dorothy r. santos

If I had to select my power (or spirit) animal for this year, it would be the Shetland Pony. Quite àpropos considering I was born in the year of the horse (if you believe in the Chinese Zodiac and Feng Shui). According to Wikipedia,

Shetland ponies are generally gentle, good-tempered, and very intelligent by nature. They make good children’s ponies, and are sometimes noted for having a “brave” character, but can be very opinionated or “cheeky”, and can be impatient, snappy, and sometimes become uncooperative. Due in part to their intelligence and size, they are easily spoiled and can be very headstrong if not well-trained.

~ Source: Wikipedia entry for Shetland Pony

Now, I don’t particularly see myself as impatient or uncooperative (or snappy, cheeky maybe, but not snappy) unless I’m met with such behavior but I can say with some certainty that such interactions are pretty rare. If I’ve learned anything in the past year, it is to know my boundaries, keep pushing the limits of my art writing, discover new ways to write and research new media artists, and draw upon connections (ideas, concepts, people, my roots in philosophy and psychology, and art history) to help in creating a theoretical framework. I know. I know. Ambitious but with hard work, dedication, and focus, I’m convinced this can all be done.

So, what will change in 2012 for this work horse? Glad you asked 😉

• Increase in ZERO1 Blogging! ~ With a fresh new design and some exciting events on the horizon, you will be able to find my musings and observations here.
• Asterisk HQ!! ~ Now that Asterisk SF Magazine has found a cozy home in the Mission district of San Francisco, I will be spending some time at the Asterisk HQ. I will continue to write about local artists and art spaces/places and help the team as much as I can with setting up shop, cleaning up, and making it an awesome new spot! Go Team Asterisk!! [Pardon the rah-rah but I’m excited!]
• Amazing opportunities!!! ~ The new year presents me with an incredible opportunity to work on some major new media arts projects with artists, Matt Ganucheau, Cullen Miller, and Jonathan Barcan. I can say anything yet but some really great stuff is in the making!
• Looking forward to finishing up some pitches this week for possible publication!! Cross your fingers and send me those virtual warm fuzzies.

Hmmm, perhaps, the Shetland will be for freewrites, explorations, and time I’ve set aside for discovering new artists and artists-technologists BUT when working on the bigger projects of 2012, my jockeying skills may look a bit more like this…

As always, if you’re willing to share some things you’ve got lined up for 2012, please feel free to comment or message me. I would love to hear what is going on for you! Cheers and all the best to you!!