Happy New Year!

January was named for the god Janus, who had two faces; he looked both forwards and backwards, ideal for the start of the year. Looking backwards, last year was a year like any other, a mixture of highs, lows and humdrums. It was my fiftieth birthday in May, my sister surprised me with a visit, and my friends Judy and Haydn threw a surprise party for me (my first ever!). My gall bladder got grumpy, I acquired varifocals (not sure which category that fits into!), I wrote a lot, didn't make much in the way of art, and popped up in a variety of places, including my first trip to Dublin for the Knitting and Stitching Show. And we got together with Tracey (my soon to be daughter in law) and her parents down here and had a great time, making the wedding invitations, drinking pink champagne and generally having a laugh! And my first Christmas with my sister since my mid teens ended the year with a bang!

This year, there are things to look forward to; Andrew and Tracey's wedding, FOQ, Open Studios, learning to frame and the move of the gallery to a beautiful public space, where I'll be curating exhibitions as well as showing my work (but more of that another time). Above all, though, I'll be working on a new book, with my friend Jill Arnold, and making a lot of work. I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions, but I do believe in having a life purpose, which informs the work, and the rest of my life, to boot. My life purpose is twofold; the creation of joy, and the creation of meaning. Joy was a bit scarce in some parts of last year; come to think of it, meaning was, too. This year, I get back to basics. Make the work, and then make some more. It's really simple. Hope you all have a wonderful, creative and fulfilling year, whatever your life purpose is.

ps the quilt is 'Gestation', which seems to go nicely with the theme of the blog today. I think I've been brewing a lot of new ideas last year, which get to be expressed this year. Hurrah!