Word(s) of the Year

Intrigued by Christine Kane's December '07 post, I considered taking on a WORD for '08 rather than a list of resolutions. Seemed simple enough, although settling on a single word was a challenge. I mulled over Christine's word suggestions and at "first pass" selected a few, a dozen, lots?

Looking back at them now they were descriptive words of can do, optimism, will do, do it! Courage, confidence, action, trust, patience, fun, expansion, exploration, adventure, openness, discipline, awareness, risk, choice, artfulness, attention, focus, deliberateness, commitment - this was my SHORT list! Whoa - I was supposed to select a word, not a dictionary!

My motive for word selection as resolution was to kick myself into production of long overdue and "in the closet" creative, 2 dimensional art. In early 2008, having chased after other artists' works for years while sublimating my creative yearn for something really my own, I had run out of excuses for non-creating!

All of the words mentioned above were appropriate to my need to just begin the process of creating again.....again, after a 30 year hiatus! After a good bit of mental gyration, I finally settled on the word, TRUST.

Trust in me, trust in my ability to create, trust in my judgment, trust in myself! I cannot say that I've thought about this word every single day of 2008 - that would be a lie - but I've thought about it enough, mouthed my desires about the creative process with other artists, dabbled and stuttered and finally when one day asked - "Are you an artist? I TRUSTED in myself enough to say, "Yes, I am!"

The piece pictured here is one of my collages. This particular piece was selected to be shown in an August regional juried art exhibit. I've two other pieces similarly selected in juried events and I shake myself a little to believe that fact! I struggle now, of course, with TRUSTING enough to continue creating other pieces - trusting not that they will be brilliant, nor selected, nor sold, but that they will continue to allow me to trust and know that I am a creature born to create! Trust - it's a powerful word! Thanks Christine for the word versus resolution idea!