Slowing Down - A New Year's resolution I suppose?

Typical image of my desk in the morning while I work on art and craft or writing this blog! Dried flower bits, mugs of paint brushes and coffee, and of course my gas lamp. I usually light the lamp when I wake up (I’m up around 6 and go to bed at 8:30pm…I know!).

Winter is my favorite season. In fact, I long for it. I move through spring and summer with anticipation for the fall and a yearning for the quiet of snow. Everything slows down and I have so much opportunity to focus inward and spend time making, reading, thinking…being.

I am generally not a very extroverted person. I think there are many people who would be surprised to read this, but it’s actually true. At my core, I just want to spend a lot of time by myself or with one other person. I don’t like being the center of attention, and I get really nervous whenever I have to speak in front of a crowd, even though I have done it so many times (and apparently am good at it?). I fake extroversion pretty well, but my baseline is to retreat and keep to myself.

I must say, I see a shift after leaving social media. I don’t feel this intense pressure to be something in order to sell art or things that I make. I get to be a maker without expectation, just creative play. There is so much emphasis on being a personal brand when it comes to social media and personally it exhausted me. I felt as though I had to wade through the algorithmic waters, changing my style, rebranding, refocusing because I needed to keep up with what was trending in order to sell. It felt inauthentic and unbearable. I left it almost three months ago and I don’t plan on going back. Without so much noise, both background and imminent, I finally have the space to bring back the quiet into my everyday life, and I love this. I feel more like myself again.

It also means that I want to share more again. A kind of sharing that exists mostly to just spread joy, beauty, and creativity. That feels really good right now. My art practice feels sustaining and sustainable again. I love that.

My hope is to share more on here. More writing, more creative projects, and let it be an archive of giving where others may come and find some kernels of curiosity to explore. So on that note, here’s to slowing down in 2025! Happy New Year everyone. May the winter bring you rest, retreat and a sense of sustainability.