Hello and Merry Christmas!
It’s that time of year when we start thinking about what we have accomplished over the past 12 months, and what we would like to accomplish in the next year.
2019 for me has been defined by our move to Somerset. It has been a year of transition. A year of relocation, new jobs, new houses, and new people. 2019 has also been a significant year for me in terms of personal growth and reflection. I have got to know myself better this year than any year before. Whether this is to do with getting older, a new environment and the challenge of a new job, or becoming better at taking a step back and reflecting on what I want from life, I’m not sure. A combination of all these things I expect!
I wrote in one of my earlier entries how I started making new year's resolutions a couple of years ago and have found these to be helpful in bringing and keeping my goals and aims to the forefront of my mind. Part of maintaining this motivation is looking back and recognising achievements, lessons learned and areas I would like to work on more in the coming year. So as this year draws to a close, I wanted to share with you my main accomplishments of 2019, and my resolutions for 2020.
My resolutions for 2019 were:
Build my range of greetings cards - Pleased to say that despite a hectic year, I have achieved this, albeit not as much as I would have liked to 12 months ago.
Expand my product range - Again, I have expanded a little, with a new notepad design and some new prints however there is definitely still some room for growth! Something I have learned this year is that, going forward, I want to focus less on the ‘products’ I would like to create, but more on creating the actual art - doing more of what I love to the best of my ability, enjoying the process, and seeing where it takes me.
Improve my calligraphy and lettering skills - Yes! I was scrolling through my instagram feed and came across some photos of my first proper attempts at calligraphy about 18 months ago. When I compare these attempts to my skills now, its crazy the difference. Still a lot to learn and hopefully a more settled year and less travelling at weekends next year will help with this.
Make yoga part of my weekly routine - Not sure I’ve done too well with this one. I made this resolution before we moved and to be honest, whilst I’ve dipped in and out of classes and do regularly stretch at home, I would like to make yoga more consistent in my life. This will definitely roll over to 2020.
Building on these and reflecting back, my top accomplishments this year are:
Making the decision to leave my old job and move to Somerset
The most stressful but best decision I have made in a very long time. Moving to a new area where you don’t know anyone is quite scary and it has taken me a bit of time to feel settled. But I truly love Somerset and I feel so fortunate to be living around here. Life really is for living and for finding your own way! (It helps if you do it with your best friend and partner!)
Starting a journal
The best way to clear the mind and start the day on a positive note! I plan to keep this up indefinitely. (Re-)Introducing journalling and visualisation into my routine has helped me to keep track of what I want to achieve in my work and personal life, alongside providing a platform for recording thoughts, feelings and ideas.
Getting up earlier in the morning
I’ve always been a relatively early riser but at the start of the year, or thereabouts, I decided to get up a little earlier and make the most of my free time in the mornings before work. Everyone’s routine is different, but for me this means rising between 530 and 6am. I adore this time of the day in all it’s gorgeous peacefulness. Getting up early has opened up a whole new world to me and given me the time I craved to wake up slowly, to start my day with purpose, and to educate myself! I’ve done all my calligraphy practice this year at this time of the day, and it’s when I write my journal and take some time to appreciate all the opportunities I have in my life and all the things I’m grateful for. Utilising this time has also freed up my evenings for reading books and for writing this blog, which has been wonderful.
Developing my watercolour skills
Practice, practice, practice! I have become so much more confident with painting this year and can really see the progression in my work. Still room for improvement, but it’s motivating to realise how far you can come in just one year.
Devoting time to practicing calligraphy
I have loved letters, typography and words forever, but my practice has been quite hit and miss. Over the last month or so however something has clicked inside me and I have begun devoting more time to practice and to developing my skills with real purpose and intention. I started slowly teaching myself modern calligraphy about 18 months ago and loved it. But I have always wanted to develop my skills in copperplate and the more traditional script. I’ve had a few books lying around for a while but have always been a bit scared of learning properly - it seemed so precise! But, more recently I decided to bite the bullet and learn copperplate properly. I have since been practicing with dedication and can already see the improvements! I am absolutely head over heels in love with calligraphy, in all its neat, flourishy, historically-based, precise beauty and cannot wait to see how far I can go with it!
Keeping up with this blog!
It’s hard to fit writing in around other commitments however I am pleased to have kept up with writing this blog, albeit intermittently. Writing is so satisfying and whether a post is read by one person or 1000 people doesn’t really matter. It’s the act of putting words down that I love. It also gives Matt a break from listening to me waffle on about all the ideas going through my head!
So, what for 2020!
House - Next year we should hopefully finalise the process of buying and selling houses and move to our new home in Bath. I can’t wait for 2020! As well as building a home, I’m excited to design the interior and eager to use this as a way to develop my skills in design / styling.
Painting and calligraphy - Keep up the practice! I don’t think this will be difficult! I really can’t wait to see how I develop with both these skills. Life without art is unimaginable to me!
Yoga - Incorporate this into my weekly exercise / meditation routine.
Go plastic free with my business - Any suggestions would be appreciated. Particularly with packaging art prints.
The ‘day job’ - I have a number of aims with regard to my day job, but it might be best to not post them all here! One thing I am keen to do is to see if I can develop further awareness of climate change within the business practice and in the projects we work on.
Join a club or two in the local area - I have my eye on a book club(!), yoga classes and drawing classes.
Explore more of the UK!
So there we go. Needless to say, my head is constantly brimming with ideas. But with dedication, planning, enthusiasm I don’t see why we can’t all work on our dreams and achieve our goals!
What do you guys have in store for 2020?
Have a magical end of 2019 and a wonderful start to 2020. Here’s to dreaming, working hard and having fun :D
Sarah x