New Year's "Resolution"

I am, by degree and overall skillset, a designer and crafty person. Before i went to college for art, i loved drawing & creating things. But college is where i fell in love with it.

I always knew i wanted to do something in the art field, so applied to VCU. For those of you who don't know, you have to submit a portfolio to even be accepted to their art program (as is the case for most art schools). Talk about stressful! It's a lot for a teenager to handle, thinking that something they drew would be the reason they did or didn't get into college. Needless to say, i got in & the next 4 years were history.

For the first time, i found myself surrounded by like-minded, creative people who didn't think about academics, but how the figure moved on the paper, how to capture an expression on film, etc. It was the best time of my life. I would go back & do it all over again in a heartbeat (I can't say the same of high school!). I remember feeling so absorbed in my creative self - everything was art back then. I lived & breathed whatever projects and skills we were working on in class; i stayed up many long hours just to "get it right."

Outside of college, i have had fewer jobs that employ my real creative side & though it's not something i regret, it's something that i miss. I miss the critique of peers - those who knew what good design was. I miss the surge of creativity that has to be captured RIGHT THEN. I miss being able to look back & see what i created.

I haven't completely forgotten my creative roots, i've just had to harness them in & use that energy for other things. I scrapbook now, still draw on occasion, take photos, do graphic design, write stories and poetry, etc. But i long for the days when i could just sit down & let whatever was in me flow out.

Just recently i decided that i was going to make a new year's resolution and it was going to be one i stuck to. It wasn't the typical "lose weight" (which is something i need to do) or "save more money" (another something to do) or "spend more time with friends & family" (this is something we all should do)... this year, the resolution was to do something creative - write, draw, paint, take photos - once a week. The key to this success is that it had to be something tangible. At the end of 2010 i have to be able to look back and see 52 creative endeavors i have taken on AND COMPLETED this year. I have already started & i'm actually excited about holding myself to this resolution.

I'm hoping this opens up that part of me that has gone a little dormant over the seasons... i'm looking for the true creative me to emerge - like the proverbial butterfly from its cocoon - ready to see the world in a new array of colors and images.