This year has been a productive year for art, but not as many big pieces as I have made in the past. My most recent larger piece is Garden Party Mandala that is an experiment for a larger piece that is in the works. This one is going to be on exhibit at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in January of 2024. Keep reading for more information on this exciting opportunity.

It was a really great year for me on Instagram. I reached 1,000 followers and successfully participated in the 100 day project and Carve December. I just finished up Carve December and I’m really excited about it so I’m going to show pictures of it first.

Carve December is an Instagram challenge created by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer 11 years ago. I have participated for a few years but this year was something special for me. Julie provides a prompt for each day and this year I followed the prompts. I was exploring hexagons and ogees from a pattern design class I had just finished (description and photos below). I threw in some other shapes and also carved a few larger stamps that I have big plans for in 2024!

I took a deep dive into repeat pattern design with Ali at 3dottedpenguins. The class was so excellent. I have so many prints! There was a very inspiring and supportive community and the instruction was fantastic. I think the progress in my carving, printing and designs show the impact! It was also very helpful to have so much carving to do so no one block became too precious. That really allowed me to experiment with design and learn so much in the process. Playing with art supplies really is such a learning experience.

Ali challenged us to create a final project and I created 3! I was exploring integrating block printing into my mixed media art and also took one design bigger.

The 100 day project is another Instagram challenge that I participated in. The idea is to make art every day for 100 days. It can be whatever you want and I chose to create a small collage that included stamps, Zentange and collage papers and ephemera every day. It was an excellent exercise in creativity and I am happy with what I created. I have sent many out as cards and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with those that remain.

One of the reasons I got back into making art 10 years ago was that I hoped to see it in medical facilities when I went for appointments. This dream came true in 2023. I had 2 pieces exhibited at the University of Wisconsin Hospital last year and I’m scheduled to have 2 more in January. I joined the Wisconsin Visual Artist association and the Madison Art Guild and they each exhibit art in the hospital for one month every year. This piece, Abstract Waterlilies, was one of the first ones. The other was one of my flower mandalas from 2022.

I’m excited to see what 2024 holds.

Peace