2023 Themes and priorities

#1 priority - create. Every day. E V E R Y single day.

#2 priority - turn up. Participate fully in the things I have already chosen. Be creative in the promise of something new and untried, with artists I admire and respect.

#3 priority - ditch. End one way transactions disguised as relationships. Excesses, duplicates, recognising when I should know better.

#4 priority - removal from the things that are no longer healthy investments of my love, care and time. Vigilance in the ongoing decluttering process.

#5 priority - self care and respect.

The new year dawned full of promise yet January 1 is only the day after the night of December 31. Not much has changed overnight and yet it has. New year, fresh start as the old year's door quietly shuts. Time to reflect on how to spend these upcoming 52 weeks.

It must be doing what's important with the people who really matter. Perhaps there is truth in Picasso's view that art is chaos taking shape, and removing that which is unnecessary. I'll be reducing the chaos and embracing the new shape in 2023.

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A river infuses it

Priority #1: Create My CBD office sits on the edge of this mighty, murky waterway - the Brisbane River. Over the next six months I'll be working on an exhibition piece as part of the Broadstrokes artists group. Starting with the obvious, I'm making preliminary sketches to determine the substrate form. I need to consider how it will perform under the visual intent of the piece. That is, " substrate " can be used to convey those things which " underly " or " sit beneath " the primary image. Infused by a river. I need to consider the political, social, economic, ethical or moral connections. I'll also explore which materials are best suited for that purpose.

Upcycled art quilts

Priority #1 Create: Making zippered bags from some of my art quilts is getting them out of storage and transformed into something useful. I'm using a technique from Design Matters TV whose re-imagined purse pattern is a delight to make. Every time. Each bag is lined with hand dyed and printed fabric. I'm enjoying saying "goodbye" and "thanks for your service" as I cut into quilts that, at the time, consumed every creative moment of my life. I'm enjoying the wooo hooo that accompanies the letting go. It's good for my (creative) soul.

Two books, many trees

This week saw some creative repurposing. I returned several old books and a magazine to the trees - an older book on art history, a Steinbeck - Travels with Charley - and a gallery magazine. A few stars yet to be mounted and that is the Christmas / festive decorating effort for 2023. Another book, published in New Zealand (and no surprise given its quality) is The Untamed Thread. Sumptuous and one of the few that hooks into the soul from page one. A joy to flip through a friend's copy and now patiently waiting on my copy to arrive. It's going to be a brilliant and creative holiday.

Ali George Artist

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