Happy New Year, everyone! My, how time flies! In general, I feel I've seen a lot of growth from this past year where it pertains to my artwork and professional goals. Still a lot of room for improvement as always, though.
My goals at the start of 2019 (as outlined in this post) included the following:
Make art every day
Develop my shops
Focus on handmade crafts
For 2020, my goals are pretty much the same. There are definitely specific things I want to focus on within those same goals.
Make Art Every Day
I think every artist struggles with being consistent when it comes to producing artwork, especially when life and day jobs get in the way. I wouldn't say I made art every day in 2019 (that was probably an unrealistic expectation to begin with, to be honest), but I did make a lot. Towards the end of 2019, I had a bit of a slump, which I hope to recover from with the start of the new year!
For 2020, I'm going to work on consistency. Maybe I won't sit down to sketch every day, but I certainly want to make the time at least a few times a week. Perhaps changing things up once in a while will help keep me motivated by trying out new methods and media. I want to work not only on my digital work, but also explore painting and crafts. One thing I've always struggled with is not feeling confident about my "style." I think that a lot of this stems from feelings of inadequacy when sitting down to draw, like I don't know what I'm doing. Consistent art making will not only help me develop my unique artistic voice through constant repetition and practice, but it will also make that blank canvas less intimidating as I get used to tackling it on a more regular basis.
Develop My Shops
When it comes to professional goals, I've done a lot of self evaluation over what it is I really want. I've come to the conclusion that I want find ways to support myself and my family through making MY art. This means I've been focusing less on attracting clients and applying for jobs I ultimately don't want, and focusing more on making what I like and finding an audience for it. This is the main reason I started exploring online shops like Etsy and some print-on-demand sites.
I experimented and learned a lot last year, and not every venture I've pursued has produced positive results. I've cut back where I needed to. However, I've seen growth in a number of my online shops. It's been a slow progression, but forward motion nonetheless! I've added new postings to my Etsy shop and have finally started to see some sales. I released two coloring books last year. Flowers All Around has been my most successful self-publishing project yet! I took part in a few Spoonflower designer challenges, and even made it to the top 10 one week. I'd love to continue developing pattern collections there. And NEW in 2019, I joined the design team over at Holly Pixels. I've been having fun creating some digital sticker sets for the top-notch digital planners they sell there. Holly Pixels is a great site overall for all things related to digital planning, scrapbooking, and iPad art, and I was a huge fan even before joining the team. With a new site design, revamped planners, and expanded digital sticker sets that have all launched recently, things are looking great over at hollypixels.com! I am excited to continue developing some fun products this year.
Moving forward, of course I want to focus on what is working. I think at this point, I've at least narrowed down what I'm doing well at. So my main goal really is just to keep at it and make more stuff! I can't make sales if I don't have stuff out there to sell, right? Besides that, I really need to work overall on marketing myself and finding ways to promote my work. That's always been one of my biggest struggles. Networking and social media will play a part in that.
Focus on Handmade Crafts
I love working digitally, whether on my desktop computer or iPad, but I like to be hands-on and crafty as well! In 2019, I invested in a Cricut Explore Air 2 machine, which has been so much fun to play around with not only for personal projects, but also learning how to create digital SVG files for other crafters. It has become another outlet for my creativity with many possibilities yet to explore. Also this past year, I've started occasionally posting again to my long-dormant craft blog Niki Jin Crafts (as well as the accompanying IG account). I've been trying to have fun with it rather than adding pressure to do yet another thing. I just found I like having an outlet to share my crafty side!
In 2020, I'd love to continue with more of the same. I want to see what other possibilities there are with creating with my Cricut. I'll probably focus mostly on paper crafts and SVG file creation. I also have a personal wish list going of various things I want to knit, sew, embroider, and build. I want to continue to share things I make on my blog and social media. And perhaps I'll start tinkering with the idea of selling physical items along with my digital offerings over on Etsy. (That may be a goal for a future year, though. We'll see!)
My 2020 Resolutions
So, in summary, I've decided that these are my 2020 resolutions:
Fill a sketchbook. I think this might be a more attainable goal than simply saying "make art every day," which is a little too vague. Also, promising "every day" can be a lot of pressure! And by using a sketchbook, I'll have to force myself to put aside my iPad and computer once in a while, get back down to basics, and explore other media. Although maybe I can figure out a cool way to create a digital sketchbook as well... And when I fill one sketchbook, I'll simply start another!
Grow my Etsy and Holly Pixels listings. These two shops have seen the most success so far, so they are the ones I want to focus on growing this year. This means buckling down and getting some new listings out that currently only exist as ideas in my head. I also want to research and implement ways to grow my audience, whether through social media, networking, blogging, or starting an email newsletter.
Explore paper crafting. It's easy for me to get carried away with the huge list of crafts I want to make, and I'm sure I'll get around to some of it. I really want to focus on paper crafting, though. I think it could be really fun to create some cute cards, cutouts, scrapbook embellishments, home decor, illustrations, etc. with my own designs using the Cricut machine. And should I ever decide to sell physical items on Etsy, I think that is the route I'd want to take, so this could also be a form of product development!
One More Thing to Look Forward to in 2020
Oh, and did I mention, I'm also expecting my THIRD daughter in April. So we'll see how much that throws a wrench in all these plans once she arrives! In all seriousness, though, I can't wait. As much as I am striving to be a successful artist and designer, my role as a mother is the one in which I hope to find the most success in this year and the years to come!
Wishing you all the best in the new year!
Nicole
