It’s the time of year for making lists. Best movies and music of the year, resolutions, cataloguing, reviewing, piecing time together into a unified whole. I’m reflecting today and not tomorrow because today marks a year since I lost my dad (in fact, close to the exact hour), so it’s a good time to think.

A year spent in the shadow of death is an interesting one. You’re forced to think of what you’ve lost and what you will find, both in memory and in new experience. And it jars you the way few things can. I’ve felt more on my toes this year, more determined, sharper. Before the holidays last year, I think I expected 2010 to be ‘my’ year— I’m not so sure that’s what happened, although perhaps it was in a bittersweet way. 

In 2010, I: 

• initiated a yearlong project  (Picture Book Report) which has managed to stretch longer than a year, but gave me the opportunity to reimagine Alice in Wonderland and produce related work for galleries as well as Monoblock and Radiolab.
• worked on two large-scale posters, which was a lot of fun
• witnessed my best friends getting married, and danced the night away
• learned how to ride a bike
• brought old friends together in our old printshop haunts to discuss our lives and love of print
• started reading more
• moved a thousand miles north, something I’ve been craving to do for years
• saw my work for the first time animated, something that still tickles me and makes me want to start working on character concepts and tv shows
• met new friends, engaged in talk of collaboration, and new opportunities
• did a lot of repeat work for favorite clients, and had fun with a few new ones
• honed my cooking skills and love of good food
• started working on another book
• started making plans for where I want my illustration career to take me.

I bet there was more, but this is the tricky part of trying to remember a year in a short stint. Things I notice- did not complete my commissions. (Fixing this soon.)  No screenprinting in 2010. (Unforgiveable. We are going to rectify this in ‘11.) Less personal work just for fun (again, fixing this.) 

2011 and beyond, I want to take you by the reins. Only I can do this, I know, but with support and cheering on I will make this happen. So these are a list of goals— I won’t call them resolutions, because we’ll see how it goes and I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment— but this time next year I’m hoping to be able to revisit this list and cross quite a few off. 

• I still haven’t left the United States. It would be fairly amazing to get a passport and do this in 2011, but I have decided that I must visit someplace foreign before I’m thirty. My bones crave travel, even if my wallet is light.
• Worry less, be bolder, get in better shape, and be a better friend to those I care about.
• Find a job I enjoy on top of freelancing and supplement with volunteering. I want to help others but I also crave to fund the things I’ve been so interested in, and continue to learn. 
• Being a shy sort, I’m aiming to work on public speaking and define my voice. I would like to teach (be it in a workshop setting or in a full-teaching mode) and get comfortable sharing opinions, helping others, and expressing those things I just keep quiet.
• Also, teaching. Even just a 1-day workshop. Popping into a few art departments this winter has invigorated me— I would love to go visit some colleges and pull a print, or discuss illustration, or something.
• Follow-through. Changing the ratio of brainstorming to accomplishing and finishing work. Finish Alice. Get the work compiled into a book. Move on.
• More animation. I am hoping to revamp my portfolio a little and perhaps define it also for character design.
• More sketching, more drawing from life, more drawing with friends. In general, more drawing and more confidence drawing.
• Expanding the world my illustrations inhabit. Book publishing, apps, package design, toys, homewares, animation- you name it, I want to start it. I’m toying with making a ‘What if?’ series of explorations where I make things like beer labels and toys and such. We’ll see.
• More patterns. Investing in more things I make in sell. Would love to do a fair (Maker, Renegade, etc), or work up to screenprinting so much I could visit Flatstock.
• Collaboration. I’m seeking collaborators, particularly to help develop small-batches of products and such. I want to screenprint on textiles, produce more fabric items, work with someone on some stop-motion animation, work on some stationery or home-goods, work with a ceramicist to produce some interesting decal ceramics, perhaps a wood-worker to do some wooden screenprinted toys, and some letterpress work. A lot of this revolves around screenprinting, which leads to:
• SCREENPRINTING.I can’t underline that enough. I know, I know, repeating record, but it’s something my bones are yelling at me to do. Rubylith! Working bigger! Limited palettes! I want eventually to put together that printshop, but in the meantime I’m looking at joining a studio. Regardless, something’s gotta happen and quick. 
• More focused goals, including a solo show. (Details TK. I think it’ll be awesome.)

Knowing me, there’s always more, but these are important and I am going to work really hard to make 2011 incredible. This year both bitter and sweet has been really incredible for the people I’ve had to work with and the projects I’ve accomplished, but I want to attack 2011 with vigor. Wish me luck— I hope you’ll keep up with me and enjoy the efforts!