Looking back at 2015 is rather mixed. Creatively I have achieved a lot, culminating in the Thread and Exhibition in November which was a great success. But looking back at my targets, so many have not been achieved.
1. Make smaller items alongside larger items - when making a quilt, prepare smaller similar pieces that can become smaller mounted textile art, postcards or cards. For each of the main pieces, I made greeting cards which can be mounted or framed as small pieces of textile art
2. Use the smaller items to sale on Folksy and outlets currently used. Also review all the pieces of textile art that I have and add them to the items for sale. Very little success with Folksy this year so I have really abandoned it for now. I still continue with one of my outlets in Pagham but sales are small but as it does not cost me anything, I will continue for the time being. I pulled out of the outlet in Chichester as despite the owner working really hard on my behalf, I did not achieve any sales.
3. Attend at least one workshop with an artist who inspires me. Sadly this has not happened this year. I did look at various venues and artists but nothing in the right place at the tight time.
4. Meet with Thread and Shutter at least once a fortnight, as well as outings to exhibitions, shows etc. This has again been difficult as we are not at home for much of the time from March - October. We did manage to visit some exhibitions together which is always enjoyable.
5. Continue with regular blog posts, at least two each month. Looking back I achieved this many months but some months it was only 1 blog. This was balanced with some months with 4 blogs so I'm giving myself a tick for this one.
Looking forward to 2016 is very exciting for me as we are moving to Dorset later this month/early February. This is of course tinged with sadness for the friends I leave behind but I see it as a chance for new beginnings and already I am thinking about new things to do. With this in mind, I'm setting myself smaller targets for the year......
1. Sketchbook - work in a sketchbook at least twice each week. With this in mind I have made a list of media, techniques and tools to use with the intention of choosing one at random as the starting point for each day. I intend to only spend an hour on each page, not always aiming for a finished piece of work.
2. Join a local group. There is an Embroiderer's Guild that meets nearby so I will start with that and see where it leads.
3. Make quilts for Project Linus. As I pack ready to move, any quilts that have not sold or used and are no longer needed will be donated to Project Linus so I intend to keep my self busy once we've moved by using up any fabric that is not required and make some more quilts.
4. I'm also sorting out my textile art as I pack and selecting some pieces that I think may sell. This time I am going to try Etsy and see if it is any more successful.
Whatever happens next year, I will have loads of new places to inspire me so lots to look forward to.
Showing posts with label targets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label targets. Show all posts
Sunday, 3 January 2016
Thursday, 1 January 2015
Review of 2014 and looking ahead to 2015
I have a mixture of feelings about how 2014 was creatively for me so I thought I'd start by reviewing the targets I made for the year.
1. Add regularly to my Folksy Shop - I suppose the definition of "regularly" is what is appropriate here! I have added several times through the year but instead of a slow "drip feed" which was my intention, I tended to add in bulk. I know this does not have the best effect of attracting customers but it was really a result of my lifestyle.
2. Set up an Etsy Shop - this didn't happen! I spent a lot of time considering it but in the end I thought it was yet another thing that would take me away from the creating!
3. Submit my work to a local gallery for possible selling - this has been probably the most successful aspect of 2014. I had an exhibition of my Rust collection at Green Tree Gallery, resulting in a sale of the largest piece which gave my confidence a big boost. I also started selling smaller items in two shops near Chichester - Rose Green Art and Craft Gallery and Birdcage Barn Craft Emporium. Both are going steadily, although a little slowly.
4. Work in my sketchbooks at least 2 or 3 times each week - again not really achieved but I do use my sketchbook when I am working on a new piece of work. Again it takes time away from the actual creating!
5. Post regularly on my blog - well I've posted 26 times through the year so an average of 2 a month is an achievement. Unfortunately there were a few months when I didn't post anything.
As I said before, my feelings about the year are mixed. I am really pleased about selling my work in galleries and I hope this will continue and expand in 2015.
However, I spent much of the year making items to sell, particularly for a craft fair that was not successful, and the net result is I have not created the textile art that is my first love. This is all the more significant when I think about the exhibition Thread and Shutter have booked for November 2015 and the fact that I have very little completed so far.
Some serious thinking has been done so my targets for 2015 are:
1. Make smaller items alongside larger items - when making a quilt, prepare smaller similar pieces that can become smaller mounted textile art, postcards or cards.
2. Use the smaller items to sale on Folksy and outlets currently used. Also review all the pieces of textile art that I have and add them to the items for sale.
3. Attend at least one workshop with an artist who inspires me.
4. Meet with Thread and Shutter at least once a fortnight, as well as outings to exhibitions, shows etc.
5. Continue with regular blog posts, at least two each month.
I'm excited about the coming year and have already begun to put some of these targets in place. Organising an exhibition is always a good way of focussing the mind. My problem is not letting myself getting side-tracked by other crafty things I see and want to try out!
Let's get going!
1. Add regularly to my Folksy Shop - I suppose the definition of "regularly" is what is appropriate here! I have added several times through the year but instead of a slow "drip feed" which was my intention, I tended to add in bulk. I know this does not have the best effect of attracting customers but it was really a result of my lifestyle.
2. Set up an Etsy Shop - this didn't happen! I spent a lot of time considering it but in the end I thought it was yet another thing that would take me away from the creating!
3. Submit my work to a local gallery for possible selling - this has been probably the most successful aspect of 2014. I had an exhibition of my Rust collection at Green Tree Gallery, resulting in a sale of the largest piece which gave my confidence a big boost. I also started selling smaller items in two shops near Chichester - Rose Green Art and Craft Gallery and Birdcage Barn Craft Emporium. Both are going steadily, although a little slowly.
4. Work in my sketchbooks at least 2 or 3 times each week - again not really achieved but I do use my sketchbook when I am working on a new piece of work. Again it takes time away from the actual creating!
5. Post regularly on my blog - well I've posted 26 times through the year so an average of 2 a month is an achievement. Unfortunately there were a few months when I didn't post anything.
As I said before, my feelings about the year are mixed. I am really pleased about selling my work in galleries and I hope this will continue and expand in 2015.
However, I spent much of the year making items to sell, particularly for a craft fair that was not successful, and the net result is I have not created the textile art that is my first love. This is all the more significant when I think about the exhibition Thread and Shutter have booked for November 2015 and the fact that I have very little completed so far.
Some serious thinking has been done so my targets for 2015 are:
1. Make smaller items alongside larger items - when making a quilt, prepare smaller similar pieces that can become smaller mounted textile art, postcards or cards.
2. Use the smaller items to sale on Folksy and outlets currently used. Also review all the pieces of textile art that I have and add them to the items for sale.
3. Attend at least one workshop with an artist who inspires me.
4. Meet with Thread and Shutter at least once a fortnight, as well as outings to exhibitions, shows etc.
5. Continue with regular blog posts, at least two each month.
I'm excited about the coming year and have already begun to put some of these targets in place. Organising an exhibition is always a good way of focussing the mind. My problem is not letting myself getting side-tracked by other crafty things I see and want to try out!
Let's get going!
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