Special Entry - 2024 Review
3 years ago I purchased my first ‘Bullet Journal’ on a whim, and soon learnt the magic of this unique journaling method created by Ryder Carroll in his book on the subject. Since then it’s been a crucial daily part of my life, and anyone close to me knows I’ve become a big advocate for journaling.
A huge part of journaling is the ability for reflection, which I do at the end of each month, and one for the whole year. I’ve found that reflection can be both revealing and incredibly rewarding for growth. Something I’ve never done is try a reflection specific to my art journey. Although my artistic achievements (and failings) always feature in my journal, it’s more directed towards my personal life. With the introduction of my newsletter, I now have the perfect platform to give it a try and share it with you.
Every painting completed in 2024
Table of Contents:
Month by Month: A short highlight / summary of each month
Top 5: My top 5 exhibitions visited, and books read
Reflection: My thoughts on the year as a whole
Month by Month
January:
I allowed myself a well-deserved break after making a huge push to finish ‘Ethereal Moss’ in December, and came back refreshed to finish off a few paintings for my show in March
February:
The hardest month of the year - I was going through a breakup while also trying to finish preparing for the Christchurch Art Show. I knew this would be hard, but I wasn’t prepared for how ‘lost’ I felt in my creative identity. As artists our work is heavily influenced and inspired by those close to us, whether we realise it or not. I might discuss this concept and my learnings in more detail in a future post.
March:
The Christchurch Art Show - this was quite low in sales, a sign of the economic state, but regardless I’d consider it my most successful show to date. I picked up two different awards and received overwhelming appreciation for the hard work put into ‘Ethereal Moss'
April:
I worked hard to finish a couple of pieces for the NZ Art Show, and we hosted the amazing and successful Daylighting, an open studio day in collaboration with studios throughout the city.
May:
A huge one for work beyond the brush. I updated my branding, created a mailing list, launched Ethereal Moss prints and had a radio interview with RadioActive.
June:
This month started with the very busy NZ Art Show with record numbers attending. My new Ethereal Moss prints were a hit as I sold out of all that I had prepared for the weekend. With the pressure of big shows no longer looming, I took some to experiment with different studies. I also created the first monthly update for my new newsletter/blog, ‘Studio Insights’.
July:
Probably the most fun month I had - I absolutely loved creating all the little duck studies and the final ‘Rubber Ducky’ exhibition was an absolute joy to be involved in. Such a simple concept that took the pressure off creating and made for unique results for all involved. I bought my first ever original artwork, and then got a second… and worked hard on launching my online store to pay off my debts.
August:
I kept up the momentum with lots of small studies, developing the beginnings of my ‘Urban Solitude’ series which I’m still working on for upcoming 2025 shows. I really enjoyed experimenting with the Zorn colour palette for these.
September:
My busiest month for art outside of the studio. Ethereal Moss went on display for the Wellington Regional Arts Review, which ended up winning the People's Choice Award. I took a ‘work’ trip down south to Nelson for the Tasman National Arts award, and Christchurch to take reference photos. My first time ever travelling specifically to capture photos, and it was hugely rewarding, inspiring and productive.
October:
A mixed bag. The good - I saw two of my favourite exhibitions of the year (Skullduggery & World of Wearable Arts). The bad - I started feeling overwhelmed by a crisis in my professional direction in life. I felt a little lost and all over the place this month.
November:
I finally got rid of two of my oldest paintings by donating them to the annual Pablos Art Auction, which was a beautifully wholesome and inspiring event. Then I procrastinated by creating a painting for my sister’s wedding and experimenting with framing it myself. Thankfully the results turned out amazing, and I learnt a lot, so it was well worth the time spent in the end.
December:
More ‘procrastination’ with paintings for gifts, continuing to use these ‘low-stakes’ pieces as an excuse to teach myself framing. And lots of studies using the Christchurch scenes I photographed earlier in the year.
Top 5
Last year my goal was to read more books and visit more exhibitions. I recall writing down a goal of visiting one exhibition per month, and my reading goal was 12 books. I went a bit crazy, and now doing only one of each is a worryingly ‘slow’ month for me.
In total, I went to 57 exhibitions and read 27 books. I’ve learnt a lot, and been inspired by so much amazing art - all within little NZ! Here’s my top 5 of each:
Exhibitions:
Good Bones: Michele Beevors (The Dowse)
This was before I created Studio Insights, so I haven’t written about it. An absolutely stunning and impressive display of life-sized animal skeletons knitted out of yarn. This was refreshingly unique and displayed with elegant creativity, one of the coolest exhibitions I’ve ever seen.
Paul Maseyk: Jugs in New Zealand Painting (The Dowse)
I’m not that into pottery, but this was just so fun and ‘active’ to view - like a ‘where's Wally’ of exhibitions. Again an entirely unique concept displayed perfectly. They’re doing something right over at the Dowse.
World of Wearable Arts - DREAMAWAKE (TSB Arena)
I’m not into fashion either. This was easily the most impressive performance piece I’ve ever seen. It’s on every year, and I’ve lived here for 8 years without going… damn. Technically not an exhibition, but I make the rules and it deserves a spot.
Skullduggery (Thistle Hall)
Another yearly exhibition, a big collection of creepy art from professionals in the creative field. Super inspiring. The creators also make White Cloud Worlds: a series of books on NZ sci-fi/fantasy art, that I would highly recommend.
Rubber Ducky (Dyed Studios)
Bit cheeky, I was in this one. But everyone did such unique and amazing art! Super simple concept, endless fun.
Books:
Crucial Conversations
My first ever audiobook, and one I’ll definitely be reading again. Valuable tools for having high-stakes, difficult conversations without it ending in tears and hurt. It’s relevant to everyone, in countless contexts. You will be a better person from reading this book.
Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries
Told from the perspective of a self-hacking grumpy cyborg, trying to find meaning in a dystopian sci-fi future. The only fiction on my list, but it’s a series of short books (Novellas) and I read 6 of them. I wasn’t trying to boost my numbers for the year, I just loved them.
Steven Pressfield - The War of Art
A staple for the creative - all about the struggles of the process. I really related to a lot of the themes and ideas in this book and came out with a lot of great quotes. My copy is now full of sticky tabs throughout.
Michael Pollan - Cooked
A big surprise as one of my most transformative books of the year. This totally shifted my perspective on the act of cooking from an annoyingly necessary chore, to time well spent. His writing style is super fun, engaging and insightful - I’d also recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma.
Cal Newport - Deep Work
Cal Newport has basically become my gospel this year. Monkey see, monkey do. I read 3 of his books this year (So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Deep Work, Digital Minimalism), and something about his ideas just resonated with me. With so much self-guided work, he has helped me immensely to manage my time more effectively.
Reflection
I always find reflection an interesting experience, as it usually flips my perspective. Having forgotten many of the things I did during the year, I tend to enter with a negative view, only to be pleasantly surprised. I initially felt 2024 was a very unproductive year. In some ways it was - I didn’t create many ‘complete’ paintings as opposed to studies, and I did fall behind in my plans, especially in the last few months which were particularly slow. I couldn’t help comparing myself to the end of 2023 when I did a massive push to finish ‘Ethereal Moss’ before the holidays. With no such ‘grand’ achievement to end the year, I felt guilty and ‘undeserving’ of a break. I’ve always battled with this - the creative’s curse of feeling that I could have, should have, done more. It’s frustrating, but it also drives me to grow as an artist.
Despite all of this, I would actually say it’s been my most successful year yet. I really struggled to fit each month into a few sentences, having to leave out a lot of significant things. With all the shows, awards, trips and experimentation there was just so much happening. I was quite proud looking through the year and genuinely shocked to realise how quickly I’d brushed aside achievements.
I recall a conversation I had in July last year, which has stuck with me. Mingling at the opening for the ‘Rubber Ducky’ exhibition, I ran into one of my uni tutors who I hadn’t seen in years. She has been following my art since graduating and commented on how amazing it’s been to watch my journey over the years. Something along the lines of ‘you’re really killing it!’ was said. I was taken aback and honoured by such a compliment, having felt I’d been floundering in the dark. I’ve had a number of similar conversations over the years, each time surprised by the outside perception from others. While it is a gentle reminder of how social media can distort reality, it mostly highlights my shortsighted appreciation for achievements. Hence why these reflections are so vitally important.
Another surprise has been how much I’ve genuinely loved writing these newsletters, quickly becoming my favourite addition to my practice last year. It’s given me the platform to go deep into my practice, explore thoughtful topics and share my feelings. And ‘deep’ I’ve gone, becoming more open and honest than I ever imagined I’d be online. I’ve found it quite liberating. Whatever direction my art takes in the future - career, hobby or somewhere in between - I’d like to keep writing these.
I write these almost more for myself than anyone - I know most of my subscribers don’t make it past the email, and even fewer will make it this far. However, from those few, I’ve had some truly beautiful conversations of feedback. I’m always surprised to hear that people actually read my ramblings, and warmed that it resonated and connected with them. So to those who made it this far, thank you. I hope you do your own 2024 reflection, and I’d love to hear how your year went. I suspect it was better than you think.