​Wrapping up 2021 and Gearing up for 2022 ... Carrie Barnett

It's December 1st and I'm reflecting on this past year and all of the personal growth and recovery I've been through and how my art and connections with my art family have remained a constant throughout this crazy time.

Personal Art Reflection: My new studio space was finally finished in early June and Bella (my mini-aussiedoodle) and I have moved in and are both enjoying our time relaxing and creating. (She mostly just relaxes and supervises the artmaking.) I'm wrapping up a series of works that I started in January of 2021. These pastels range in size from 5"x7" to 11"x14" and are a journey through the emotions of the year. Colors and mark-making were inspired by feelings and at times, memories of places I've visited. I'm getting very excited as I gear up for my first personal exhibition in January! Now that the work is (mostly) created, it's time to matt and frame it for the exhibition. I'm really looking forward to this opportunity.

Art Family Reflection: I just participated in my first NAEA Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Liaison meeting and it was so inspiring to be talking with other art educators from around the country who share a passion for making art education "better". I am honored to be one of Ohio's two liaisons for this position and am definitely gearing up for the work required of this position. It will be exciting to see where these ED&I trainings leads our organization. Who knows... maybe I'll be able to create some ED&I training sessions to share with everyone! 

In closing... take time to reflect this month as you prepare for the new year. Who knows what 2022 will bring!
Artfully,
Carrie