Hello there! A very belated happy new year to you! (Better late than never, right?) We’re well into the new year now - by the time I post this, we should be nearing the end of January, and about to step into another new year - The Year of The Tiger.
I hope 2022 has been kind to you so far, with no rude surprises. The past couple of weeks were surprisingly busy for me - in a good way, thanks to the sales of my calendars. I made them at the last minute, as gifts for my son’s teachers, and for our close friends and family members. Then a couple of people asked whether I sell them, so one thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, I was fulfilling orders. If you’re reading this, thank you again!
The Year That Was
It has definitely been a better January than the one I had last year. This time a year ago, I was quarantined at home with Covid, while our son - 4 years old at the time - was hospitalised with pneumonia (not Covid, thank heavens). It was a pretty challenging time, especially for Q, who had to stay in the hospital with our son, and later take care of him at home, while taking over some of my duties as I was self-isolating in the room.
It was around this time that the country went into lockdown again, the first of a series of convoluted and logic-defying MCOs/CMCOs/Phases1-2-3 that accumulated to a total of six months of staying, working, and learning from home. It turned our lives upside down, wreaked havoc on our mental health, killed businesses, and drove people to fly white flags as a cry for aid. For some, it was literally a matter of life or death.
Hello, Hospital.
As the days passed under lockdown, one day no different from the next, we had a few more health issues. I developed a couple of minor conditions, which persist until today, but are thankfully under control after multiple doctor visits and an overhaul in what I use and do in my day-to-day routine. Our son was hospitalised again in October, for bronchitis - but thankfully not as severe as earlier in the year. He’s recovered now, and I’m hoping that’ll be the last hospital stay for a while.
Cute Bears In Procreate While Paints Hibernate
I didn’t do as much design work as I would’ve liked last year. With everyone at home during the prolonged lockdown, I spent my days planted at the dining table keeping an eye on kiddo’s online classes, while Q occupied my office/studio upstairs. It was too much of a hassle to bring my paints and supplies downstairs, so I turned to digital artwork instead. For no other reason apart from wanting a bit of a change, I tried my hand at drawing cute animal characters on my iPad. I’m glad I did, as not only was it a great way to shut the world out and de-stress, but it also led to an exciting new project for 2022; a silver lining in the lockdown cloud. It’s still early days now, and I’ll share more when the time is right.
There was a project that I did complete last year, and one that I can talk about: a design job commissioned for a friend’s cafe. That was pretty exciting too, and deserves a post of its own… coming soon 😄.
No More Wallpaper Wednesdays
I stopped doing my monthly Wallpaper Wednesdays in the second half of 2021. As much as I enjoyed creating the patterns and making them available as downloadable backgrounds, I felt that after a year or so, I needed to do things a bit differently. I haven’t fully decided how to go about it, and I expect it’ll require quite a bit of tinkering on my site, at the very least - but it is something I hope to get done this year. Watch this space! 😉
In Summary, 2021 Sucked.
I wish I could say that 2021 was the year that I developed a new style, or fell in love with a new technique, or found new design influences, or even created a signature colour palette; but it wasn’t. It was a year that sucked all my energy, one that had me trudging along, not knowing when we would turn a corner. Save for a few highs and bright spots, it was a year full of lows and mental fatigue. 2021 was a long and arduous twelve months, and I really, really hope we don’t see a repeat of it.
Having said that, I’m grateful to have survived into the new year. I haven’t set any resolutions for 2022, but I’m looking forward to getting on with some jobs on my plate that will keep me busy over the next few months. Hopefully I’ll be able to work on a few personal projects, too. They’ve been sitting on the back burner for a while now, and it’s about time I get started on at least one of them.
Here’s to hoping that 2022 is a better year for us all. And not, heaven forbid, 2020, too. Or 2020 (2).
Stay safe, everyone.