My Word of the Year

Hi everyone. I hope you're having a lovely weekend.

A few weeks back I finally picked my word for 2023. I always wait for the right word to find me, and this year it took a while for that to happen.

 

I knew all along the general theme I wanted, but the right word hadn't come to me. Then, when I was in Florida back at the end of January, the word just appeared in my brain, practically screaming itself at me, clear as day. (Funny how that can happen.) This year my word is Venture.

Here's the dictionary definition of Venture:

to start a new activity, start thinking in a new way, or start doing an activity in a new place:

And here's another dictionary definition I found:

dare to do something or go somewhere that may be dangerous or unpleasant.

 

This type of venture (or adventure) is NOT for me.

I picked my word because I am ready  to do some new things and be back out into the world after a few  years with all the covid restrictions. I'm not sure how risky or dangerous anything I might do will be because I am not going sky diving or anything like that.  (Of course some days in our present world just going to the grocery store can be a risky or dangerous undertaking.) 

This is more my style!

It's time to broaden my horizons and step out of my comfort zone.  I am definitely someone who can get into a happy and comfortable rut (for lack of a better word because I don't think  I am in any form of a rut), and because I enjoy doing all my usual home things most of the time, I could just continue on as things are. Sometimes I even get a bit anxious about doing new things, and it was easy during covid to give in to those anxieties. 

Since last year when I started getting back into the swing of the pre-covid world, I did a few  "risky" things (like going to the movies-who would have thought going to movies might be risky?) without coming down with some horrible illness.  

I need to stop saying "I'll wait another year or until another time." 

A scary face?

 Sometimes when one thinks of the word venture it implies something that might be risky or unpleasant. Let's face it,  risk or unpleasantness is really a matter based on our own views of the world. I know when I was teaching one day the therapy dog (who visited school every week or two) came to my room. This big  lab pup was a sucker who loved the kids fawning over him, but I had one student who wouldn't get up and visit him. Ever. Then  on this particular dog visit, he finally stood up, inched his way forward and slowly reached out this hand to the dog. He explained to me he was bitten by a dog as a kid and had developed a great fear of dogs since then. It took a lot of courage on his part just to come close to the therapy dog, and that might seem crazy to some of the kids who were comfortable around dogs. 

This student had ventured out of his comfort zone. That's what I hope to do in 2023, even if it is in my own small way.

One of these things I want to do is to stretch my art wings.

The other day I pulled out my packet of oil pastels and a canvas panel. I don't know why I decided to play on this canvas panel and not play in my journal. I spent about an hour sketching and coloring this piece below. I also used a bit of acrylic paints and some water soluble pencils. I don't (and didn't) want it to be perfect and exact because I am also trying to be less fussy about my use of details.

 

After a couple of days  of looking at it, I went back and did a bit of finishing using oil pastels, more acrylic paint and also my water soluble pencils.

The perspective might be off (oh well), but I particularly like the tree and the boat in the water. and even more important, I had a lot of fun making this piece. Perhaps it's the fun I had that  I see when I look at this piece.

It was also time for some color to brighten up the late winter gloom, so I went and picked up a relatively inexpensive frame (because finding a cheap frame I like seems almost impossible) and put my art up on the mantel. I've never framed one of my own pieces before, maybe because once I frame  it, it means it is actually finished.

I like how it looks in the frame. And doing this actually made me think about framing some other of my pieces. Don't ask me why (because I'm not sure I know exactly why), but framing this piece makes me feel a little more like a real artist. 

Not that  I didn't feel like an artist before, but  one reason I retired was to have more time to make and to follow whatever artistic whim hit me. And framing my piece is one flap of those artistic wings. 

I am guessing  I can link this piece up to Valerie's Anything Goes challenge at Art Journal Journey. If making this on a canvas panel means it's not really art journaling, I'm sure one of my admin teammates will inform me. 

Have a super  rest of your weekend, and thank you for visiting my blog.