C4 ward BLOGATHON March, Day 4

Goal Setting Exercise

I know this blog is not going to be what was ask for in this prompt but it is what it is...At my age it is hard to think too far into the future and I have no aspirations to begin or expand a business so can't set goals for that. I  make art, I read, I sew I write poetry and do all of this when I feel like doing it. I Like to collect recipes and I like to cook healthy meals which I do on a daily basis. I am not driven as some are and I have no need of validation on anything I do but do appreciate it when it comes.  So now I will give this day's blog my best shot and post some images of art I have done over the years just to make the blog less boring and more interesting. At least more colorful.

Here is an endless journal I did using plaster and cardboard. This shows the front and back covers bound together

 Inside the front and back covers

Back of endless journal. Pages can be added in any size or color and as many as you want to bind together...

Goal Setting

Make 3 LISTS OF FUTURE GOALS (Personal as well as Artistic and/or Professional):

Today we are to take time to make 3 goal setting lists. One for 10 to 30 years from now then for 5 then for this year. Doing 1 year will be easy. 5 years is going to be harder and 10 to 30 years nearly impossible. At my age I hesitate to buy green bananas but here goes.
                            

Pin Cushions I made for gifts

1) List FIVE GOALS you would like to achieve in the NEXT 30 YEARS (or 10, or 20 years… think long term). 

Thirty years from now is not even in the equation since if I am still around my only hope is to not be too dependent on any one else for my well being and if I am not here in my physical body that my ashes have been spread over the mountains in the Pacific Northwest where my heart lives. So lets work with ten years since that seems a more realistic goal. 

Dragon made for son for his 48th birthday

My 5 goals for ten years from now:

1. to be healthy and active
2. to be sewing and doing mixed media art
3. to still be driving but living in a community where I can walk if I choose to
4. I want to still have the love of my life healthy and with me
5. And I want to be traveling together, having fun and enjoying life

A cloth and air dry clay doll I made in a class with my doll club

2) Now, thinking of the above far-reaching goals, list FIVE GOALS you need to accomplish in the NEXT FIVE YEARS to move towards achieving them. (Some of these might be the same as your goals above.  That’s okay!). 

My 5 goals for five years from now are much the same:

1. I want to become a couture seamstress and an accomplished artist so I will continue to take classes online and read as many art and couture sewing books as I can.
2. I will embrace exercising on a regular schedule in order to stay healthy and active so I can do more of what I enjoy
3. I want to be able to walk to places I need or want to go but still be able to drive if necessary so I will pursue the idea of moving to a different location to live
4. I want to do more traveling and sightseeing 
5. And continue to have fun with my love 

I made this doll/statue as a prototype for a class I did with my own doll club. I used a sardine can for the torso so I could put a small scene in it. The head is made of poly clay and the limbs are made of wire wrapped in fabric as is the trunk with some batting added for bulk

3) Finally, list FIVE GOALS to be accomplished in the NEXT 12 MONTHS... as if it were the last year of your life! What will you have accomplished by March 4th , 2015?

I went over my list for the new year and these are my immediate goals for this year. All of them are things that are started and need finishing. 

1. I want to finish the statue for my garden that I just started and will be concrete finished with mosaics
2. I need to finish the wedding book I started for my daughter showcasing the wedding dress she made for her niece, my eldest granddaughter who was married in November.
3. I want to finish the compilation of my poetry and bind it into a book after I make copies for my 4 children
4. I need to finish my Life Book 2013 which has a ton of new to me techniques to learn
5. I absolutely do have to get more exercise and have more fun though the two do not go together in the same sentence with 'fun'

This dragon was one of my first cloth dolls I made when I first got into doll making in 1996 and she remains one of my favorites. She stands about 12 inches tall and has movable joints.

I have always been list maker. Usually I will do one for the following day with one major task and 5 lesser ones. 6 is the maximum I put on my list so it is not overwhelming and usually it makes it easier to accomplish what I set out to do. 

If I have a deadline and multiple things to do in a given time frame I will work backward on the calendar so I know I am on task and don't get caught short and unprepared...I don't like being rushed so this works for me. 

I hate UFO's (unfinished objects) and as you can see by my list for this next 12 months I have nothing but. hopefully I will get them all finished and be able to move on to new things.

EXTRAS FOR CONSIDERATION: What experience did you have just now writing these lists of your future goals?  Did you make any discoveries? Did stripping away the surety of time to accomplish what you most wish to do change your priorities? How can you incorporate those revealed priorities into your daily creative practice? What visual image can you post with this blog entry that would embody the spirit of your future goals?

As for doing this blog I realize how much of my time is taken up with doing it...no such thing as a couple of minutes on a given subject or list...at least not for me...best thing I could do to change my priorities is to get rid of my computer completely but I would miss so much I enjoy doing so that is not an option...Next best option is to set a limit on my time spent on FB. I can't think of a single image to show the spirit of my future work but here is the last image which show my feelings towards what I like best. To make a piece of art that has deep meaning to me and this one does.

My friend's husband killed a rattlesnake in his yard and threw the carcass off into the weeds. It made me very sad to hear of this magnificent creature losing his life in such a violent manner. After we learned about it my husband went looking and found the snake and retrieved many of the skeletal bones and eventually the rattle and brought them to me. I made this shrine to honor the snake using a beautiful knot from a tree. I made young Buddha from clay along with the rattle snake wrapped around the knot. The two of them stand guard over the retrieved bones until the snake can be reincarnated and claim them again. Snakes are one of the 12 animals who came to honor Buddha so I wanted to pay honor to this snake in this way.