Thursday, December 31, 2020

2020 in Review

It's a tradition on my blog to look back at the end of the year and pick out a few creative highlights! Hope you enjoy... this year was a massive, endless blur, and some things seem like they happened wayyyyyy longer than months ago! It's good to know that despite all that happened, there are some highlights to remember too!


JANUARY

I made a few tweaks to my stamper-themed charm - this remains my best seller over in my Etsy store! 


January also brought a new stamp release for the 2020 Spring season - this release was full of farmhouse-trendy images and some fun snarky stamps for moms!

FEBRUARY

At the end of February I was on our local TV station! You can imagine how far from my comfort zone this was. I worked with a team this year to start promoting the arts in our county, and we used this opportunity to talk about the art show we were planning. I'm looking forward to more and bigger events in the coming year and beyond!

MARCH

Commissioned portraits continued - here are two adorable beagles I drew in March!



I began creating cut files for paper beads in March - those have been a popular seller as well, especially this one, which cuts 40 different triangle sizes!


APRIL

Another stamp collection was released for Summer 2020 - you can view my entire stamp line HERE.

MAY

I was honored to post a guest article on the Color Magazine blog - that article is HERE. I shared a bit of the heart behind creating commissioned portraits.

JUNE

My work was in a virtual exhibit on the University of Central Missouri website - it's still available to view HERE! I finished this colored pencil piece just in time for the show!

JULY

In July I started messing around with polymer clay - a medium I had been avoiding because I knew I would love it and get obsessed. Right as usual. 😀 I have really enjoyed the process, and it's refreshing to be a learner instead of an educator in this medium. I love incorporating these new skills and products into projects that incorporate paper beads and stamps as well.

Fall/Winter 2020 stamps were released in July - as usual the designs (which had been submitted in February) were strangely appropriate for the cultural climate we found ourselves in. I hope these stamps have been a blessing.

AUGUST

My Bel Air Reflections drawing was published in Color Magazine - this is a back cover feature.

SEPTEMBER

September was full of art show prep - the show we began to plan in January was rescheduled twice and finally moved online! I took the task of coordinating the setup of the show behind the scenes, setting up a website and the show itself. I was honored to have 3 ribbon winners in the show as well! You can still view the show HERE.

OCTOBER

I completed my 100th portrait commission in October! Here are the first 100, in order! It's fun to see the progress in my work.

NOVEMBER

Our annual Falliday Fest event over at Splitcoaststampers was a hit, a much needed community event and a good time to prepare for the holidays. I coordinated the tutorial entries and provided a challenge and tutorial for the event. Here's one of my challenge samples!

DECEMBER

I treated myself to an online beading retreat and fully enjoyed it - it provided me lots of skills and ideas for taking off in my own direction with jewelry designs! Still working to either build or settle into one style, and so many things I still want to try! Here are the beads I made during the retreat, and a few I made with the techniques I learned.



Upcoming changes:

--I decided to step down from the Spellbinders club kit team, though I'll still showcase occasional releases. 

--Impression Obsession is moving to a monthly release model, which means some structural changes behind the scenes - 2 art deadlines for me instead of 4, and more focused collections. I have submitted 3 smaller collections for this 6 month period, so you won't see artwork from me every month, but when you do, I hope you'll love it! February is my next release and it is some of my favorite artwork ever. 

Plans are beginning to stir for 2021 art events, and I'm excited and hesitant at the same time, not knowing how things will unfold in the new year... I know we're all collectively moving ahead with great and hopeful uncertainty. I hope my creative efforts have brought a little comfort and light into your world - I know that I have appreciated your visits and kind words here in this little space of mine!

All the best to you in 2021. Thank you for looking back with me!

Thanks for stopping by!





Ideas, Supplies, Machines, Paper & More

4 comments:

  1. Wow you have really come a long way in the past few years. I remember seeing the car piece (I subscribe to Color) and didn't even notice it was yours! Congratulations on all your new adventures and the ones to cone.

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  2. WHAT an AMAZING YEAR, for you Dina!!! It has been WONDERFUL to follow along as you do these things! LOOKING FORWARD to the coming year with you!!! May the upcoming year, be BLESSED for you & yours! ;)<3

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  3. Dina, God's blessings for continued good health and all that you need in the next year. I love what you produce in your studio. I especially love your drawings and your stamps. Most of the time I can tell which new IO stamps are probably yours. Your personality shows through them, I think. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and leadership on Splitcoast Stampers and being willing to sell some of your cards every year. I look forward to that time too. May your family know God's peace and love and grace all year through. Deanna

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  4. Vannessa Osbourn12/31/2020 8:39 PM

    Amazing accomplishments for you this year! You are always so inspirational! Happy New Year!

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