2015 Goals

I am late in publishing a post regarding my art goals for the year. The truth is that I have been struggling with them, but this morning, it occurred to me that that’s because 2015 is going to be different. I can’t just copy my goals from last year and have them work again. I am preparing for a two-person show. I can’t share pieces once they’re final, and since they’re abstract, blogging about their creation is not the same. I can’t break the process into manageable portions anymore. Currently, my ironing board is loaded with fabric, and I’m applying pieces as I go, no longer by color alone.

I am also challenged by what I can enter into shows in the coming year if I am dedicating a chunk of work to the two-person show. There’s only so much that I can produce.

I did make a leap and finally a purchased a time keeping app called OfficeTime. I had been using the timer on my phone, then entering it in a Notes app, then transferring it later to a spreadsheet on my desktop. That became unmanageable. Now I have a timer that keeps track of what I’m doing by project & by category. It doesn’t sync with my desktop, but I can export my reports to a spreadsheet. I haven’t decided if I’ll stick with that or purchase the desktop version too. Right now, there’s no backup of my hours which makes me nervous now that I’ve come to rely on this app so much.

Anyway, let’s give this a shot.

— Make 2015 goals.

— Create spreadsheet to keep track of hours by project and by category — as well as social media goals.

— Print blog books. I didn’t get to that last year. I keep hoping they’ll upgrade Anthologize into a better app — or a better app will come along that turns my blog posts into better publishable material. I’m not thrilled with what I get from Anthologize — it doesn’t give me published dates as a reference on page headings. You can only put them in chronological order by hand. I already have the PDF’s created — I just have to send them to the printer. I’ll commit to printing 3 years worth.

— Create a printed book of work created. This is more easily said than done. I want to create a page for every piece on my website. Ultimately, it would be great to have every piece I’ve ever done. I thought about a scrapbook with prints of my work, but then none of my artist statements or information on sizing would be on there. I’ve reached the point where my inventory is getting away from me. I want a place that I can bring it all together and have even if my website would one day go away.

— Increase web traffic. Last year my goal was 5% — which at this point seems like a bad joke. I innocently thought that the best way to increase your traffic was to write regularly on your blog and post regularly to social media. Silly me. Apparently, all you really need to do is get your name or work published somewhere in mainstream media — OR do something that other people find offensive and talk about endlessly in a social forum. LOL! Well, it seems funny now anyway.

While I have no desire to attract negative attention, I do want to continue to grow the traffic on my website. I cannot, however, use 2014 has a year for comparison — so let’s say a 10% increase over 2013 traffic.

— Complete at least 6 large pieces. I will definitely stick with this goal. I have at least 5 large ones to complete for the two-person show.

— Participate in two-person exhibit.

— Enter at least 6 other exhibitions. This is the same as last year’s goal which, given the two-person show I’m working on, sounds like a lot, but I’ve already entered 3 as of today.

— Continue to work on collaboration with Leisa Rich.

— Publish at least 1 blog post per week. Last year this was 2.

I spent a lot of time last year combing through articles about art — which I tend to do anyway — and then tweeted them. They then syndicated to my personal Facebook page — and at the end of the week on Sunday, I would write a weekly Tweek! summarizing all of the tweets I made in the week. I’m not certain how popular those blog posts were though.

And then in a pinch, I could also make a Wordless Wednesday post with a photograph I had taken somewhere for inspiration. Did I tell you that my camera was recently stolen? <sigh> I do intend to replace it and will probably still do some Wordless Wednesday posts.

I would like to write more on my blog, but I’ve been faced with more challenges for my time in the past year. I started doing some freelance work, and when I’m not doing that, I want to be in my studio creating work. I have deadlines I have to meet. So my blog has suffered as a result. If I’m being realistic, though, I don’t see that changing, so I’m only going to commit myself to once a week.

— Write at least 4 FaceBook posts per week on my professional Page. This is the same as last year.

— I don’t think I’m going to continue a Twitter goal. I am going to keep my account, but in the scheme of things, it don’t think it was adding much to me professionally.

— Spend at least 15 hours per week on my art. Last year I said 15 hours in the studio — but in the end, I counted all dedications of time to my work. The truth is that a lot of time is spent entering shows, shopping for supplies, working on my website, curating, etc.

— Sell at least 2 of my pieces. This is the same goal that I had last year, and I’m comfortable continuing it.

— Be a positive and constructive energy within the art world. I’m okay with competition, but I don’t agree with stepping on other people to get ahead. I want to share what I know through speaking to guilds, and I want to share the work of other artists so that others can experience their talent. Be the change you want in the world — I choose the brighter path.