Thirteen for Thirty-Two

This coming year, it's a numbers game.  Many of the goals will be quantity not quality. The truth is, quantity leads to quality especially when one is trying to learn a subject or a discipline.

Some have specific numbers attached to them:

1. Photoshop
Watch a Lynda.com class on Photoshop.

2. Illustrator
Watch a Lynda.com class on Illustrator.

3. After Effects
Watch a Lynda.com class on After Effects. 

4. PaintingPaint 365 portraits (at most basic sense). I want to be good at painting faces. I don't even know what that means yet but what I do know is that I need to put in a lot of time with drawing and painting. This feels like the loftiest of the goals.

5. Reading
Read 8 books. To some of you that won't seem like a lot. It probably isn't. But I am not in the habit of reading. I'm hoping this year that changes.


6. Blog
Create 52 wedding blog posts. They don't all have to be AMAZING, but wouldn't it be nice if they were. I should probably have some subcategory of how many posts will feature original material. TBD. These 52 blog posts will most likely take place at my work's wedding blog. Double win.



7. Fabric Flowers
Create 5 bouquets. This may be tougher than #4. Fabric flowers require a lot of time. Not just coming up with the flowers themselves but then finding flowers that work together in a bouquet. Then you have to actually construct the little bastards. I am no expert in floral arrangements, which adds another fun layer as well.

8. Patterns
Design 25 patterns in Illustrator. Turn 10 of those into something I can use in my art whether it be a purchased red rubber stamp, a handmade fun foam stamp or an adx stencil.

Non-Number Goals
This is where I step outside of the numbers.

9. Photography
I want to get comfortable shooting two and three dimensional products. I need to learn the camera basics and how they affect the final product. I also want to learn how to use lighting.

10. Stress
I am moving down a path of increased stress. Each year I add to the bad habits instead of fixing them. I don't know what it will take to make this part of my life healthier, but I need to be aware of it and work toward calmer living. Exercise? Meditation? I have no idea.

11. Living Space
Continue to throw crap out. Continue to think about what I create and how I create. This time next year I would like to NOT be sitting between piles of crap.

12. Clothing
Dressing well takes a lot of effort. It's about being aware of what we are comfortable wearing, which then asks us to think about how we feel about our body. I want to feel comfortable as a heavy person in what I'm wearing. I want nice shoes that don't hurt my feet. I want to be age appropriate. I want to be comfortable when the weather turns hot and when the weather turns cold. Liking your clothing is the kind of upkeep it takes to keep the house clean. I'm done relegating it to shallowness.

13. Writing
Two-dimensional art continues to be my path, but I'm realizing there is a sense of story I crave that my two-dimensional art doesn't fulfill. Number 13 isn't a formed goal yet. I just know that I want to continue writing. Here I'm giving myself permission to do so.