Resolve

Usually, I look down my nose at New Year's resolvers who clog up the machines at the gym and crowd the yoga studio. This year, I find myself at an exciting crossroad and am using the uncanny timing to reflect on the year past and look forward to my desired achievements for 2010 and beyond. I've done the requisite list-making and day dreaming, of course, and the main goal for the new decade is to live a connection between my heart and mind. I decided to make something that symbolizes how I want the aforementioned achievements and actions to feel like.

I started by creating a foundation: coating an old board in black, shiny acrylic paint. It's rough around the edges, because I do love my grit.

I found myself with lots of leftover pink paper that I cut into squares and rectangles, then folded them into little cones. Paper is so resilient: the little guys stay shaped like that on their own! (Update: I did end up using double-sided photo mounting tape on half of them.) I imagined I was rolling dozens of massive pink joints: for those of you who know me, I hope that makes you giggle as much as it I did while doing it. I digress...The pink is my heart: fun, playful and intuitive.

I painted a few symbols with black acrylic on white paper and again folded them into cones that illustrate strength and balance. (Lately, I've been viewing lots of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.)


Then, I pasted all my paper cones on the board in a fluid way, drawing on the flow I'll continue to tap into. I'm not exactly sure what I've ended up with, but I do know that making this and having it around is going to help me stick to my resolve of uniting my mind and heart.

If you look closely, you'll see little squares of mirror rescued from a smashed disco ball I found in a dumpster (long story). These have been kicking around since the summer and I'm so excited that they finally found their place! I used them here because I think they represent the small doses of reflection that we all need to help make life a little more potent.

Happy twenty ten!