Reflections and Priorities for the New Year

My kids are back in school after winter break and while I savor my quiet home for a few hours, I’m trying to reflect on 2025 and dive into plans for a new year.

I took a moment last week to look at my Instagram stats, but as I was looking over my “Top Nine” from the last 12 months I started wondering what was I looking for?

For starters my top content on Instagram is always reels, not posts, which is probably the norm for most people sharing both types of content. But, when I look at the “Top” posts, what should I be basing it on and why? Reach, Likes, Follows, Shares, Saves? Sometimes these are similar, but not always.

It’s rare that any of those metrics equal sales, which is what most artists would be happiest about from Instagram. And, all my top posts were from the first 6 months of the year, so does that mean I was doing crap work after early July?

Probably not, since I re-shared a lot of the work made during my 100-day project which filled my profile in the early months. Certain pieces did well and then didn’t do as well in later posts.

Mostly, these “Top” posts made the algorithm happiest, or the algorithm deemed them most worthy of sharing with a broader selection than just my followers.

I’ve certainly had an up and down relationship with social media the last few years, but one thing I’ve learned is that I like it the most when…

• I don’t spend too much time on it (I have a 30-minute time limit of my phone)
• I avoid letting it influence what I share and what I make.
• And, when I scroll intentionally through content from real people I actually Follow or Favorite.

So, if I don’t want to put too much weight in the metrics of social media, what should be my top highlights from 2025:

• I taught 12 in-person workshops  and offered my first online workshop. What brought me the most joy in this category was the number of repeat students I had throughout the year.
• I finished my second 100-day project, which as always, taught me a lot about my work and myself.
• I created 38 individual, rock gel prints, plus 3 large, multi-rock pieces with an additional 18 rocks. I also had several failed rock prints along the way, but I learned as much from the fails as successes.
• I also completed 22 mixed media stacks and another 20+ abstract or botanical monotypes and sold more work online than I ever had.

A few things I hope to work on:

• I exhibited less work in 2025. Perhaps I submitted to fewer shows or was rejected from more, or both. But I did sell work in most of the shows I participated in, so that’s a silver lining.
• I didn’t get to as many art events and openings as I had hoped, so that’s something pushed to the top of my priorities, as I’d like to connect with people more in real life than in digital spaces this year. More of a qualitative than quantitative goal, but I’m aiming for 1 event per month.

As I evaluate my goals, certain items will continue to be on my list, while other priorities emerge or fade to the background, but I’m taking my time as I ease into 2026.

Overall, when I look back at the work I created last year I see where I really pushed myself in terms of technique and what I could do with a gel plate. There was a lot of experimentation, especially in the early parts of the year and I feel good about where my work is headed right now.

Thanks so much for following and reading about my creative journey. All the best for the New Year.

Here's a piece a recently completed that is hopefully start of some new abstract work for 2026.