planning art in 2021

facing an uncertain year

My 2021 started with having Covid so it’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts this year to look ahead. Facing an uncertain year, whilst feeling ill, made me feel completely overwhelmed and anxious, if I’m honest, but this has actually proved to serve me well and as I worked through reviewing the year gone and beginning to plan the year ahead I’ve given priority to thinking of how to pace myself and to consider what things I would really enjoy doing. And I’m now feeling really inspired and hopeful.

Two key things have particularly stood out to me that my mentor has shared and have really made a difference for me as I plan ahead:
1. a quote by Alice Walker

“Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming”

2. An anecdote about a boiler! Apparently they need to have something called an expansion tank - a place for the water to go when pressure builds up… An encouragement to make sure there is flexibility and space in my life to allow for unexpected pressure and busyness.

I don’t know about you but I’ve realised that If I’m not careful I spend my life thinking “once I get there, THEN I will make time to …” (exercise, eat properly, sit down once in a while and stroke the dog, etc etc). I’m the kind of person who does the horrid jobs first to get them out the way and often don’t get round to doing the lovely stuff. Sometimes I worry that I plan my time too much. I’ve found that since emerging from the stay at home mum stage I’ve needed to prioritise and plan really carefully in order to make sure there’s room in life for me and for art as well as looking after everyone else, adding an MA into that mix (or at the moment homeschooling) has meant sometimes every single second is accounted for and there’s no room for flexibility.

real life artist

Every year I decide on a word for the year, so my word for this year is REAL. I’m no longer living for tomorrow I’m going to enjoy my life right now! I've made myself a visual reminder of this here and also bought myself 100 sweatpea seeds to plant, as one of my 'future' dreams is to have a garden bursting with fragrance and colour.

I’m still going to plan I’m seeing my planning as more like a support grid you use for protecting tall flowers (structures that help me blossom and bloom! - see the image) As I’ve been planning, I’ve made sure there is ‘wiggle room’ and I’ve highlighted the things I’m most looking forward to, to make sure these aren’t always the first things to be taken off my list when things get too busy.

So here’s to 2021 and to staying real!

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