The turning of the calendar invites a familiar kind of hope. A fresh year stretches ahead, unwritten and wide open, carrying with it the sense that anything might be possible. For artists, this blank slate is both exciting and tender. It whispers with potential, but also asks something of us. It asks that we begin again.
Beginning again does not mean starting over. It means returning with everything we have learned, even if our hands are unsure or our direction feels unclear. It means stepping back into the studio, brushing dust from tools, and greeting the familiar space with new eyes. It means remembering that creativity does not need to be loud to be meaningful, and that small steps forward are still movement.
In the glass studio, each project is a reminder that nothing beautiful is created instantly. We layer, we fire, we wait. We make choices, then we wait again. The process requires patience and faith, qualities that are just as important when thinking about a new year. There will be moments that feel slow or uncertain, but there will also be color and surprise and joy that appears when we least expect it.
Rather than rushing into goals or resolutions, what if we began this year by asking softer questions? What kind of art do I want to live with? What do I want my hands to learn? What parts of myself have I quieted that might want to speak again? These questions do not demand immediate answers. They ask only that we listen, and then follow the thread of curiosity wherever it leads.
This is also a time to clear space, both physically and mentally. Maybe that means organizing your studio, or letting go of projects that no longer feel alive. Maybe it means giving yourself permission to work more slowly, or to say yes to the workshop you’ve been thinking about for months. A new year does not need to be filled all at once. It just needs to begin, and you get to decide how.
Whatever this next season holds for you, know that your creative voice is welcome. You do not need to be ready, only willing. The glass will wait for you, and so will the moments of discovery that live inside each project. Begin where you are, with what you have. Trust that it’s enough to get started.
Here’s to the year ahead, to the blank spaces, to the pieces not yet imagined, and to the quiet power of beginning again.