Hello, friends, and a very Happy New Year to each and every one of you. Sorry I’ve been out of touch, but I have a little  announcement to make. I have returned to full-time work and it has kept me very busy lately.

When I made the transition to being a full-time artist three years ago, I knew it might be a temporary sabbatical of sorts, which happened to dovetail nicely with other changes in my life. Namely, getting married and moving twice (once overseas) with my Air Force husband. At the time, I thought becoming a full-time artist would be the perfect job for me.

But no, I have missed working outside of the house… a lot. I have missed having other things in my life, nurturing other sides of myself. I’ve never been just one thing, but many different people coexisting as one – writer, creator, teacher, caretaker, editor – as I know most of us are. How can I only paint and not analyze, write, learn, and exercise all the skills I’ve acquired from two decades of working in various fields?

But what job would be best? The jobs I’ve enjoyed the most over my life were the ones I worked while I was making plans for bigger things and those jobs were all library positions. I’ve done archiving, cataloging, reference, information management, and circulation. I kept hoping a job at the base library would pop up when I did job searches over the past two years we’ve lived here in Germany. Finally, I got my chance. A position opened up and I seized it.

I love it so far, and I will be able to put a lot of my knowledge and interest in art into the work. I will be redesigning our newsletter and running art-related programs for our weekly Storytime and the summer reading program. The librarian has also asked me to put on a solo show of my work in the library’s little art gallery. I think I might even make a site-specific installation related to books and literature. I’m so excited to see what’s in store!

It has even got me thinking in a very serious way about going back to school for a library science degree, something I’ve pondered off and on for a long time. With the tuition assistance I may be able to secure through my job, it has never seemed so possible or desirable. (I hear Indiana University at Bloomington has an M.L.I.S with a focus on Art Librarianship.)

In the meantime, I refuse to slack off making art. I will never drop it again now that it has become such a daily part of life. In fact, here are a few goals I intend to work on over the next few months:

1. Continue with my “Knowing” series of paintings and create etchings for the series as well.

2. Create new small prints and cards to sell in the spring.

3. Begin selling my work on Saatchi online.

That should keep me busy, don’t you think?

Last year at this time, full of determination to make new work and take my artistic practice to the new level, I wrote in my journal, “This is the year I set myself free.” Once I had put that out into the universe, my work became more about my own emotional journey and it helped me to let go of a lot of things I had been carrying around.

I am moving forward and creating a more balanced life where my art-making is just one aspect of a full existence, balanced with other kinds of intellectual inquiry and service to others.

Yep, I really think 2015 is going to be the best year yet!

How about you, dear reader? What are your creative goals for the New Year?