Look back, moving forward - 2019

Hello all and a very happy New Year to you!  As we ring out the old and ring in the new, I'm here with my annual review.  I think it's worth looking back to see the path this creative journey has been taking me on...  Perhaps it will help shape the next stages of the journey, or maybe it will inspire me in whole new directions.

Here are some of my favourite projects from 2019 - moving through the year chronologically, so we start back in last January.  I think you can see the seasons changing as you go!  I've a few thoughts at the end about things I noticed as I was choosing them.  I hope you enjoy the ride.  (As always, you can click on the links to see the projects in more detail.)

Winter Sun

Hoping for some light

Rusty Alcohol

Becoming More

Yellow Wallflowers

Borrowing the dream

Silent Strength

Around the Fireplace

All about the background

A little lavender with a touch of rust

But while there's moonlight...

There's not mushroom inside

A pair of pears

Insect Instructions

October Acorns

Sunrise, Sunset

Got the Grey Blues

A journey of your own

The usual suspects are all in place - inks and paints, texture and dimension, and always the inspiration of nature, but if there's one main development which strikes me, it's that there's a little more colour variation here than usual.  There have always been occasional projects which strike out in different colour directions, but it's rare for them to make it into the favourites pile, so that's worth noticing.

And the words are ever present alongside the pictures.  It's been another exciting year on the word front, with two releases of my quote stamps at PaperArtsy, a total of six new sets to play with - Friends & Friendship, Wings & Flight, and the Love Edition in the February release, and then Travel & Journeys, Sunshine & Rain, and the Happiness Edition in September's launch.  

I've continued my journey with watercolours - the Grey Blues here are just the tip of the iceberg (oh, and my little watercolour pear too, of course).  Most of what I've been doing hasn't really appeared here on the blog, though I did share some glimpses and peeks back in April.  There have also been some journeys into acrylic paintings in the last year... it's probably time to start sharing some more of that work here on the blog in 2020.  We'll see!

I'm so grateful for all my visitors, wherever you arrive from and however long or short your visit.  But I do want to celebrate the fact that, even though many creatives prefer Facebook or Instagram these days for sharing their work, there are still some of us sticking to blogging, sharing things in more detail and exchanging tips and techniques.  I even have Instagram plans myself for later this year (I've got to complete my move to another country first!), but I'll still be here at Words & Pictures too.  It's my own virtual scrapbook recording the journey.

I really value this creative community, even though I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to not always finding enough time for it all!  I thank you for your company, your wonderful comments and all the inspiration I continue to find whenever I'm out and about in Craftyblogland.

Creative playtime is vital to the human spirit, whether we share on blogs, on other social media, with friends and family, and even (or maybe especially) when it's just for ourselves.  I for one am determined to carry on celebrating the imaginative release, the meditative focus, the emotional outlet, the storytelling and the escape that creativity offers.  It refreshes and reinvigorates us to deal with the outside world again.  I hope that 2020 will bring creative inspiration, stimulation, fulfilment, and above all joy to us all.  We're going to need it!  Happy New Year, everyone.

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
Edith Lovejoy Pierce