One of my new years resolutions for 2007 (aside from the usual qitting smoking, losing weight, etc.) will be getting my talent back. As I am on holidays, away from both work and school I am realizing the amount of potential that I have and the fact my current lifestyle isn't allowing me to really get into it. So, here are some things that I am going to do in the new year that will lasso my creativity.



1. Discover all of the opportunities out there. Stick my neck out and seize what is mine.



2. Develop more styles. Work with mediums that I don't care for or never touch. I must show prospective employers what I am capable of.



3. Try to finish or at least work with projects that are unfinished.



4. Gather all of my ideas and throw then into some sort of preverbial hat and work though them.



5. Finish all of my business material. Press kit, business card, website, etc.



I know I can do this. It is just a matter of motivating myself to get my ass in gear. There have been so many times that I have gotten hired for a job based on the fact that I simply inquired about possible employment with that particular company. For instance, the job I am at now. I am not even graduated from the program that I am taking but I was hired for a full time position as a graphic designer simply by contacting the company to see if they needed anyone.



Ahh, this break is exactly what I needed. I was so damn frustrated before the holidays but I knew I would be feeling better once I got to relax.



Happy New Year!

Ok! Brand New Day..... tomorrow. Brand new day tomorrow. Today I got all of my homework in and now I just have to sort of work myself into a partial coma in order to get through the next couple of days. I am really looking forward to holidays. I am getting out of the city for 12 days and I don't have to think about work or school or anything in between!! Woo hoo!

So, not sure if this blog project is continuing into the next semester but if it does, I am changing my topic. I want to have free range... like a chicken! I don't want to be limited to the one thing that is frustrating me. There are other things that I would rather discuss... like news, the ridiculous dreams that I have which by the way I have been having not-so-cartoonish ones lately but apocolyptic ones. I have an apocolyptic dream about once a month or so.... anyway, I am getting off topic. There are so many ideas to be had out there, so I am just going to write about anything that comes to mind.

Cheers and have a great holiday!

I appoligize for the last couple of blogs being such bummers. I admit, I've been kind of stressed. But, after this weekend I no longer have to think about school... until the new year that is. Then, after next Thursday I don't have to think about work for a whole 12 days!!!

It is Friday and oh how long I have waited... a whole 5 days!! Friday is the night where Iain goes out for supper with some friends of his. I go on occasion but Friday evening is when I wind down and drink all the beer that Iain didn't drink before he left. I'm now on my 4th.

So, when I got in, Iain and a friend of ours was here. On the table there was an envelope addressed to Iain and I. I could tell by the handwriting that it was my best friend in Toronto. I opened it to find on the front of the card, a photo of a toy Santa face down in cotton batten snow next to a bottle of vodka. I love it! So, as the evening progressed I drank more beer and then decided to check out the website of the company that made the card. They are eEvil Design. I wrote them an email.... a very frank email telling them how much I loved their product and humor and then asking if they would ever consider hiring me on a distant-part time basis. It's not something I would normally do but hey, it doesn't hurt to stick your neck out there, no matter now uncertain you may be. The way I look at it is that it's only an email address.



So, here's to the new year and new endeavors!!

I wish I could think as clearly as when I am sleeping. Like I said in a previous post, dreaming can summin creativity. As the complicated creature that I am, ( a woman), I am constantly thinking. I think about everything, meaning that I also worry about everything. Sometimes I have so much going on in my head that I wish I could simply turn it off, and I can... if I only go to sleep. However, I wouldn't get much done if I went to sleep everytime I became overwhelmed as a result of my mind being in overdrive.

When I sleep, it's a different story. Everything slows down (obviously) and I concentrate on things such as homework, work and other issues that have been on my mind. I also dream about things that make absolutely no sense to me, but on the other hand, represent some sort of creativity. Last weekend for instance, just before I woke up in the morning, I was dreaming that I had just washed my hair and it was up in a towel when I took it down out of the towel, my hair looked exactly like an ice cream cone. I had blond and brown hair and it was shaped exactly like soft serve ice cream.

So, I imagine that this tangent is a result of the time of year. This time of year is never good for me, many reasons of which I can't explain but more so because of the stress involved. Work has been incredibly busy, I've left most of my school work on the back burner until now, Christmas, Money, car inspection... the list goes on and on. Anyway, everything always seems to work out one way or another. I just get myself in a stew for no reason at all. I am looking forward to Christmas but I am looking even more forward to the New Year.

This semester I learned a lot. The first thing I learned is that I can't spread myself too thin, something of which I do every year. This year in particular I learned that I should not do this. I end up being much too stressed and as the end of the semester approaches, I feel like locking myself in a closet until after the holidays. Working full time and using whatever time I can to fit school in, does not work. I knew it would be hard, but not this hard. On top of school and work, I also commit myself to doing stuff for other people. Why do I do this to myself? It is beyond me.

Another thing I learned, probably the most important concerning this blog. I can't find creativity if there absolutely no time at all for it. I can't simply look into the theory of creativity and make it happen, I need time to do it more than anything else. I know I have it in me... I've proved it to myself time and time again throughout my life. So, I think I just have to wait until I have more time.

There are so many factors that limit my creativity. Work, school, being married, being married is great, don't get me wrong but it takes up time just like work and school. If I was single, I would probably be 20 lbs lighter, malnurished but really fucking creative. So, what do I sacrifice here, my health and my love life for creativity? It'll happen when it happens, I am certain of it.

When school is over and I am finally graduated for the second time, there will hopefully be more time to work on my ideas and personal projects. When I can finally break into writing/illustrating children's books, I will hopefully be able to quit my job and do what I love full time. However, that may not be in the near future at all but it is down the road at some point.

So, all I can say is that with this being my 5th and final year in college, Thank GOD!

Ok, so I just wanted to post this video that Iain sent to me. I think it's hilarious. I also love the simplicitiy of it. The drawing and the animation. Its great and I thought I would post it here.



Stay tuned for a comment and artwork about my dreams over the weekend.