A note to end the year

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First of all, welcome to everyone who joined recently!
I’m really glad you’re here.

This isn’t my usual kind of post, but it felt right to pause and write a small note as the year comes to an end.

This year wasn’t easy for many people. Some experienced breakups, some loss, some illness, and some carried things that are hard to name. If you had a year like that, you weren’t alone in it.

If you were only looking at my Instagram, you probably wouldn’t notice anything unusual. I kept showing up and sharing work. Some of it was already done, and I just clicked the share button. What you wouldn’t see is that there was a time when I couldn’t even pick up a brush.

That gap between what we show and what we live is real. Social media rarely shows the pauses, the setbacks, or the effort it takes just to keep going. It’s easy to believe others don’t struggle, but most of the time, they do.

If this new year finds you in a difficult phase or a healing phase, let it unfold. There’s no rush, even if everything around you is full of resolutions and plans. Needs don’t care about dates changing from 31/12/2025 to 01/01/2026. Listening to yourself matters more than keeping up.

I’ll continue sharing here about once a month. Small things I find interesting, notice in my practice, or reflect on along the way. I hope this helps you in your art journey if you’re an artist, or simply in your own journey if you’re not.

Thank you for being here at the end of this year.
We’ll continue as usual from the next one!

Stavrina Art Lab

Stay creative and experiment!