Well it's new years eve. Even though it's only 9:00 where I am it sure feels like midnight. I'm away visiting family and everyday is an exhausting wonderful time. But it seems like today, of all days, people have decided to look back upon the past year. Seeing all this, I figured it's time I do that for myself as well. So here are some things I've learned this past year

- Making art is not about pleasing others.
     ~I love to create art quite possibly more than anything else. But what I'm realizing is that you don't have to try and please the consumer, even if you want to sell your work. If you make good work, and pour your soul into it. People will find you. This year I sold my first art bag and my first painting. Knowing that people like what I make is incredibly exciting and is getting my creative juices flowing again!

- Being a mother is HARD.
       ~While I seem to learn this every year, it is still a good lesson. No mom is perfect, as much as we try to be. It is hard work to take care of another human, especially one with endless bouts of energy, puppy dog eyes, and concrete opinions on layering shirts and broccoli. Everyday that I make it through I'm grateful for.

- Being a mother is FANTASTIC.
       ~ For all the crap we moms have to deal with, being a mom is the best job in the world. Having a little person that you made give you a kiss, just cause they love you, is worth all the screams and turmoil and lost nights of sleep. I'm sure I'll never catch up on sleep, but I have love abounding.

- You will never be able to please anyone. So don't. Only please yourself.
      ~No matter how we try to do everything write for everyone, someone's going to be pissed. Without fail someone will be pissed that you washed the counters with a fancy cleaner instead of windex, or that your recordings are taking up space. No matter what you. The only person you need to worry about pleasing is yourself. Say you hate your job. Well, what would you rather be doing? Is there a way to make it profitable enough that you can survive {and your family}? THEN DO IT! And work at it! Do you hate the way you look? Fix it! I'm not saying go get massive reconstructive surgery! Just go get a haircut, get some new clothes. Dress in the way that makes you feel like the best version of yourself and apologize to no one.

- Teaching is not shoving information into someone's head.
     ~This past year I had one of the greatest teachers of my life. My drawing 2 professor. He was an ex military man who is now an incredible artist. Instead of throwing technique at us, he gave us general guidelines for projects, and then set us free. I learned so much more in doing what I wanted with some direction, then in classes upon classes of strict instruction. While you can't always do this, for my future career choice as an art teacher {and hopefully teacher over blog eventually}, lends itself MAJORLY to this.

  Overall, 2014 was a great year. I grew a lot in my art, and grew a lot with my little man. I'm learning to love him fully and not to worry about as many things as I usually do. I also learned that I do not need to rely on a man {hoping to continue this lesson in the future}. Thanks for spending part of this year with me! I can't wait to share with you guys what the new year brings!