Happy New Year!
It's that time again--time to take stock of the last twelve months and look ahead to what the next year may bring.
2015
was nuts. I feel like I say that every year, but this past year was a
doozy. First off, I've never traveled so much in my entire life. The
year took me to St. Maarten, Cleveland (x2), Hocking Hills, Pittsburgh (x2), Hilton
Head, Michigan, New York, Niagara Falls, Akron, Chicago, and
Cincinnati. Some of the travel was for conferences; some for work; some
for family togetherness; and some for play. I'm not kidding when I say
I still have a half-unpacked suitcase sitting on my bedroom floor as I
type this. (Note to self: catch up on unwashed laundry in 2016.)
When
I was home during the year (and neither packing nor unpacking
suitcases), I spent the bulk of my time going to appointments and
tending my bum shoulder as I talked about in this rather grumpy blog post. This made 2015 not as productive as I would have liked art-wise,
but I didn't just sit around like a beached whale, either. I still
forced myself to do at least one artistic thing per month and was quite
active in my local SCBWI chapter. I even managed to fill up this annual art chart,
so huzzah!
You may notice two weird things on this summary.
1) What the heck is November?
Long
story short, 10 years ago, my hubby wished he'd purchased a geeky tee
shirt based off of the "Halo" video game franchise. Since then, he's
wistfully looked for it every year, but has never
been able to buy it online. I found a pic of someone wearing the shirt,
re-vectored the design and cleaned it up, and printed it for him as a Christmas
surprise. Original art it is not, but it did take me lots of time and
love, so I'm counting it as my artistic creation for November. :)
2) What's up with December?
I
spent December writing, that's what's up with December! (And working
on WIP illustrations for my nephew that I don't want to spoil.) Yes, it
took over two years, but I'm happy to say that I've finally reconnected
with Pirate Ferret. I've been working my way through a round of
revisions, chipping away at my novel during my lunch breaks at work.
Although I'm EXTREMELY bad at turning my creativity on and off like a light
switch (I prefer to "binge write" for hours on end), I've come to the realization that I need to take better advantage of
the tiny chunks of writing time I can scrounge up during the day. It's been a bit of an adjustment,
but I'm learning to celebrate mini-progress and not expect the same level of productivity from myself as when I used to work part-time. Editing a sentence or two during lunch is always better than editing nothing at all. :)
So what will 2016 bring?
The new year has already started with another shoulder injection, so I'm quite sure I'll be dealing with my body being stupid again this year. But my shoulder does feel a little better, and I'm still working with someone for my migraines, so maybe 2016 will find me the healthiest Kathryn yet! (Or bionic. Can I just swap out my innards for a steel frame?)
Overall, I plan to keep moving forward in 2016. Pirate Ferret is going well; I have lots of art I want to do; and writing and illustrating events are quickly filling my calendar. Plus, I already have one trip planned...
That's right! 2016 is a Disney World year! So how could it not be great year?
I wish you a bright, healthy, and inspired new year! Let's all keep moving forward in 2016!
Note: Blank art summary meme edited from DustBunnyThumper on deviantArt. link All art and stick doodles are mine.
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