The Best Laid Plans

week1-2s

2016 crept in while I was looking the other way. Probably while I was painting some more walls in my studio.

I met a lot of my clay goals in 2015. Best show ever? That was Sundog 2015, in December. Best Etsy month and Best Etsy Year? Yep, both happened in 2015 (best month was March, which is usually my best month).

Some I inevitably missed. Didn’t finish up that Polymer Clay Challenge, for example. So I’m doing it again. It wasn’t that I didn’t clay and didn’t take pictures…I just didn’t blog it and share with the challenge group. Luckily, they’ll let me play again.

So I have 5 clay-work related goals to do for 2016. I mean, there’s MORE I want to do but let’s keep the list easy and checkable.

  1. Do the 2016 Polymer Clay Challenge – or at least get further than last time! I mean I’m going to clay all year again, so this keeps me publicly talking about it
  2. Get to 500 items on Etsy, in my Tooaquarius shop – if you haven’t been doing Etsy for long, this sounds like a lot but I have lots and lots of canes and beads and buttons and such. I’m just a procrastinator on putting stuff up. My shop is usually between 250 and 300 items so this isn’t too crazy
  3. Put my first paid tutorials out – again, for the Etsy shop. This is sort of a natural progression. I’ve written free ones. I’ve taught. I explain to random people who wander into my shop how ridiculously complicated canes go together. Which confuses civilians by the way.
  4. Sculpt more – this is just a reminder that I’m having fun with 3d work and I’m not bad at it and should keep playing with it.
  5. Teach more – I taught a few classes last year but a lot of the year was spent getting my studio and physical shop space working for me. Now, back to regular classes. Classes are good because the force me to be organized and to be productive. Students also make you question and improve.

What kind of clay things are you guys tackling this year? Or regular life things?

The bird beads are a catching up on stuff I meant to make. The bluebirds in particular have been on my list of Should Make That for years.

3 Responses

  1. Your blog is one of my favorites. I am in awe of your “2016 goal of 500 items in ETSY”. I keep hoping one year I will make it to a PC workshop. A bit pricey if I factor in travel/lodging from Arizona. I don’t think it will be a 2016 goal, but I will keep an open mind!

  2. Thanks Laura!

    500 items is ambitious but I kind of circle the 300 items area a lot of the year so it’s not too crazy. And I have way more than that much stock.

    As for clay workshops… Arizona has a few guilds and the bead shows will have some clay classes and smaller workshops. That would be where I’d start. Because of my location the only classes or workshops I’ve attended that I didn’t also teach was a lucky session with Christi Friesen 3 years ago. The internet has saved me there.