Well I must say I am not sad to say farewell to you, 2015. It felt like one of those tough years. I spent much of my creative time making pieces to enter juried shows.

This piece was created with beautiful embroidery purchased from Syrian and Iraqi refugees living in Jordan. You can learn more about their group here http://www.collateralrepairproject.org/

As well, I created this piece from their stories about their life, which I found horrific!

Deadlines are gruelling! And rejection is disappointing.

So this year, I’m doing things a little different. I have returned to my roots! I began as a quilter. And for 2016 I have started out where I began.

This pattern is from Lee at http://www.freshlypieced.com . It is called Morracan Lanterns. I loved it, because lanterns are such a part of the Middle East.  I felt it would be a great quilt to create given this will be my last full year in the Middle East. What surprised me the most was what I learned from this quilt. It is pieced together in a very different way from anything else I have ever made and it has me thinking I’m a different direction! I also learned that years ago I would not have ever attempted this quilt as I felt I was not a very percise quilter, but I feel like perhaps I am…see all those points?? Now for the quilting!!!

The most important thing I learned was that I enjoyed this and that was enough.

Yes, enough.

Enough is my word for the year. I have enough, I am enough and enjoying what I do is enough! I don’t always have to be working toward a big goal or deadline.

This does not mean I have abandoned my art, not at all. But I feel a shift. I find that getting out of that element for a moment while still being creative generates all kinds of ideas.  More to come!

And I’m ending this post with a photo I took at the Guggenheim Museum in Venice. It’s a great reminder about kindness…..personally 2015 was a little more cruel than kind for me…so farewell to you 2015!

I spent sometime recently choosing a word for the year. I am new at this. 2013 was the first time I ever chose a word, “imagine”. Well, to be honest, it was a year that took me to unimaginable places, it was the most amazing year of my life! Here is hoping that in 2014, “forward” will work the same magic. I worked with a friend of mine who, when the going got tough, used to say to me, “keep moving forward”! I often find myself stuck in a rut, sitting, thinking, fretting, feeling the fear of creating when truly, if I just kept moving forward, the creativity would consume me! That is what this year is about for me. It is about continuing to make art, creating everyday, moving past the fear, onward to forward!

That said, here I am blogging, which is something I never envisioned for myself. Apparently forward is working.

I did some painting yesterday and was very happy with the results.

While the fabric was still wet, I folded it and left it to dry. I’m loving all this rich texture before I even begin with the piece. I have an idea where this piece is leading me!

I hope your New Year is going great!. I would love to hear about your choice of a word for 2014!