New Year
New Project
New Blog!

Hello friend, thank you for joining me on this auspiciously un-daunting first step of the year 2012 in an effort to follow my happiness and materialize my dreams (there are too many to list here, but I’m sure they will have no problem making themselves evident in the future).  I will be creating one piece of artwork each day for the next year.  I have given myself no other guidelines, expectations or restrictions.  Sounds simple enough, right?

As this idea developed and grew, and as I became more certain that it was what I wanted, it began to dawn on me that it might not be so simple.  You see, I have two adorable tornadoes who swirl amok immediately undoing any planning, order, or any attempt to create either in our home; I have an amazing husband who works damn hard with dismally few days off; I am our household’s Chief Domestic Engineer; I also have a part time job.

I have learned to juggle, but over the last year I learned that this alone is inadequate while walking this crazy, matriarchal tight-rope. My physical and emotional health have come dangerously close to their tipping points at times, and for the sake of my Self and my family, I would rather that not happen again.

So this is the year I learn to balance.

In art, balance is a fundamental part of basic design and composition. The term is used to describe the distribution of visual weight and the relation of elements to one another within the work.  Even unbalanced artwork makes one feel vaguely uneasy or dissatisfied.

Balance requires taking a step back and looking at the big picture.  It forces me to question the relationship between important elements of my composition. It challenges me to find priorities, to decide what gets to take the forefront and what may have to fade into the background.  That has been weighing heavily on my mind all day today.

Balance also means making space for all the necessary elements.  In my daily life this means my incredibly Type B personality will have to give way for some serious Type A  action– self-motivation and organization.  I have been navigating my chaos comfortably for years, but now this new challenge (remember, the easy art piece a-day project?) has turned into the tip of an iceberg that I truly did not see coming, and it is calling for some major self-improvement and habit-breaking.  But I will break these habits, they won’t break me.

I will learn to balance.
I am unsinkable.
Bring it on, twenty-twelve.

I will post day one’s creation now, but in the future I might bundle a few days into single posts.