On Looking Back

December 01, 2022

Hello beautiful people! I can't believe we are already in December.  The months are whizzing by!  We are busy getting ready for Christmas here which means lots of baking, cleaning, shopping, wrapping, cooking.  Our children will be home for a few days and we'll play games and eat and go to Christmas mass and talk long walks in the snow and go cross-country skiing.  *sigh* It will be lovely.  

It's a busy time, especially if your working full or part-time, taking care of kids or elderly parents, and trying to keep up with the house and the cooking and the laundry and the pets and all the other things that make up our lives.  Christmas, as wonderful as it is, does come with a lot of extra things to do and if you're not super organized and on top of it, it also comes with a lot less sleep.

One Year-End Technique

I thought it might be nice to share with you one year end technique I started a number of years ago that helped, and continues to help, bring me, well, not joy which I am always looking for with my art, but satisfaction maybe, or a sense of achievement which contributes to the desire to keep going with my art and not quit.  

When I was in that position of crazy busy before I retired, by the end of November and the beginning of December I'd start feeling like another year had passed and again I'd had hardly any time to work on my art and creativity.  One year I decided to look back and list all the art things I'd done since January.  To my surprise, once it was all grouped together on a piece of paper, I saw that I'd actually done a fair amount.  It made me feel a little better.

The next year, seeing as I'd had actually been able to accomplish stuff, I figured I'd try to set a couple of art goals.  By the end of that year, I'd reached both those goals and was able to add those to the other small bits of art I'd done through the year to my "look back" list.  My heart filled with a little more confidence.

How I Do It

This small step is now an annual activity for me.  If I were really organized, I'd keep a running diary of everything I'd done all year.  But I'm not, so my method of generating my look back list is to: 

1. go through my Instagram and Facebook feeds to see what I posted 
2. scroll through my phone calendar to check on any art-related dates or meet-ups 
3. look through my stash of pictures, projects and sketchbooks to see what I worked on, both finished and unfinished

Every little bit of art activity, from painting a picture with gouache to having an art date with a friend to going to a museum to working in my sketchbook, gets on the list.  Sometimes the list is a lovely illustrated page or two in my sketchbook.  Other times it is just a list of words on paper. It depends on how busy I am.  The focus for me is on the gathering and reflecting, not the end product though I love to make it fun when I can.

The final step:  CELEBRATE!  

After all the gathering, it is time to hit pause and look at all the accomplishments, the obstacles overcome, the goals achieved or even partially achieved.  Every bit counts and every bit should be celebrated. This is such an important step.  I used to make my list, say "Yay!" and rush off to do the next thing and the next.  Slowing down to congratulate myself, and acknowledge myself and my efforts was really hard.  The thing was, if I didn't stop to look back and feel good and learn from what I'd done all year, then I would be missing out on all those good feelings and understanding of where I was at and the bonus of figuring out where I want to go next.

 How it Worked Over the Years

Some years I really did do a lot of stuff.  But there were years that I hardly got to do anything at all art-related, and goals were not even remotely accomplished.  From this I learned that it was important to also look at what else happened in my life during the year.   If someone was sick, or work was especially taxing and there simply was not enough energy to do a whole lot of art, well, that was life.  Then I'd tell myself, "Okay, even with all that happened this year you were able to do this and this and this."  Truthfully, it didn't feel good the first time, but over the years I was able to see the ebbs and flows and now I don't stress (well not that much) when I am in a down time for art.

It is fun to look back at what I've done and this technique is super at helping me see that I am moving forward and growing my skills even if it doesn't feel like it all through the year.  I've been retired for two years now and I'm so lucky that I'm able to do more art stuff.  But life is still crazy busy.  You'd think with no job to go to and no children at home that there'd be a whole lot more time.  Yet there are still chores to do, people to care for, and volunteering that needs to be done.  I also recognize that some of my busyness is from the things I chose to do.  So this technique of "looking back" is still as useful today as when I was juggling the children, the home, the work and all the other stuff.  

So That's It

I hope that you find this bit of sharing interesting.  Maybe it will have you thinking about your own journey, whether it is a creative journey or another path in life.  I'd invite you, if you are not already doing so, to take a few minutes for a "look back" at your year.  Make a simple list on a piece of paper or journal, or illustrate it in your sketchbook.  If you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about your process at year-end or if you give this a go for the first time, let us know how it works for you.  

If you are interested in checking out my latest art work, you'll find me on Instagram or Facebook.  I've some prints available for sale of my Inktober drawings, cost per print is $20 plus shipping.   You can see the pictures here. Contact me here to see if it is available. They were printed at Martha Street Studio in Winnipeg.  That was such a great experience!  I've also got some new designs in my Redbubble shop which you can check out here.  

Thanks guys!