That's a Wrap!

Well it's just after 8PM and Sarko has just finished giving his annual New Year's Eve address. This can only mean one thing: In a few hours, 2008 will be over, done with, and long gone.
I love the magic of New Year's Eve, but late December I do tend to get a case of the blues. Do you ever get that "not so content" feeling towards the end of the year?

As a natural born over-achiever, I tend to look back on the year and say to myself: "Crap, I wanted to get all this stuff done and I didn't even complete half of it." Like, what happened to all my New Year's resolutions I made last year? Why didn't I reach more of my personal and career goals? And most importantly, why am I not rich and famous yet?

So about two weeks ago in particular I was kinda having a really really miserable day. Aside from having a rather severe case of post-show blues (I had just finished the first weekend of my Christmas promo at the Artshop. More on that later.) I just couldn't shake this general feeling of lethargy and dissappointment.

It's so odd. I am thrilled with almost every aspect of my life, but when it comes to my career. I hold myself up to these insanely high standards, which of course only leads to dissapointment when I can't surpass the nearly impossible goals that I've set up for myself. It's a big doofus boobie-trap that leads to a downwards shame spiral that ends with me curling up on the sofa and eating like 30-40 chocolate cookies. The whole process makes about as much sense as me beating myself up for not being able to summit Mount Everest.

Luckily, art consultant extroardinaire Alyson Stansfield's end of the year Newsletter landed in my inbox just when I needed it.

She starts out:

"TIME OUT! Instead of thinking about what you still want to accomplish, consider acknowledging all you have done. Take time to write down your accomplishments for 2008."

So I did it. (With the help of this blog actually.) And I was amazed at how much I'd gotten done and how much I'd totally forgotten I'd done. So here's my list, I'm still adding to it, but it's a good start.

Art Accomplishments 2008

MARKETING STUFF:
1. I did a much needed May website update.
2. I bought and started using new E-mail campaign software.
3. I bought two new database softwares for record & bookkeeping.
4. Added 100 people to my mailing list.
5. Spent time helping 3 artists with planning, ideas, for their careers.
6. Gave my first Artist lecture in French!
7. Met 4 local French journalists that lead to publications.
8. Met at least 10 artists from the local art community and did studio visits with several.
9. Got a new logo and letterhead. (Which I now kinda hate but whatever.)
10. Developed a concrete marketing plan for my work.
11. Researched and found 3 French galleries to introduce my work to.
12. Met a gallery that is interested in including my work in a group show.

ARTICLES/INK:
13. Three- page article published in Liberator Magazine.

14. Full page in La Semaine Newspaper about myself and my work.
15. Work appeared in Nuevo Luz Magazine as part of New works award.


EXHIBITIONS:

16. Exhibited new work from “The Girl Who Became an Eagle” series at La Galerie Culture Plastique.
17. Participated in La Foire Européenne Art Contemporain.

18. Exhibited 15 photographic works from the (Re)callng (Re)telling series at Taller Boricua Gallery in New York.

19. Had Two works accepted into Double Exposure: African Americans Before and Behind the Camera that opened at The Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco and will continue on to several museum and gallery venues until 2011.

WORK:
20. Completed a series of commissioned hand-made books for the New York Foundation for the Arts.

21. Completed 10 new paintings specifically for La Foire Européenne Art Contemporain.

22. Completed a series of Gocco Screen prints: “I’ll Fly Away” and “Le Papillon Noir”.
23. Finished (Re)callng (Re)telling Photo series with the help of the En Foco New Work Photography Award.
24. Signed paperwork for two first edition prints of my photographs from the (Re)calling and (Re)telling Series to be acquisitioned into a Museum Permanent collection
25. Set up a Gallery share in downtown Metz with another artist.
26. Organized a very successful mail art exhibition at my new gallery space.

27. Planned and organized Premier opening at my new gallery space.

STUFF I SAW:
28. Saw the Francis Bacon Show at the Tate Britain
29. Saw the Rothko show at the Tate Modern.
30. Went to Paris to see the Louise Bourgeois retrospective.
31. Saw the Traces of the Sacred show at the Pompidou Center Paris.
32. Attended the 2008 Fresh Meat Transgender and Queer Performance Festival in San Francisco.

33. Snuck into the San Francisco art institute to see the Diego Rivera mural.
34. Visited at least 20 galleries in Paris.

STUDIO/ ENVIRONMENT:
35. Organized and implemented a new studio set-up and bought new work/studio furniture.

36. Invested in New brushes and amazing new brush wrack.
37. Cleaned and organized my sink working area and studio storage.
38. New File cabinet with organized hanging files.
39. Learned that getting up and dressed and keeping business hours makes me more productive than lounging around in my pajamas all day. DUH?
40. I learned that I cannot listen to music while I work. However listening to an audio book seems to help me concentrate.

Accomplishment of the year: (insert drum roll here.)

41. Finally, Finally, Finally, I have 2 complete shows worth of work, that I really love,

that are ready to rock and roll at ANY minute!

So that's that. The year 2008 didn't suck afterall. In fact it kinda rocked out. And on that note I'm gonna go get dressed so I can head out the door to go to my first French New Year's Eve party.

JOYEUSES FÊTES DE FIN D'ANNÉE À TOUS!