be done. I have SO many tile designs in my head – I am trying to get them on paper and start sculpting! My first arts festival of the year is in May – and I want to debut mythical creatures. As always I will have mythic themes, gods and goddesses, and I am developing a new line inspired by the comforts of home. Think coffee, books, pets, tea… What would you put on the ” Comforts” list?

But I have to be practical as well – some designs will be custom order. Others – the most popular designs – will go with me to shows. I plan a series of smaller tiles for the 4 elements that can be purchased singly or as a group….

And if there are new tiles there will be new pendants to correspond!

labradorite, sawing out script, tray of to-do’s!

7. Metals – metals were my first love in art school. I sincerely adore sawing complex things with my jewelers saw. So why aren’t I doing more?! As I established myself and my business; applying to shows… ceramics was the best category in which to place my work. Tiles, shrines, pendants… But in my heart I am a mixed media artist. So more metals? Yes, please!

simple, but so versatile

8. Linoleum printing. I used to teach it in school. Lesley and I did a print making art camp a few years back… You may have seen prints I was playing with for our 2017 “Keep your Sanity” challenges… During 2017 I took a few online classes with the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic. For the fairy tales course I did a series of lino prints – I wanted to do something not in my normal mediums, and play a bit. I found that it was a great exercise to encourage me to draw more, and I find the carving rather Zen. The goddess and Little Red Riding Hood pieces pictured above? The goddess image correlates with a tile a sculpt, and I am thinking the wolf may be translated into clay soon! I like developing ideas and translating them into different media!

small but completely sufficient

9. Travel. Starting the year off with a trip to the UK! Art camp with Lesley! And  – actually meeting my dear friends of the UK branch of Art Elements… IN PERSON! But after that extravaganza… my desires are simple. Time with the husband and the dog, time in nature. The picture above? Our tiny 14′ travel trailer. She is adorable. We have no plans yet – but now as we are snowed and cold – that’s the time to make them!

10. Friends, family and community – Spending quality time with the people I care about. Not letting the job get in the way… and that means online friends and community as well. Taking the time to comment and start a conversation instead of blindly clicking “like”. Spending less time mindlessly scrolling, but quality time touching base with friends that are far away. Video calls to watch my little nephews antics… Stop what you are doing and hug someone today!

Marking time… a mark in time

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2014

I have a tendency to hibernate a bit at the beginning of the new year, write in my  journal, and make lists. I review the goals from the previous year. I write new goals for the current year. I browse the year’s worth of sketches and doodles – taking a walk back in time, and evaluate what ideas are interesting and inspiring to carry over.  So many marks in time, marks reflecting time, marks to allocate time. 

This January I made a different kind of mark. 

Making marks

January 4th was the two year anniversary – to the day – of major surgery. While that wasn’t the inspiration behind this design, it was an appropriate date to select as a celebration of health, happiness and moving forwards. 

The symbol is my adaptation of the Chalice Well lid – at Chalice Well in Glastonbury, UK. The design was adapted by my friend Kimberly of Goblin Bazaar – as she could get in my head, when I was in my own way… to simplify and clarify the design, and make it uniquely my own. 

Here is the actual Chalice Well design – in a painting by another dear friend, Jane Star Weils. 

Jane Star Weils Chalice well

 

 

Chalice Well is a holy well that sits at the base of Glastonbury Tor… ( I am finding it very hard to put words to the intense personal meaning that this site holds for me. Pardon me if I keep this a bit factual for now. ) 

The facts: 

  • Archaeological evidence suggests that the well has been in almost constant use for at least two thousand years. Philip Rahtz found several dozen flints from the upperPaleolithic and Mesolithic, and a sherd of Iron Age pottery nearby. Roman and medieval sherds were also found in more recent layers.
  • Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 gallons per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxidized at the surface and is precipitated. Like the hot springs in nearby Bath, the water is believed to possess healing qualities.
  • In addition to the legends associated with Glastonbury, the Well is often portrayed as a symbol of the female aspect of deity,  As such, it is a popular destination for pilgrims in search of the divine feminine, including Neopagans. The Well is however popular with all faiths and in 2001 became a World Peace Garden.
  • Wells often feature in Welsh and Irish mythology as gateways to the spirit world. The overlapping of the inner and outer worlds is represented by the well cover, designed by the church architect and archaeologist Frederick Bligh Bond and presented as a gift after the Great War in 1919. The two interlocking circles constitute the symbol known as the Vesica Piscis. In the well lid design, a spear or a sword bisects these two circles, a possible reference to Excalibur, the sword of the legendary King Arthur, believed by some to be buried at the nearby Glastonbury Abbey. Foliage represents the Glastonbury Holy Thorn. 

The lore: 

  • Legends link Glastonbury to Ynys Afallon, the Isle of Apples, also known as Avalon. Here resided a sisterhood of priestesses/faerie queens/healers… and it is to Avalon that the fatally wounded King Arthur was spirited away. 
  • Legends also relate tales of the Sidhe, or Fair Folk living in “hollow hills”. Glastonbury has always seemed to be a very fae place, where the veil between the worlds is thin. 
  • Legend says that after Jesus death, Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail to Glastonbury and that it was biried in Chalice well. The Glastonbury Holy Thorn is said to be Joseph’s staff, taken root. 
  • There are actually 2 wells at the base of the Tor, one red and one white. Symbolically these can represent blood/female and semen/male or, as I prefer – the milk and blood of the Earth/goddess/Gaia…

The symbol ( known as the vesica piscis ) itself appeals to me – as a representation of two worlds overlapping. Artist and teacher. Inner and outer. Personal and private. Body and spirit. Human and fae. England and Avalon. Above and below. And yes – its rather ironic that teachers all over use it as a Venn Diagram to illustrate commonalities between two seperate things. 

The design has elements that repeat in threes – three circles, sets of three dots, three swirls per side. Three is a powerful number in many spiritual traditions. Mind/body/spirit. Maiden/Mother/Crone. Earth/water/air. Youth/maturity/Age. 

Chalice well collage

Chalice well and Glastonbury Tor resonate with me on a deeply personal spiritual level. I was there on a pilgrimage of sorts in 1989, aged 20. I climbed the Tor every day…  Another visit at age 28. It seems I am overdue to return…

More information: 

Chalice Well Trust

Chalice Well wiki

Glastonbury

Avalon

Vesica piscis

 

 

Starting anew…

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Happy New Year! 

Meditation table

Yes, its the 2nd, and I am still honoring feelings of fresh starts, cleaning out the old, preparing for the new. Last year was a hectic mad dash to the holidays.  A mad dash that I felt was my state of operating – for the entire year. Many things DID get finihed, many loose ends neatly tied off and trimmed before December came to a close. Others? Well – January is the calendar’s Restart button. So I feel the slate is clean, and I look forward to the new year, its offerings, its potential, and its promise. 

Having said that – I dont do resolutions as much as I do “new beginnings”. I wanted to share with you a few things I have begun and will be endeavoring to continue as the calendar pages flutter by, as the wheel of the year spins… 

I am a collector of Tarot decks, and have probably a dozen. I tend to use the same few decks most frequently. I like to draw a card for the day, sit and ponder the message, sip on my coffee… It is the closest I come to meditating, but a few minutes of stillness to start the day is so beneficial. I was inspired to create wool/felted/embroidered/beaded bags for each deck. And then that grew into working with a deck a month… This month its the Druid Animal oracle deck, looking at totem animal, and animal symbolism from the Celtic/Druidic perspective. Written by Phillip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, it is exquisitely illustrated by Will worthington. In the back you see the bag I have started, upcycled from a felted wool sweater with a needle felted white horse ( ala Uffington) I still need to do details. 

Worthington's deck

The daily practice thread continues – into an art journal idea. A Rolodex card-a-day art journal. I can see the finished Rolodex in my mind’s eye, filled with color and texture, snippets and memories. The cards are so small – 4″ long – easy to travel with, and I am allowed to catch up if I miss a few days from business, sickness, etc. The idea to do a piece in 365 parts was inspired in part by Kirsty Hall.  Kirsty Hall is a British artist who did a 365 jar project.

Kirsty Hall Jar 365 in situ  KHall jar 365 detail

The 365 jars project has its own website. The project was interactive – jars were found, recorded on the site and adopted by their finders. Sadly Kirsty is in the UK, or else I would have been searching for a jar myself. It was fascinating and very inspirational to travel the year with her. While this is much smaller in scale and definitely more personal – I have to tip my hat to her! I have ordered a vintage metal Rolodex card file… but started on New Year’s day regardless. 

Rolodex sketchbook

Rolodex sketchbook2

One last venture – The Empty Shelf challenge. The idea of author Jon Acuff, the idea is to fill an empty shelf with the books you read over the course of the year. Well, I have no empty shelves, and read many things on the Kindle. So I am translating this to Instagram & Twitter, where I will be posting pix of finished books, and tagging them #emptyshelf. I have meant to do this many years running, and with the ease and fun of editing pix in Instagram – I may just achieve it. Many thanks to Jess of Rosy Revolver for bringing this to my attention! 

 

Please feel free to follow along – my Instagram ID is “jdaviesreazor and my Twitter ID is “JDRshrineart” 

I’d love to hear what you are reading, planning, or resolved to do in 2014!