I would like to take this opportunity to set out some creative resolutions for the year ahead, and then I will be able to judge myself against them this time next year. I’m quite a big fan of resolutions as long as they offer a realistic challenge.

1. Finish some of the projects that I have started.

Many of the posts on this blog promise further action, and yet seem to fizzle out. This is mostly because I get attracted by the next project and old ones get abandoned, but it can also be to do with lack of resources. Anyway, it seems silly not to see things through to the bitter end, so I hope over the next year to revisit some of the forgotten things in the Cabinet of Monsters.

2. Develop some new creative skills.

After all, this project is all about pushing myself and trying new things. I am not sure what exactly, but I am currently thinking of perhaps learning to hand-sew properly and learning to solder.

3. Build on skills I have started developing.

New skills are all very well, but there are also all those things that I have started over the last couple of years that ought to be developed and nurtured. Among them are painting, drawing, sculpting, whittling and making mechancial toys.

4. Keep developing the creativity of my children.

I have really loved doing art and crafts with my little girl, and it has helped me to see things a bit more from a child’s perspective. There is a great book called Your Child is An Artist, which is about encouraging artistic practice in children, and based on the child’s innate knowledge that art is a process and not a product. I feel that this all can help my own creative development, and give my children richer and more vibrant lives.

5. Experiment more.

In an effort to push myself a little bit more, I would like to try to be a bit more experimental. I am not sure exactly how yet, but maybe there are ways of injecting more randomness into the development of ideas, or collaborating more, or trying wild new things. Who knows; installation art, conceptual art, more challenges. We’ll see what the coming year will bring.

Here, because I need something to illustrate this post, are some random pictures I don’t think I have posted before.