December 2023

It’s that time of year to reflect on the pay year and look forward to the future! This is my favourite time of year, because I love seeing how far I’ve come and what I have to look forward to in the coming year.

My three goals for last year were to: 

1. Teach

2. Create more rugs

3. Transition from digital sticker designs to traditional ones.

I managed to, more or less, meet all of these goals! I created 6 classes, hitting my goal of releasing 1 class every 2 months; created a bunch of rugs (2 large,14 medium, and 56 minis), including really leaning into tiny rug designs; and released 6 (or 7, depending on if you break up the cats and dogs into different packs) traditionally painted sticker packs. I did technically create more rugs this year than last year, but most of them were mini rugs.

The biggest downside to this past year has been my health. I think it’s been the hardest year of my life in terms of my health, and there were a few times I wasn’t sure I’d make it to 2024. But I’m still here, and I’m excited about the future!

Looking forward, my main goal for 2024 is to make my business more sustainable for my health. To do this, I’d like to:

1. Replace mini rugs

2. Figure out social media

3. Create more cat work

This past year, I’ve discovered that making mini rugs is really hard on me. They require a lot of bending over and fiddly work, which messes with my blood pressure. I still want to offer affordable items for sale locally, so with that in mind, I’ve recently invested in a 3d printer. This will hopefully let me design some fun objects and create them without my direct input. Then I can focus on painting them to ensure they’re all unique. They won’t be as tactile as mini rugs, but hopefully I’ll be able to create something really fun.

I’d like to get better with social media and find a way to use it that benefits my art business without compromising my health. I’m thinking of trying video content, be that long form on YouTube or short form on TikTok. I need to experiment and see what works for me. Maybe I could do painting tutorials on YouTube for free… Or speed paints with voice overs explaining my techniques? Right now, Skillshare drives all my students through their own listings, and I’d like to bring in my own students and reach more people.

And my final goal is really leaning into creating more cat work, because I looooove painting cats! I essentially create for two audiences: online and in-person. In-person audiences prefer cats and dogs, while online audiences prefer reptiles and less common animals. I absolutely adore painting turtles, frogs, and lizards; but cats are my top favourite animal. I feel I shy away from painting them to cater to my online audience. That can definitely take a toll on my mental health, which feeds back into my physical health. With my health deteriorating, I don’t want to worry about money at the cost of not following my passion 100%.

That’s it for my goals for next year! I’m really excited to see how they come together and change over time. I want to thank all you fantastic people for joining me on this amazing journey so far! I hope your 2024 is full of colour and new experiences! Do you have any life or work-related goals for the next year?