Happy New Year

January 8, 2020

I can’t believe it’s 2020! I feel very hopeful about this year. I’ve been told it’s the year of the builder as we step into the role of the master/creator. This obviously appeals to me.

While I love resolutions and goal setting, I surprisingly don’t have any “official” calligraphy goals this year. More than anything, I want to continue to learn and grow as a calligrapher and artist. I’m planning to attend ABC 2020 in Red Deer, as well as take a weekend workshop with Amity Parks. I tentatively have two 8-week Copperplate classes scheduled and I’m working on updating my curriculum.

I also want to be intentional in my art. I want to create art that is worth creating, not just something to share on social media for likes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it causes me to lose my priorities and the quality of my work suffers. Connie Chen posted about this on her Instagram stories, with artwork by John Baldessari that says, “I will not make any more boring art.” I already have three pieces in the works for exhibits and a charity auction; all of which I’m excited about.

Another thing I’m working on are calligraphic pieces to take with me when I go to Europe this spring. I did this for my trip to Italy in 2017 and it was so much fun. This time I’m planning ahead and hope to do more than city names, but we’ll see how it goes. I did this for my recent trip to San Diego for Christmas and was glad I took the time. I spent most of November and December away from my desk and tools, so it was nice to play and work with the Dressed Down Pointed Pen script I learned from Pat Blair. (Photos below.)

Lastly, I’m hoping to blog regularly. I really want this to be a reference and resource that I wish I would have had when I was starting out.

I hope your year is off to a great start!