Today marks the one year anniversary of the official launch of this here website, which means it was the day Wishmoon Studio became a really for real thing, open to the world and ready for business.

When I wrote about my origin story earlier this year, I was both nervous and excited about plans I had for the months between then and now, The biggest one would require me to really step outside my comfort zone and put myself out there even more than I already had: I was going to get my little business into an arts and crafts fair. Introverted, non-sales person me. Out in the public, selling my artwork. To strangers. “What am I thinking??” I’d ask myself, even as I kept plugging away at making this idea come together and awaiting a reply on my first two fair applications.

As with everything else, Covid changed all of that, of course. I was right at the stage of trying to decide whether to lay in for all the equipment I’d need for a booth, one eye anxiously on the news about a virus, when things started to turn, and then in what seemed like a flash, everything shut down. For how long? No one knew. Should I go ahead and order things so I could be ready when things opened up? No one knew that, either. The decision was made for me, of course, and just as well. But now what?

Like everyone, I’ve had to rethink my plans. More precisely, I had to scrap most of them and start over. Lucky for me, I’ve had to do that more than once in my life. I have practice. And sometimes, rethinking things on the fly can be an inspiration of its own.

Like the Send a Wish(moon) Project, which was my way of contributing something positive at a time when we all felt scared, missing the people we love and wondering when things would get back to normal. Spoiler alert! Still haven’t. Sigh. But that wow, was that a great way to boost the spirits, both mine and all the people who participated.

As lockdown wore on, I started the work of salvaging one of my plans, the launch of Wishmoon Studio @HOME. But then the important events of BLM took precedence, and I turned my focus instead to the necessary work of change and justice. That work is ongoing, will always be, and I had to figure out a way to continue making it a priority alongside my other priorities so that I can stay committed to that cause. A lifelong work in progress…

I took some time to reset and refocus and reconfigure, turning to art to help me process the magnitude of everything that’s been happening and then to help me figure out my next steps. And to be a refuge, as personal life events added their own challenges. I turned out some art in my journals during that time I’m really proud of, and that kept my inspiration fires lit, even if they felt like they were burning low at times.

In August, I rolled out “Happiness Is Looking For You”, which I’d been working on before the world went sideways, but gotten kind of stuck on when it was nearly done. Trying to find its message turned into a lesson of its own before I finally finished it. I guess I really needed to learn what it was teaching. Turns out, a lot of you apparently did, too.

I also managed to salvage at least one of the plans I’d been working on at the start of the year with the launch of Wishmoon Studio @HOME. I never thought I’d be so excited to see my designs on socks and totebags and phone cases.

As I transitioned to getting ready for celebrating this anniversary at the beginning of September, I got yet another lesson in rethinking plans with the arrival of wind and smoke and fires. But even anxious, terrible times can provide hopeful inspiration, and the artwork I created to give myself solace in the first days of that tragedy became the Petrichor design that I turned into a card for a Wildfire Relief fundraiser. It meant setting aside other plans I had for this anniversary celebration, but it was worth it.

I feel incredibly fortunate to get to celebrate this milestone for my little dream of a venture today. I’ve learned a lot about what works for me and what doesn’t, about continuing to build the creative life I want for myself, and about maintaining the resilience of my dream in the midst of upheaval. In the early part of the year, before everything changed, I had planned to have a birthday party to celebrate Wishmoon Studio today, complete with friends and cake and silly hats. And even though that plan, too, had to be scrapped, I’m still just as happy and hopeful about Wishmoon today as I would’ve been if I’d gotten to celebrate with a party.

There’s still going to be cake, though.