Dive into Our Creative Goal Collection and Flourish
Having creative goals is crucial for artists and makers as they provide direction, motivation, and a roadmap for artistic growth.
Goals challenge individuals to push boundaries, explore new mediums, and refine skills. They foster a sense of purpose, driving continuous improvement, and helping artists achieve their full creative potential.
So to help you decide which creative goals you want to set for yourself, we have 10 inspiring intentions for you to explore and decide which ones you want to focus on in your year ahead.
Pick the Creative Goal to Add to Your Collection of Intentions
From the list of creative goals below decide on what works for you to focus on for the year ahead.
Here are 10 creative goals for you year ahead tailored for artists and makers:
1. Experiment with a New Medium as a Creative Goal
Resolve to step out of your comfort zone and explore a new creative medium or technique. Whether it’s digital art, watercolours, clay, sculpture, or something unconventional, embracing new materials can spark fresh ideas and broaden your skill set.
It is always a healthy creative practice to go back to being a beginner at something and letting yourself play and experiment. As is so often the case, it is when we are playing that the muses get to come out and play with us too, allowing fresh ideas and energy to flow. Plus it is fun.
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2. Create a Daily Sketch or Doodle Journal:
Commit to a daily practice of sketching or doodling in a dedicated journal, even if it is just for five minutes in front of the tv, is a wonderful creative goal for the year.
This consistent effort can help improve your drawing skills, encourage creativity, and serve as a visual diary documenting your artistic journey throughout the year.
You can use it to work out ideas, express emotions, test out colour combinations, practice nature journaling and even to let the mind wonder.
Sometimes the best journals are the cheapest ones, like an A4 spiral bound book, as you can just get down to making marks in it rather than worrying about creating a masterpiece. It is the doing that matters.
3. Collaborate on a Project:
Partner with another artist or a group of creatives to collaborate on a project. This could be a joint exhibition, a shared art piece, or a community art initiative. Collaborations not only foster creativity but also provide opportunities for learning and networking.
This can be a great way to grow creatively and offer different perspectives on approaches, mediums and locations.
The Art Trails Tasmania annual art exhibition is a prime example of small creative businesses collaborating, creating a circle of creativity between curator (us), gallery space and artists.
4. Create Your Own Exhibition Calendar
Whether you are exhibiting or attending, being part of exhibitions regularly is a great way to grow as an artist and maker is a creative goal we can all enjoy.
Getting along to an exhibition, whether it is at a State art gallery or a small independent space in your town is an ideal way to recharge the creative juices. Making it a catch up time with a favourite friend combined with a delicious bite at a small business cafe is even better.
Submitting your work into exhibitions through out the year is also a great way to flourish creatively.
Entering art and craft exhibitions can also be a very effective way to grow your artist profile. Here are 7 tips on how to do this easily.
5. The Perfect Creative Goal – Attend Workshops and Classes
Invest in your artistic development by enrolling in workshops or classes. Whether online or in-person, learning from others can introduce you to new techniques, styles, and perspectives, enhancing your artistic repertoire.
And workshops are a great get away, either on your own or with a friend who wants to try something creative with you.
Artist led workshops and classes, especially small ones, give you time to talk with the teacher, gain insights into techniques and the deep experience of the artist.
While getting along to a weekly class over eight to ten weeks can sometimes be difficult, booking into a one or two day workshop can be a great alternative.
6. Create a Signature Style
Dedicate the year ahead to refining and establishing your unique artistic style. Experiment with different elements, themes, and colour palettes until you discover a signature style that makes your work instantly recognisable.
The key is exploring and learning enough about what gives you creative joy as you experiment. Step back from the range of works that you’ve created and look at the commonalities, the shared elements to see where your signature style resides. And don’t be too hard on yourself either. For some, their signature style becomes apparent readily, for others it shifts and changes across different mediums.
Always remember that is it the exploring, the doing, the creative delight, that matters with creative goal.
7. Start a Passion Project
Identify a subject or theme you are passionate about and create a series of artworks around it. This could be a personal project that aligns with your interests, values, or a cause you believe in. Use your art to tell a meaningful story or convey a powerful message.
A passion project can also be treated as a deep dive into a medium or idea, even a series of ideas. An example might be getting involved in the Art for takayna/Tarkine project in a way that works and challenges you creatively.
What would be three topics that you are passionate about? Maybe nature, environment, mental health, art therapy, creativity challenges, community? What does you list look like?
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8. Build an Online Presence
Focus on expanding your online presence by consistently sharing your artwork on social media platforms or creating a portfolio website.
This creative goal might be the most challenging for some so look at how others are doing it, figure out what you like and don’t like and give it a go.
Engage with your audience, participate in art communities, and leverage digital tools to connect with fellow artists and potential clients.
Look to create your own digital eco-system where your website, Facebook, Instagram etc have a consistent look and feel about them so your supporters easily recognise you.
9. Document Your Process
Make it a creative goal to document your artistic process throughout the year.
Share behind-the-scenes glimpses into your studio, time-lapse videos of your work, or write about your creative journey.
This not only adds transparency but also provides valuable content for your audience. This can also help when applying for grants, residencies and exhibitions, particularly the government based ones where transparency is crucial.
10. Join Art Trails Tasmania
Being part of the supportive creative community of Art Trails Tasmania is a great way to grow your artist profile, have your events and groups celebrated, flourish with skills sharing stories and connect with fellow makers, artists and designers.
Members also have the opportunity to be showcased in artist ebooks, such as the “8 Exciting Tasmanian Artists & Their Sources of Inspiration” which is sent as a gift to new subscribers to the Community newsletter, receive discounts on art exhibition entries and in our soon to be opened shop.
The free four part Welcome email series also has a 20% off membership coupon.
You can find out more about our membership levels in the Members’ Hub.
Not a Tasmanian artist but want to be part of our community? The Art Lover level of membership is especially for you.
Join Art Trails Tasmania
Join our growing members community today to share your Artist Profile story.
Bonus Tip
Giving Back to the Community is a Wonderful Creative Goal
Contribute to your local or online art community by organising workshops, sharing tutorials, or volunteering your artistic skills for a charitable cause, be sure to share fellow artists and makers social media posts with your audience.
Giving back not only strengthens the art community but also brings a sense of fulfilment and purpose to your creative endeavours.
Remember, the key is to set creative goals that challenge and inspire you while allowing room for growth and exploration in your artistic practice.
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Belinda is doing a great job creating a professional looking artist hub online. Check out the profile I posted recently to see how well she does them. To all my artist friends let’s help make this THE go to place to discover local artists.
You won’t regret joining Art Trails Tasmania . It’s a welcoming community for creatives at any career stage.Becoming an Art Trails Tasmania member wasn’t a hard decision for me to make as it’s such a wealth of knowledge and support.Being member provides a quality way to showcase your creative endeavours and it’s quickly growing in reach.
We operate a home based picture framing business and recently joined Art Trails Tasmania as a means to giving us exposure to the wider artist community. We have almost immediately seen increase in activity thru our online sites, which I am certain will lead to more opportunities to grow our business.
