What keeps us moving forward

As I near the end of this exercise -- I'll be closing the studio up next week; not sure when I'll be re-opening in the new location -- I worry a little about not being any closer to my goal of establishing a style, or at least finding it.

But looking back over my posts, I realize that wasn't the original goal: the original goal was to become bolder and more confident, and (I suspect, reading between the lines) to create distinctive work that I could be proud of, and like as much as I like the work of other artists I admire.

And while not everything I've created over this period has fallen into that category, I have definitely created some pieces I really love, and I'm starting to see a way past the timidity of my early work; starting to find a way to mix my love of color with my desire for strength and balance without being disabled by my fear of drawing.

It's okay to not be there yet -- and isn't that the joy of all this? There's so much we want, for ourselves and for our society, and things rarely move at the pace we desire. Somehow we have to learn to trust that where we are and what's happening now is what will keep us moving forward.