Karen Blakes Review of the Year

I have just spent a happy hour or so looking back at this blog of the year and reminiscing. 2007 has been really rich and full, and this has been reflected by the eclectic and colourful posts! It’s been really good to keep this blog, it’s amazing to look back and to have a permanent visual record of what’s happened this year and how far I have come. I still find it pretty crazy to think that this time last year I was signed off work with depression (which, on reflection, was not depression but a severe allergic reaction to control and restraint techniques and the power imbalance of a psychiatric unit!) with ABSOLUTLEY NO IDEA of what to do and how to get where I needed to be. I guess its a perfect advert for the power of just trusting that life will eventually turn out OK, even if things feel bleak at the time.

So.... to the review!

January was a funny month as I begin to deal with the fall out of quite literally leaving the madhouse. I felt very bruised and battered, but determined to pick myself up and start again, even if I felt fragile. So commenced a brief foray into the world of "jobcentre plus" and the etiquette of signing on. Deep, deep joy. Still, everyone needs a hobby........ Really, Jan, Feb and March are all a bit blurry. I spent a lot of time painting, job hunting, developing an unhealthy internet habit.... and trying to not develop and even more unhealthy daytime TV habit. A brief highlight came in the form of our wedding anniversary, where we went on the London Eye, and ate possibly the best sushi this side of Japan. Woo!! In April, things picked right up...... I GOT A NEW JOB!!! Bye bye dole queue and non-believing 7 foot tall dole lady!! I managed to get a job as a speech therapy assistant that fitted around the studio. Also, April saw our amazing trip to New York. Fab, saw so much interesting and inspiring artwork, and the ideas for my body image work had their seeds well and truly sown whilst at The Chelsea Museum of Art...... May saw me start my job and exhibit my self-portrait at the Studio Upstairs annual Open Exhibition, which was really important in terms of the reactions I got.
June saw a major MAJOR milestone..... I passed my driving test!!! I just cannot describe the euphoria I felt on that day. Strong words, but its up there with one of the best time in my life, because of what it represented. NEVER AGAIN would I have to have nerves so bad that I was nearly sick, or sleepless nights and panic attacks when I found myself UTTERLY CONVINCED I would never pass.

There’s no blog entries to speak of in July...... must have been a bit tied up in the terror of being un-chaperoned on the roads!

In August we re-ignited our love of camping with a brand new tent and a visit with Lipsty and Dominatrix to the fabulous Shell Island. A really lovely lovely holiday with lots of cool humans! September obviously was ALL about turning 30. It was fine, no real trauma! And the best party!! And October? It was (mostly) ALL about the exhibition, and was the pinnacle of this fantastic year! What a buzz it was to get validation of my work in the way I did. Again, words don't quite do it at this point! Despite this major event, I also managed to fit in running a workshop at The Arnolfini, and Mums wedding. Yep. October was QUITE a month! And the rest of the year? Well, it needed to be quiet and reflective in order to get over it all! I must admit, I hibernated a bit for the rest of the year, but in this period of hibernation some interesting plans have begun to brew that are going to make 2008 quite a different and exciting year hopefully! Still wont say what they are here yet as there are some important people in my life I haven't told, so this blog will hear the news when they do!!

So that was pretty much 2007!! There are still things I want to do in 2008 as I never did start that letter writing revolution or sit down and immerse myself in all those old letters! But, all in all and despite the shaky start, it has been one of the best years of my life, and I’m excited about the blank canvas that is 2008. I want to concentrate on enriching my life even further.

My word for the year last year was create, and I think I can happily say it was a huge influence and guide. Lots of painting, exhibiting, scrapping, writing, and general creative exploits. However, the most important realisation I have had is how I have evolved as an artist. Before, I struggled with the label of "painter" or "artist". It never fitted, and I felt if I used either of them as terms to define myself, I was being awfully pretentious, and that somebody would soon catch me out anyway as a fraud! Now? It fits perfectly, and I love being able to define myself in this way. I am a painter. I will ALWAYS be a painter.

What an amazing thing to come out of just one little word.......