3 Was My Magic Number

At the beginning of the year many of the writers here at Curvy Girl Guide pledged to Reinvent the Resolution and Take Back Our Numbers.

As Brittany said, we were making a commitment:

Forget the number on the scale, it’s time to live your life by your own terms, by your own numbers!
Define your life by the goals you want to achieve, goals that have nothing to do with the stupid numbers popping up on a scale. Those numbers are powerless.
Celebrate life lived, and embrace the number that matters the most.  Your number.

My number was 3. A small modest number, but one I felt was realistically achievable. This is what I had to say about my number back in January:

It is said that 3 is the magic number, and for me it represents art exhibitions in 2012. My goal is to see my work hanging in at least 3 gallery exhibitions before the end of the year. That means entering competitions, updating my portfolio and website to showcase my work, and reaching out to local and regional galleries. Basically putting myself out there more—and maybe selling a few pieces along the way.

I’m excited to say that by the end of November—one full month before 2012 comes to a close—I will have reached my number and achieved my goal.

I started my journey towards my number by entering samples of my work to the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo and AIGA Toledo in an attempt to be chosen to create a piece for the You Are Here Toledo project—a public art initiative that would run from May through October of 2012 with a series of one of a kind dots placed throughout the city of Toledo. I was one of 99 artists chosen to create one of 100 different large scale outdoor dots  based on an individual location. My assigned location was Wixey’s Bakery, a local family owned bakery that has been a staple of the Toledo area for the past 80 years. My solution was to recreate the bakery entirely out of type, with each element of the building constructed from the confections found inside and the ingredients used to create them.

My second exhibition happens will occur on November 17th. I will be participating in Makers Mart, a one day Indie Craft Fair in Toledo. I’m totally counting this as number two since—although it isn’t a gallery exhibition—it is a juried craft fair. I had to submit sample images of the type of wares I planned on selling in an effort to procure a spot at the Makers Mart event. My work was chosen, my booth space has been secured, and I will spend that Saturday selling handmade journals, notecards and other handmade pieces crafted from paper like the ones I sell in my Etsy shop.

On November 30th I will hit that magic number 3 by participating in an exhibition at Sur-Saint Clair for the ACGT’s final Gallery Loop of the year. I’ll be showing—and selling—a mix of my photography, illustration, and type-based work. The event melds holiday bazaar with art exhibition and aims to provide shoppers with unique creative gift options for the holiday season. I’m excited to be a part and particularly honored to have been sought out by the gallery to showcase my work at this event. I mean really, how cool is that?

Eleven months after declaring my number I will reach it. I’m proud of myself for achieving my goal. It has strengthened my resolve to continue to put myself out there as an artist and a designer. Maybe next year I will shoot for five.

Holly teaches design at a small NW Ohio college. She spends her days off hanging out with her foxy musician husband and their gorgeous new baby and ridiculously smart pre-school aged son. Holly has a passion for food, photography, beautiful letter forms, and the possibilities that can be found in a single sheet of well made paper. You can read more from Holly on her blog, Artist Mother Teacher.

photo credits, Holly, Artist Mother Teacher

Editor’s note: We are so incredibly proud of you, Holly!