It's January 3rd and most of my kids have gone back to school. My youngest, Miles goes back tomorrow. For the most part, my house is quiet and in-between his demands for snacks and entertainment I'm managing to get a little done like writing a blog post. 

I start looking forward to the holidays every year around August. As they approach there's so much excitement and anticipation of gathering, gifts and generally just a really good time. And this year I wasn't disappointed. But now that the holidays are over my Christmas decorations can't be packed away fast enough. I'm done with it all until next year... with the exception of the cookies, i'm not ready to part with those yet. 

In addition to everything else I see in the holidays, I also see them as a solid end to the year, a time to reset so that the new year starts off on the right foot and with momentum. So while most people spent their holidays vacationing from work, I think I did more work than ever. I don't mean work for anyone else, I mean work for myself. I spent the holidays deep in practice, looking through my old sketchbooks, making new art, studying trends, networking with other artists, reflecting on my progress, and thinking of the future. I'm glad I took the time I needed over the holidays to get all of that done and tomorrow when I can get back to uninterrupted work, I've got some very exciting things to work on for both myself and my clients.  It's going to be a good year and I will be doing my best to live creatively and make as much art as I possibly can so check back frequently for new art and new products available in my online shops. 

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. My son is covered in chocolate and just ran out of my office with a tube of gauche after shooting me with a nerf gun.