What areas do you want to grow in your art life? A new medium, learn a new technique, draw a portrait, attend a class? Share your goals and make your self accountable. Provide yourself with some areas to aim for. Then this time next year, look back at your goals and see what you have achieve. I have taken the following exerpt from Alyson Stanfield's site to share with you. Answer these questions and see what you have to celebrate!

.......It’s the time to take a good hard look at the steps you’ve taken toward reaching your goals. And I’ll bet you’ve made more progress than you know.

That’s why it’s important to do this exercise. If you don’t write down your achievements, you’ll just keep thinking about what’s left to do.

With that in mind, what did you do this year? Take into consideration:

* How many works did you create?
* What trips (local or far away) did you make to nourish your art?
* How much money did you make from your art?
* What classes (business or creative) did you take?
* What did you invest in that will help you to run a more profitable or streamlined business?
* Whom did you hire so that you can spend more time on your creative career? (framer, virtual assistant, housekeeper, lawn mower, bookkeeper)
* Whom did you meet that has turned out to be a mentor?
* What books did you read? What magazines?
* What movies did you see that inspired you?
* How many names did you add to your mailing list? (Note the exact number so you can evaluate your progress this time next year.)
* What habits or routines did you put into place?
* What habits or routines did you eliminate?
* Where did your name or artwork appear in print? Where did it appear online?
* How did you improve your website or Web presence?
* What new marketing materials did you add or improve on?
* Where did you speak about your work?
* What new materials or techniques did you experiment with?
* What organizations did you join?
* What projects did you initiate?

On a more personal level:

* How did you care for your health and well-being?
* How did you strengthen your personal relationships?
* What vacations did you have?
* What parties did you attend?
* What new hobby did you take up?
* Where did you volunteer?

Recalling your accomplishments is a good habit to adopt. After you do, how will you celebrate?

(From "Celebrate" Alyson Stanfield's Art Marketing Action newsletter 18th December 2006)

If you do not measure what you have done, then you will not be able to grow and improve.

The beginning of the year is often time to take stock of what I have done with my art and how to improve for the future. There are several areas that I want to expand into for 2007. It may be brave or foolhardy of me to put them in writing at this point, however, doing so does make me accountable and pushes me to achieve at least some of them.

1. Offer more drawing classes for different levels
2. Start a art club locally
3. Complete a series of drawings or paintings
4. Enter at least 4 art competitions
5. Develop a web site
6. Market and sell my prints
7. Rediscover oil painting and do at least one small oil painting a month (I'll never make it into the Painting A Day category)
8. Go to a different art exhibition each month
9. Attend a class in a new medium
10. Develop my market for animal portraiture locally

That little list should keep me going for quite awhile I think. Now that I have written it, there is some sense of relief. Its as if what is secretly spinning around in my head has come out of the darkness. I can see it. I can achieve it. If I don't I won't beat myself up over it. I have the flexibility of adding things to my list if opportunity becomes available or reducing the load if it becomes too strenuous.

Jeanette I read your post and this is what struck me as MOST important. When we become inflexible I think we lose a bit of ourselves. We have to squash a part of our creativity because art never fits in a tidy compartment of our lives. So the thing I took away from your post in the strongest light was the above statement.
I often find myself with no time for art. I have to many other things to do. I'll start a project and have to put it aside for days, sometimes weeks while other things have my sole attention. So I have made a pact with myself to add my art time to my walking time. That will make my walking time 4 hours per week and my art time 4 hours as well. I figured my creative mind needs exercised as much as my physical body.

Jeanette...I love this thread. Unlike alot of people here, I have the luxury of doing art whenever I please. I do the housework because it HAS to be done but I don't have too, kind of thing. Hubby is not picky. I am!!! Anyways, My main accomplishment I wish to do this year is finish my online art class as well as pay it off. I think I have worked the budget of our income to where I can have it payed off sooner than later, which is a great thing. I am also working on starting a portfolio. Nifty little graduation present from the online art class.

I liked the questions so much that I printed them out and will be keeping a log to make sure that I do accomplish the list. Thanks Jeanette!!!

Yes Pammy, we do have to make time for things in our lives. Its easy to shove something aside and complain we don't have time. But even 10 minutes here and there add up. Flexibility also counts and is necessary to ensure that we take advantage of opportunities that come our way and to eliminate other things that become too much.

Venus, you do have an advantage, though I don't know how you fit it all in with 4 children! I believe its very important to measure your successes in concrete form over the year so you can compare them in following years. It is also important to have goals and objectives to aim for, otherwise you float around without a plan.

Alyson Stanfield's site is for art marketing, but it has useful information. I'd recommend people check it out. Your goals don't need to be grandious or even art business related, but you should have plans.

I guess I'm also in Venus' lucky situation... possibly even more since my kids are now pretty much grown (though really having three men to look after is like having three babies! ) and I also have a cleaning lady who comes in once a week... so really I have plenty of time for art as well as other things if I want to.

However I am at this point in my life a little wary of making plans. Just over twelve months ago I was in perfect health - eating well, exercising etc. Then bamm! - a series of totally unrelated events and I was in hospital for three weeks ending in quadruple heart by-pass surgery. I struggled to get back my health - again started exercise only to be diagnosed with spinal stenosis which very much restricts what I can do physically.

The point of this whole story is that so many unexpected things have happened that I feel it is rather pointless to plan long term. So I live my life by the day... thankful that I wake up every morning in relatively good health and I try to make the most of each day.

Naturally I do have things I want to do.... get my art books and study and practice hard... learn as much as I can. I don't think I have any intention of ever selling my art but it would be nice if I could be good enough so I could make presents for people.

I suppose if I do my best to live each day as best I can after 365 days I would have had a good year!

I think this is a great thread . I will start by saying who my mentor is ...
its the people here ... I have learned SOO much this past year .. so to say you have all taught me alittle something says you all are my mentors thank you
the books i have read are mostly medical books I have so many and try to keep up on all the new things that come out but it is hard ...I like information it drives me in some strange way . lol
Movies i have seen ... I like a scary movie and the last one i rented was wrong turn and it was very good ..I watch movies for entertainment .
I have not made much for my work maybe 100.00 $ I never really offer to sell I always give lol not always a good thing but I think hey if they will hang it .. i'll give it lol
I started the treadmil a few months ago and have lost about 8 pounds .. I dont starve myself i just work out and eat right .. i think my age is slowing the process down a bit .
I have strengthened personal relationships because this year has been very hard on me .. and I have decided .. you really never know what the next min. will bring you ...Matthew McConaughey once said and I will always agree ....live now ...today ..cause tomorrow you never know what will happen ...so stop worrying about it all .. right on . gotta love that guy he is still lost in the early 70's i think .
my mom took us all to Florida Estro Island to a nice fancy resort where we all stayed for one week .. each family got their own condo looking over the Golf Coast .....we were there to spread the ashes of my step dad ...funny it was for the worst reason .. but the best most relaxing place i have ever been .
thats about it for me I could go on .. but I would bore you all lol .

this is what i decided on my list of goals and if i can accomplish 2-3 or more than i am celebrating!!!!
take at least 2 art classes
go to the allen art museum once a month
start a blog
learn pastels
do a drawing in digital
enter at least one art contest(if i am aloud being a beginner)
commit to sketching everyday
invest in quality art materials at least once a month (even if its a 2.00 item)
do 2 color pencil portraits a month
i do feel good about these goals and i think i can do them all. and its nice to see it on paper because i am a list maker person. i always make lists and schedules and very organized probably to a fault. but here it is good luck everyone
Lori