As the year ends, and 2021 comes to a close I feel like it’s really the last 2 years combined that have come to a close. The pandemic has set us back and moved us forward in many ways. It may not be over yet, but this post is about my year of creativity in 2021, some thoughts on moving forward, and what the pandemic has taught us and the silver lining I want to share.

As I approach years where I should really be thinking about retirement, I still find myself planning, working and thinking about both professional and personal goals. That Type A personality never really leaves you!

I still work full time and fight between the joy of success I feel professionally and the peace I feel creatively and I fight between what makes me happy and what earns money.

I have a list of “what makes me happy” (another type A personality trait) and I always look back at it at the end of the year. My list hasn’t changed much - in about a decade - yes a decade. The difference is, that now I am asking myself - how close am I to having these happy moments on a regular basis, or how close am I to living a life where I experience these things daily.

The silver lining of the pandemic is that is has given us a pause. A pause to think on those types of things whereas before, between the work, dinner, groceries, paying bills - we didn’t have that time to reflect. That’s the silver lining. The pause.

Do you have such a list of what makes you happy? - or similar? - I’d love to hear about it. Are you closer to regular happy moments in your daily life?

In the spirit of looking back over 2021 I created a video of most of the artwork I have done in 2021. I’ve probably talked about most of the pieces on my blog but it’s always fun to have a full picture of what’s gone on in the studio.

PS> I usually share my videos here before I post them on youtube (cuz you guys should get first dibs as my subscribers) but somehow I did post it on youtube before you got to see it - sorry about that - it’s still worth viewing (even for a second time ; ) )

And, just because it’s fun to watch videos, I’m also sharing this journal flip through. This seems to have become my new style of journaling this year, in my handmade midori style journals . I’m up to Journals #15 as of this post! And BTW, 3 of the 13 will be published in Art Journaling in 2022 - I’ll give you a heads up when that issue comes up.

So here’s a flip through of number 13 in the series:

PSS> Other great blog posts to read with a similar view of what I talk about above:

• My Giant Strawberry - sign up for her newsletter to get her end of year post on the subject

• I’ve mentioned Dispatch from LA before in some of my posts, but again go here to see what living in the moment can look like.

• The Aesthetic of Joy - -go to this link called Let it be EASY for a more eloquent version of what I am trying to say in my post

Let’s talk again soon - I’m rebranding and will have news on that and I will let you know when my journals are published in Somerset’s Art Journaling.