This is the beginning of a blog, the year 2015, and two personal endeavors. One is an endeavor to make something, anything, every single day for one year (more on this below). And second is an endeavor to seriously & methodically explore what it means to be a working artist, and to start building a foundation for myself to build a second career as an artist/creative type.

year of making, Day 1

starting one new, finishing one old

I use the word explore because I still have a ton to learn about how to build this possible second career. When I started selling my handmade jewelry on etsy in 2013, I jumped right in because I just couldn’t wait any longer to get started – but I didn’t exactly have a plan. It was SUPER fun to start selling jewelry, allowing me to make more items and send off sweet little packages around the country. But I’ve slowed down with my etsy shop as I try to figure out more about what I want to do, and to think about making an actual plan as an artist and maker.

day 2 weaving plans

day 3 weaving progress

day 4 more weaving plans

It can be overwhelming to realize how much I don’t know, but I’m finding more and more amazing resources, and I want to start learning and doing because I know it is going to take a lot of work. I may never be “successful” as a creative type, which makes it scary to write a blog post about it. But the process could be pretty cool no matter what happens, which makes me want to continue writing about it. I’m an excellent daydreamer. Exposing all my thoughts and ideas makes all of this more real, which is super scary for this daydreamer but also probably good for me.

In the meantime, as mentioned above, I am making a serious & formal commitment to daydream and doodle, every day for a year. I was inspired by Kim Werker‘s “Year of Making,” (which I discovered by following Meighan O’Toole – check out her excellent podcast which is so inspiring for anyone curious about the life of working creative types) and I started my own #YearOfMaking on January 1, 2015.

day 5

The idea behind a Year of Making, is pretty much how it sounds – to make something, anything, every day for a year. As Kim explains, it can be anything as long as it’s something you want to do or get better at – it doesn’t have to be finished, and it doesn’t have to be good. In my case my goal for each day is to do a bit of weaving, drawing, writing, painting, jewelry making, making a website, and maybe other things as the year goes on.

day 9

(Update: since starting to write this post last Sunday, and going back to work at my other career after the holidays, I’ve realized: a) how hard it is to actually fit some creative time into my life on workdays with my current job; and b) how crucial it is that I do make some time even if it’s small – so sticking to this commitment to a #yearofmaking feels even more important to me.)

Thanks for reading, and sharing this journey with me. Let’s make stuff!

~sara