I mostly look back at 2016 as a dumpster-fire of a year, but amidst all the depression, sadness, and anger, I did have some good times as well. So I'm going to focus on that for now. In May I had the opportunity to visit the Grand Tetons with The Light Grey Art Lab and Yellowstone with my parents. In September I visited my good friends in Portland and attended Rose City Comic-Con. I got to participate in a number of really fun group art shows and in December I had a solo show which I am quite proud of. Plus, I spent a lot of time with my family, which was really important to me. So, there were definitely some good bits.
Here are some other good bits:
MOVIES
While I watched plenty of movies in 2016, very few of them really stuck with me for some reason. My favorites overall were Moana and Moonlight, with honorable mentions for As Above So Below, Nice Guys, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. My guilty pleasure of the year was definitely Man From UNCLE. It’s not very good (and Henry Cavil has the charisma of a brick) but I just keep watching it.
TELEVISION
I had a really hard time staying caught up with shows this year. I am so far behind on everything and there are a million shows I want to start and can’t find the time. From the handful of shows I actually did watch, my favorites were Poldark (still need to watch season 2), Ash Vs Evil Dead (still need to watch season 2), Yuri on Ice (still have a couple episodes left in season 1), and Stranger Things (which I actually finished). Maybe i’ll try and be ambitions and get caught up on Game of Thrones in 2017? Or at least finish season 2? I sure hope nobody dies.
VIDEO GAMES
I actually made time to play video games in 2016, my favorites being Dishonored 2 and Uncharted 4. Dishonored 2 featured some of the most interesting art/level design and game mechanics I have seen in quite a while (the level involving time travel was really great) and Uncharted 4 ended up being my favorite of the series, which I really didn’t expect. Other favorites from 2016 include Firewatch, Dying Light (A+ co-op), and Runner 2. I’ve also been replaying the Mass Effect series and Dragon Age: Inquisition. I’m a bit of a BioWare junkie and just a wee bit excited for Mass Effect: Andromeda.
COMICS
I discovered the HOOPLA app this year, which meant that I had a much easier time reading new comics in 2016. While I still love having physical copies of comics, being able to check them out for free has been much friendlier to the ole’ pocketbook. Bitch Planet and Rat Queens were my favorites, along with Doctor Mirage, Archer and Armstrong, ODY-C, Court of Owls, and Lumberjanes.
BOOKS
I upped my reading goal to 60 books in 2016 and once again I surpassed it (reading 62 in total). Having a Kindle has vastly improved my reading habits. I loved the Air Awakens series by Elise Kova and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (which gave me some much needed hope and optimism following the election). Silver Mirrors by A. A. Aguirre and the Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre were also very good.
My favorite romance books (I read a lot of romance books) were Kylie Scott’s Stage Dive series (sexy brooding rock stars), Penny Reid’s Winston Brothers series (sexy bearded guys, some of which are brooding), and Courtney Milan’s Brothers Sinister series (sexy brooding regency-gents).
MUSIC
Like basically everyone else in the country, I listened to lots of Sia and Hamilton in 2016. I also listened to quite a bit of The Naked and Famous, Bastille, Little Daylight, and BORNS. Here is a link to my "Top Songs of 2016" Spotify playlist if you are interested.
ART
Like every year, I went through some months where I had a hard time making art (I think the shittyness of the year added to this in many ways) but thanks to back-to-back shows this winter, I ended up making lots of new collages (52 new pieces I think). And also like every year, I am behind on commission projects (i’m so sorry I’m a flake). I’m more than half way through with my NERD LOVE LADIES project and have plans (hopes?) to follow that up with a NERD LOVE GENTS series. So that's exciting.
My art goals for 2017 (aside from making new art and finishing commission projects) are to try and find the money for a run of enamel pins and possibly a small art book. We’ll see how that goes.
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So that’s my 2016. How was your year?
I’m not super optimistic for 2017, as it is shaping up to be the surreal opening chapter to a dystopian novel. I say we leave earth and create an artist commune on the moon. Who’s with me?
*charges blindly into the new year* Let’s do this. Leeeeeeeroy Jeeeeenkins.
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