A Year of Accomplishments

Blog Post

Dec 31

Well, the end of the year has finally arrived.

This year has been absolutely insane. So much happened in such a short period of time.
And it is my greatest hope that this momentum only continues.

Let’s talk about what my 2022 goals were, some of the major accomplishments that took place this year,
and what the dreams for 2023 are!!

My goals this year

I had a really low financial bar coming out of a really slow 2021. With the acquisition of the Carrie Hill Creative studio space in November 2020, I experienced a substantial financial loss because I just could not get clients in the door — which was to be expected more or less as we slowly emerge from the crisis mode(s) of the pandemic. Didn’t make for much consolation while paying the rent using my credit card, but what can you do?

The good news rising out of that particular challenge is that the studio is still here. We are still open for business. And we have our sights set on a FANTASTIC 2023.

My three goals for 2022 consisted of the following:

Getting accepted to 3 exhibitions (selling anything was considered a bonus)
Getting published once in any kind of literature (paid or unpaid was irrelevant)
Stop comparing myself to other more successful photographers — but learn from them based on what I could observe

… and while I wasn’t perfect at achieving these goals, other things that happened need to be factored in because this was 100% a year of ‘firsts’ for me in a number of really big ways.

And thus, here is what I accomplished this year!

I was published TWICE this year - once in Shutter Up Magazine and once in Bare Bones Boudoir Magazine (now Framed Photographer Magazine)
I wound up in FOUR exhibitions this year - two of which I sold artwork AND my book Reaching For Light!
- Outsiders & Others - Other Ways of Knowing, which showcased work from artists with lived experience in mental illness, located at 938 Howe Street in Vancouver, Canada from May 3-29
- Ikouii - Bodies - which showcased work from artists living with and celebrating all kinds of bodies across multiple spectrums of existence, located online from May 28-July 9
- Carrie Hill Creative Presents: Moving Past Pretty - A Visual Arts Exhibition showcasing a curated selection of works by Carrie Hill, located at 312 Main Street from November 4-15
- Eastside Culture Crawl Visual Arts, Design & Craft Festival, a festival where local artists open their studios to the public, located in Vancouver from November 17-20
I photographed my first wedding all by myself in May - on STAR WARS DAY.
(YES, it was a Star Wars-themed wedding!!), and the experience was overwhelming, stressful, and absolutely brilliant
I was honoured to receive my first monthly subscriber at the Philanthropist Tier, which now finances the Carrie Hill Creative website monthly costs, as well as providing some wiggle-room to update and upgrade tools, website formatting and layout, and implementing a new and permanent scheduling tool!
I got my darkroom back up and running over the holiday season, and have since processed 5 rolls of film. As it turns out, I had some rolls of film from summer 2021 that I hadn’t managed to process yet, and the images turned out amazing! I can’t wait to scan them and share them with you.

What is on the docket for 2023?

I am so glad you asked. The answer is - I don’t know!

With the future uncertain there is no way for me to truly tell where it leads, but I can tell you what I would like to accomplish if I had it my way!

I would more people, known to me or unknown, to find me, fall in love with my work, and decide to support me by signing up for my quarterly newsletter, hiring me, becoming a monthly patron, making a one-time or ongoing donation, and/or by buying my art.
- Related to the above: This year I would also like to be able to permanently afford a bookkeeper, a CRM tool like 17hats or Honeybook and an attorney’s appointment to fully update my contracts. This is all in service to making your experience with me better so that you feel valued and protected (legally AND otherwise) and want to keep working with me!
I want 2023 to be the year that I move into photography full-time. I want to dedicate ALL of my time to mastering my craft. Having a day job to pay the bills is good and well, but with burnout setting in pretty substantially, it is getting increasingly challenging for me to find time OR energy to dedicate to art, which is leaving me tired, sad, and honestly - rather resentful. I would rather be refreshed, flowing with creative juices and ideas, and ready to take on the world with what I have to say in the art that I make. Everyone deserves to live their dreams, and it’s about time that I recognize for myself that I am among ‘everyone’ and deserve a joyful life, too.
- Related to the above — I need to get writing (and WINNING) grants! If you have recommendations for any grants and/or calls for artists involving queer, disabled, mentally ill, gender-questionable people, themes, or something related, please reach out and let me know!

In fact, I have several big projects that I cannot currently dedicate time to because of the time-consuming nature of my day job.

As my work life stands right now, I undertake 2-3 hours of commuting to and from work each day in addition to my 8-hour day job requirements. Imagine the possibilities if I could walk away from all of that and redistribute all that time and energy towards making art for you to enjoy!

If I can successfully transition into a full-time artist in 2023, here are some of the projects I will be starting up again:

Restarting the [currently untitled] mental illness awareness project, which I dream of turning into both a photo book and a book of poetry. This series will be shot entirely on film cameras.
Launching Subversion Press - a transgressive publication with the sole mission of offending closed minds and making communities at large think more critically about the world we live in using art (including photography) & prose. I am anticipating an approximate monthly addition of $100/month for hosting, website, & integrated e-store.
Branching out my services to include more film processing and image restoration! I love developing film and I really love bringing life back to aged photos.
MORE BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY SESSIONS (no, seriously, let’s make incredible works of art using you - an incredible work of art!!)
Engage in more mixed media art — particularly in print-making, collage, and experimental photo processes
Starting my MAKE WAR WITH ART project, which I intend to be portrait-heavy, depicting resistance, strength, resilience, defiance, and solidarity with women, femmes, non-binary, genderqueer, and trans folks from all walks of life. To give you an idea of the concept - this is not intended to be a series about the oppression of our communities, but of our POWER. This series will be shot entirely on film cameras.