Setting Goals

I work best when I have a goal that I am working towards, but setting goals as an artist has been difficult for me. I need tangible and achievable goals, something more defined than "become a better artist" or "determine my favorite medium in which to work." 

My BFF came to visit me a few weeks ago so that we could attend CREATE Chicago.  We were immersed in art and spent a lot of time talking about where we wanted to go with our art.  We decided that we needed to establish goals to work on and I chose a simple and achievable goal (something with a high degree of potential for success). 

My goal is to create 100 pieces of decorated paper by the end of 2014.

Scraps of paper sewn together
ala Jenny Cochran Lee

Here’s the thing: I like decorating paper. All kinds of paper.  But I used to get stuck because I didn’t know what I would do with the paper once I was finished. Should I make a book? Would I use it for a collage?  If the paper didn’t have a purpose, then what was the point of taking the time to make the paper beautiful?  Well, I decided that making paper is a worthy goal in itself, even if I have no idea what I will do with the paper in the future. Hence, making paper is now my goal.

I have completed 13 papers so far.  I have been using rice paper mostly, stamping and painting it with acrylic craft paints. I will keep posting pictures as my numbers increase. 

Good luck working toward the goals that you set.

-christina