My Five Creative New Years Resolutions

As 2019 draws to a close I’ve been starting to think about my New Year’s resolutions for 2020, more specifically thinking about my creative goals. I have made a list of five resolutions that I will try my very best to keep.

10 Jan 2020

1. Reading

I really want to read more this coming year, make better use of the university library and use books as part of my research way more than I have been doing. I want to broaden my knowledge of Art and Design and indulge in my interests; plus a little self-education never hurt anyone. Reading is also a great way of winding down with a hot chocolate at the end of the day.

2. Visiting museums and galleries

As I am studying at the UCA Epsom Campus, all the London museums and galleries are only a train ride away. Creating a checklist of all the places and exhibitions I want to visit will help me plan out my trips — there’s a lot to see so it’s a good thing I’ve given myself the whole year to hit them all!

3. Being prepared

Keeping a sketchbook in my bag and a few pencils floating around in the bottom at all times would be ideal for any spontaneous strikes of creativity. It would also be useful for getting some practice in drawing figures out and about and sketching in galleries for primary research.

4. Collaborate!

A cool part about UCA is that there are a bunch of different creative courses on each campus which provides a good opportunity to mingle with other arty and creative people. So, one of my resolutions is to find people to work on projects with even if it is independent from university work. In particular I’d like to look out for photographers and people who can help me set up shoots and hopefully in turn the experience would help them too.

5. Time management and project planning

Planning projects is a big part of university. In order to stay organised, I want to be more efficient, so will equip myself with all the necessary sticky notes and check lists. I’ll get stickers and fancy gel pens — whatever it takes to manage my time. This will also help in achieving all my other resolutions as I can have allotted time for sketching, reading, working on projects and visiting exhibitions.

So now time for the hard part: sticking to them! But hopefully doing them all in a set routine should help to reach my five aims for the year. What are your creative resolutions for the 2020? Maybe it’s trying a new medium you’ve not tried before, or introducing someone else to the creative world or mastering a new craft! Whatever it is, good luck and Happy New Year!

— Lowri Stokes, BA (Hons) Fashion