As the Sun Sets...

As the sun sets on 2014...

and I look back on my experiences this past year...

I think about all the new discoveries I have made...

I think about the hills I have climbed that were well worth the effort...

I think about the the fact that I am one year older...

I think about the flashes of synchronicity that seem to seek me out...

I think about the losses that still hurt...

I think about the decisions I made even when things were not clear...

I think about the strength we all have despite the the way of the world these days...

I think about the joy that this community never fails to bring me...

And I think of what the future may hold and about the possibilities that have yet to unfold...

Thank you all for continuing to be such a big part of my journey this past year. I look forward to all the adventures we will have together in 2015.

A happy, healthy, and creative new year to each and every one of you!

Insta Love

One year ago I made the leap to Instagram. After much internal back and forth, I gave it a try. Three hundred twenty six images posts later, I am glad I did. Being such an image-driven platform, I have found it a great match. There is a wonderful community on Instagram and it is a different crew from my peeps on Blogger, Facebook and Twitter.

It has been fascinating to receive instant feedback on my images. Based on number of likes, the following are my 14 most popular images of 2014 on my Instagram Feed:

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Top 14 of 2014

At the end of 2013, I decided to look back over the previous year's blog posts and see which were the most popular based on hits. I did so both as a way of creating a better blog based on the review and out of pure curiosity. If you want to look back, click here to go to my top 13 posts from 2013.

In this post, I am counting down my top 14 blog posts from 2014 based on hits. Not surprisingly, many of the top posts were connected to giveaways, online collaborative events, and even a little art. Drum roll please...

#14
More Thoughts on Blogging

#13
An Artist Book in Progress: Part 1

#12
All Sorts of People

#11
Monarch Book Cover

#10
New Stencil Release: Urban Collection

#9
The Week Links: 7

#8

The Week Links: 10

#7
The Week Links: 1

#6
NY, NY: V

#5
The Journey is the Inspiration: Call for Contributors

#4

The Jewelry Maker's Design Book: Giveaway

#3

Gelli Plate Printing - Giveaway

#2

Spellbinders Diamond Anniversary: Sneak Peek & Giveaway Day 2

#1

Studio Table: The Reveal

The Week Links: 30

Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week.

All previous links can be found here.

And here is Week 30...

This GIF from Bernard Pras is amazing. Thanks to both Wendy Watson and Quinn McDonald for letting me know the artist behind this incredible work.

Loving the work of Anna Schueler, highlighted on ElusiveMu.se.

One artist's process: Rick Stevens in action on The Woven Tale Press.

An artist's idea of peace from Caterina Giglio.

This book on "tips, techniques and trade secrets" of acrylic painting from Gill Barron looks interesting.

Love this brayer background technique from Leandra Franich from PaperArtsy.

Just discovered the intriguing work of Kathy Miller via a post on Tumblr.

Fascinating fabric and food. The worlds of textiles and food collide beautifully for Elizabeth Bunsen.

Artful Resolutions

Twenty-four creatives, including myself, share their artful resolutions on Somerset Place - the blog from Stampington & Company. It is fascinating to read the varied thoughts of so many artists in response to the following questions:

What is your creative/artful resolution for 2015?

What do you do to stay inspired - will you be looking for new sources of inspiration in 2015?

How do you, as an artist/photographer/writer set challenging but attainable goals?

Click here for the blog post highlighting some of the answers and click here to see each and every response. And feel free to add your own responses to these questions in the comment section.

IndieMade

Every December, I always look back on the year about to pass and look forward to the year getting ready to unfold. This is true both in art and life. 2014 started off with a check mark when I accomplished a (very) long-standing goal of starting a website. This blog has always been home base for me but I knew that as an artist I needed a place to send people to easily find my artwork. I also wanted to able to have full control over my online shop. So in the later half of 2013, I began to explore platforms and after much research, decided to create my website using IndieMade. Nearly one year to the date of going live, I cannot be more pleased with the result.

The founder of IndieMade, Jennifer Rapp Peterson, is not only both creative and business-minded, she is a genuinely nice person. She recently interviewed me about my path to, process of, and plans for being an artist. You can read the entire interview - The Altered World of Seth Apter - here.

In Between This and That

This is such a busy time of year, it is sometimes hard to find time to carve out for art. Somehow, in between the this and the that...I managed some play time and created two new pieces that I have added to the online shop on my website and in my Etsy Shop:

ALWAYS
Sold - Thank You!

 SHADOW PLAY

And I also had a chance to revisit an older piece, also in my shop, that I reworked until I was in the same place that I am right now:

ENTER

SOLD. THANK YOU!