thank you 2009

Botanical Lily No. 7733

A wonderful year! 2009 was a big year for my art business. My photography sales exploded and I gained confidence that my dream of being a full time artist would one day be possible. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone that helped make that happen.

I was thrilled to contribute to a wonderful cause! N.E.D. (No Evidence of Disease) is a band of six doctors rocking to fight cancer. My art was selected for the cover of their cd!

It was a big year for press and publications for me.

2009 started off with the publication of Art Quilts at Play. The wonderful and talented Jane Davila and Elin Waterston invited me to collaborate on art for their book Art Quilts at Play.

Photojojo named me in their article 20 Photographers Whose Work You Can Actually Afford.

Jen at the Indie Fixx blog invited me to contribute art to her Feed Your Soul free downloadable art project. Feed Your Soul caught the attention of Apartment Therapy and my art was featured in an Apartment Therapy Unplggd post.

Daily Candy featured my photography in a weekend guide.

My digital collage art (the Plans & Diagrams series) was featured in Somerset Digital Studio, Vol 3, August 2009.

And I’m especially thankful to the many bloggers who had kind words about my art:
Poppytalk
The Bright Side Project
The Bowerbird Stories
New Dominion Blues
Magnolia Square
Pangea Handmade
Allyson Meier
Wee Sparrow
Oh Chalet
Moxie Photo and Design
Indie Fixx
The Experts Agree

In 2009, I started a project that’s been on my mind for a couple of years. Wonder Thinking is a blog of business & marketing tips for artists, crafters, indie designers. It’s in its infancy and I’m looking forward to seeing how it grows.

On a more personal note, it was a little bit of a tough year, though there were some silver linings.

My 19-year-old daughter went to Disney in Orlando for 6 months to work a co-op. I missed her terribly, but the bright side was that Fred and I had so much time with just the two of us.

My father’s wife’s adult son was diagnosed with brain cancer. I spent two weeks in Florida with my 84-year-old father while my step-mother went to visit her son. It was the longest time I had spent with my dad since I was a teenager.

My mother had some health challenges. The good news is that she had major surgery in December and is doing very well. The prognosis is good.

All in all, 2009 was a wonderful year for me. I am thrilled with the progress I made in my art and in my art business, though I know I have so much work to do in 2010. :)

How was your 2009? What’s your Year in Review? Did you blog about it? Please leave a link to your blog post in the comments :)