What’s something most unusual you’ve done + your new year’s resolutions for 2022
- Bianca Vinther
- Dec 28, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 4, 2022
Let's take both a look backwards and a look forwards!
Because I firmly believe that an artist is unconventional, nonconformist, out-of-ordinary, unique, and different from everyone else, and I seem to be kind of obsessed with this idea, I’m curious to know: what have you done so far that’s most unusual? And what are your new year’s resolutions for 2022?
Don’t start to list your accomplishments of planned objectives, tasks, and duties. Please. That’s not the point here. There’s nothing wrong with accomplishments. We all take pride in them, don’t we? But lots of things you’ve achieved to date are things that many other people around the globe have accomplished, too.
I want you to think of something most unusual you’ve done so far. Something unconventional, nonconformist, unfamiliar, unique, and different that nobody else (or very few people on Planet Earth) has ever experienced.
I want you to think of an experience, not a result. Because success is never so interesting as a challenge or the road, which is life itself. This is not about the outcome. It’s first and foremost about the process in which you engage.
“It is not the light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” (Frederick Douglass)
I’ll start with myself. On my list below, you’ll find a selection of the most out-of-ordinary and overwhelmingly positive things I’ve done that gave me an awesome experience, harmed nobody, and had a happy end 😊
Some of the most extra-ordinary experiences I had
Drew on every inch of my grandparents’ living room’s walls with pencils and leaves and wasn’t sorry (it happened around the age of 6). Granny had a shock but survived it (luckily).
Met a queen, a king, a princess, and a prince (several times)
Gave an interview on French Radio RFI (Radio France International) at the age of 12
Saw Ralph Fiennes live in Hamlet in 1995
Walked an 8 km pitch-dark road to the Mount Sinai Monastery of St. Catherine after midnight without a pocket torch
Hiked about 3 hours in the Theban mountains of the Valley of the Kings without a map or compass and landed surprisingly in front of the tomb of King Amenhotep III
Published a pioneer work in the field of Coptic epigraphy along with a series of Ancient Egyptian artifacts (gravestones and archaeological textiles) from Cairo, London, and Chemnitz, which have never been published before
Rode a bus for 36 hours from Hannover to Bucharest, survived an accident on the route in Hungary, and arrived at my destination in one piece
I could add a lot more for travel and meeting personalities, like shaking hands with Helmut Schmidt, but at a certain point, it would get a bit too long and maybe boring. Besides, it’s more interesting to look forward than behind myself.
My new year’s resolutions for 2022
Don’t expect me to list outcomes, for I won’t. Because that’s not what I search for (neither in first nor in second place). I’m process-oriented, therefore, I’m going to aim for the following 7 goals:
Build bridges and meaningful relationships
Continue to follow the thread of the unkown and let myself be led (thank you so much Julia Cameron for inspiring me to let myself be led!)
Believe, as Lewis Caroll said, “as many as 6 impossible things before breakfast” at least 6 times per year
Interview visual artists from all the corners of the globe, publish them on The Pointless Artist Blog, and let them inspire you 😊
Strengthen The Pointless Artist Community. Here’s a message to my current readers and followers: THANK YOU!
Look more often at the sky because, as Gustave Flaubert once said, “if one always looked at the skies, one would end up with wings”
Expect less from my little daughter, and give her much more in return
What’s on your list? And what are you currently working on?
Wishing you a good “slide” into the New Year! (This is how we say “a happy start into the New Year” in Germany. And this is the original version: Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!)
If you’ve got something to add, please comment on this blog post below, drop me an e-mail or pm me on Instagram @the_pointless_artist. I'd love to hear from you!
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Recognise your pointlessness and keep creating!
From Germany with love,
Bianca Vinther
