Looking forward to January

January. A month of overtime work, short days of light, and cold. A few years ago I decided to stop focusing on what I couldn't do this month and make it my most active month of creativity. Over the last few years my goal has been to create an abstract painting each day of the month, and endeavor to share each and every one of those pieces on social media. This year something happened that has me thinking I will do things a little bit differently this January. Over the last several months I lost all access to my social media accounts and was unable to recover them. I was devastated. That was 15 years of work, 15 years of creating and sharing, and without all that background, I didn't know where to begin anew. I dove deep into my archives, scrolling and scrolling, getting lost in the memories surrounding each series from the past. I spent hours lost in my own world and I was enjoying the ride, so I decided to rebuild my social media like an autobiography of sorts, starting with what I was doing about 15-20 years ago, and gradually working my way to the present. Between each series I wrote a bit of a journal entry introducing the next phase in my art career. When I was done I went to put pencil to paper to create something new and I couldn't see past the visions of all my series in my head. I could not focus on where I had been a few days ago, I was in a whole new place after that tour through the past. So this January is going to be a month of experimentation. I am going to find the thread that ties all those different series together and I am going to pull on it until something new and unexpected drops out. I will do my best to bring you all along on the journey each day. If you are interested in following along in January, please go follow my Instagram account: @kristingustavson.fineart

Oh! And I added some new ceramics to my store, so go hit the shop on this website. :)