The Monkey's Paw: Resolutions and the New Year

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Resolutions and the New Year

The Best of 2012 and 2013 Resolutions

Before I get to the best of 2012, I want to share what my resolutions are for 2013. Resolutions are important for planning your growth. The minute we stop growing we start dying. This is very true in creatives. As we stop growing our creative talents our work becomes stale and even boring; our art begins to die.

So without further hesitation here are my three resolutions for 2013:

Experiment More: Joseph Chilton once said; To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong. My first resolution this year is to experiment more. This means trying new things in the camera as well as in post processing. This means learning new things and adapting them to make them my own.
Continue to Give: Giving is an important aspect of being. I will resume my mentoring program. I will continue to give to the Photo Club I belong to and I will give to a monthly lunch-hour photo club at work.
Be Less Critical: I am my own worst critic, but aren't we all. I am to a point that I don't pursue things when they are handed to me. Recently I was asked by a friend and fellow artist to be a featured artist at new local pizza restaurant, here in Salem, called Donatello's. In a matter of five seconds I came up with five reasons to say no. 1. I am not good enough. 2. I don't have enough pieces to fill the space. 3. I don't have the money to do it right. 4. It's a pizza joint. Who goes to a pizza joint to buy art? 5. I am not happy with my work. I started my response with, "Yeah, I don't..." and my wife cut me off and said, "His answer is yes he would love to." See my inner critic gave me five reasons to not, and my wife, who is one of my biggest fans and harshest critics just said yes. So I will be less critical so I don't sabotage future opportunities.

Okay so now onto the fun stuff. The best of 2012 from my camera to your screen. Enjoy.