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Goal #1, making a piece every week, was not met.  Unfortunately, I got blown off track by a serious personal issue in October.  I’m still dealing with its aftermath.  My energy levels are not where I would like them to be, and I’m still finding it very hard to motivate myself to do what I know needs to be done.

The process involved in documenting my pieces every week often takes longer than the actual making.  Part of that is because I now take multiple photos, from multiple angles, in an effort to make every piece “Etsy-ready”.  So where in previous YOJ’s, one photo would have been enough, I now take five.  That means editing takes 5x longer.

I will quite often write a post, walk away from it for a while, then come back and edit.  I used to be an avid diarist, which makes the composing a bit easier, but at the same time I eventually gave up keeping a diary because it took too long to write things in longhand.  One of the smartest pieces of advice I ever got from my Dad was to take a typing class!  LOL

The time demands of this project cannot be underestimated.  In 2010, I’m going to be prioritizing my commitments, and seeing which ones can be let go.

Goal #2 was to incorporate mixed-media and flame-worked elements into my pieces.  The mixed-media work did happen early in the year, but dropped off as time went on.  I did start adding torched elements into some of the pieces, as planned.  My “purist” attitude has become much more flexible than in the past.  It is largely influenced by time/cost pressures, but I’ve also recognized that some of the designs I’m thinking of just need the structural stability soldering offers.

Goal #3 was to explore haute couture vs. ready to wear in my work.  Originally, I had intended to create a “designer” or “art” piece, and then rework it into an affordable line.  I got it backwards:  the Marquise Series, which has been my focus for the past few weeks, started with the bread-and-butter pieces, and is now moving into the complex and involved “art” work.

Finally, Goal #4 was to rediscover the joy and fun of making jewellery.  I’ve certainly been having fun with the Marquise Series, but looking back over the year, I see a lot of seriousness.  Some of the pieces are narrative; that’s a new experience for me, drawing on my spirituality and life stories for inspiration.  There is a lot of emotion tied up in them.  It wasn’t until the fourth quarter of the year that I started to let myself loosen up.

I have a few favourite pieces:  The Moonrise Pendant, accepted for exhibition in the Metal Arts Guild of Canada’s “MAGC 2067 – Crafting the Future”; “Shiva’s Pomander”, exhibited at the Rails End Gallery in Haliburton, Ontario as part of the HSTA Faculty Show; the Mother & Child Pendant; the Viking Knit Torus; and the Art Nouveau Cabachon Bangle, which has proven to be a hugely popular tutorial.

It’s been a challenging year, but also a fine journey.  I’m looking forward to what 2010 brings!

I participated in this project in 2004-05 and 2005-06.  The summaries of all the pieces I created during those years are here and here.

I’m both dreading and excited at the idea of having to complete one piece every week for the next 52 weeks.  Having participated in this project before, I know exactly what kind of commitment is involved.  As always, I do seem to have a lot of other things on my plate, but I don’t foresee any difficulties with completing the year.  In fact, as the year progresses, it should get easier.  All of my heavy deadlines are in the first six months of 2009.

This year, the themes are focused on movies, periods of history and artists.  I’m undecided about doing a weekly piece based on the themes, but if something strikes me I’ll give it a try.

So… now I just have to write my goals for the year.