New Year...New Things

I'm not always about setting New Year's resolutions. But as the new year always comes, it's a good time to reflect and start new. One of my goals or dreams has been to start creating art again. I am an Elementary Art teacher and one would think...I get my daily dose of art. Most, if not all, of my art making is working with the students and creating projects based on what they are working on. I wanted more...

If you scroll through any social network, you'll see many challenges available as the new year starts. Challenges to lose weight, eat healthy, be more kind, etc. I came across a January challenge by Kelly Crosser Alge at Modern Ancient Glass http://www.modernancientglass.com/. Although I do not work in glass...I thought this would be a great attempt for me to be 'pushed' into taking the time to create art other than projects for school. I started the challenge with no real goal in mind, other than to create and experiment with some of my new materials. This lead me to the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge by Leslie Saeta at Slices of Life http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com/.

I decided to work with the alcohol inks I had purchased a few months before. Learning this new material and technique has been a challenge, but so enjoyable. I'm 'behind' in the challenge, as I only have 16 paintings complete. But the things I've learned from these 16 paintings has been wonderful! I've come to really enjoy this new material.

In addition to the challenge, I've been stretched to share my work as well through various online sources. This has also been a big adjustment for me. Now I'm attempting to learn how to create a blog...I've ventured into a whole new world!

Here's one of the paintings from the challenge...more to come later.