Crunching the Numbers

One more day left in the year and it's time to reflect and review- to see what was accomplished and what still needs to be done (or improved).

I did some number crunching and compared what I set for goals at the beginning of the year and what happened in reality.

1) One of my goals for 2011 was to average 15 hours a week (based on 48 weeks of the year) working in my studio on art.   This year I averaged 12.78 hours/week.  This was an improvement over last year's average of 10.47 hours/week but short of my intended goal.  I was hoping to make a goal of 20 hours/week for 2012, but I might need to reassess to see if that is reasonable. I might need to stick with 15 again.

2) Another goal was to average 3-5 hours/week working on the business part of art.  I hit that goal this year averaging 4.375 hours/week.  Although the majority of those hours came toward the end of the year. For 2012, I need to work on being consistent from week to week taking care of business, so to speak.

3)  I did not have any goals for volunteer time but this year I spent around 93 hours volunteering, which was more than last year's number at around 70 hours.

4)  I did not break even with my art income versus art expenses.  Part of this was because I counted my new computer and software as a business expense.

5) Of a list of about 20 art goals, I achieved about half.  Is that good or bad?  I think it is neither - it is just a fact.  There are a few things that were more important than others.

I only had a few specific goals for applying to shows or venues.  One was to create an artwork for the Deep Spaces show, which I did and it was accepted.

As for venues, there were three local ones to which  I wanted to send in applications.   One application I did send in before the deadline.  It was accepted and I will have a show in 2012 at the BSU special events center lobby.  The second venue I decided not to apply yet, as I wanted to have more work completed before doing so.  The third venue, I think I have changed my mind about.

Although not having many specific goals about shows, I did have pieces accepted into four different juried shows, two of which are out-of-state.  I also had work in several of the Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance exhibitions and participated in the Leftovers print exchange again this year.

Another accomplishment was applying to create a traffic box design and getting accepted and paid to do that.

Another pleasant surprise was being asked to curate the Trey McIntyre Project art fundraiser this year and getting paid to do that.

Overall, it was a good year art-wise for me.  I accomplished some goals and improved on my overall time commitment to my art.  There is still much for me to do and I will set new goals for 2012 and, hopefully, continue to improve on accomplishing them.

Keeping track of all the numbers may be a bit nerdy (at least I'm using my business degree, too), but it really helps give me a good picture of what I accomplish, keeps me accountable to my goals and helps to create realistic goals for the next year.

Here's looking forward to an awesome 2012.  Happy New Year to you!