17 Projects in Progress

<Lukas in Motion, 2026>

As I'm trying to expand my voice into different forms, I feel like I've lost my ability to speak in language. One of my New Year's resolutions was writing in my diary every night, and it's actually been going well (better than all previous years), but I keep forgetting to write here on my blog. One excuse I can give myself is that I am still writing, just in different forms. Maybe because I'm releasing my urge to write on paper, it comes less as an urge to type? Anyhow, I decided to give myself a little push.

What's been coming to mind these days? I've started a few different concepts, ideas, series (if I can actually finish them, I will let myself call them a series, hehe). A new painting series experimenting with different styles than what I usually do. The idea is to capture the feeling of the memory of Home. As an immigrant, I keep trying to define what home means. Luckily (or not), I don't have a strong attachment to one place I can call home. Not because I don't miss my culture or my family, it's more that I have this thing where I easily forget the past and am always thinking forward. I think more about where I want to live and how I want to define home for myself.

<away, AWAY, 2026: a piece from the “HOME” series>

But recently I've been thinking about the mystery of memories. And home is one thing I keep trying to remember. I remember my grandmother, her front yard where I spent so much time, her food, the smell of her food, her living room with the TV on, her knitting, my own knitting that I asked her to help me with, the warmth, the heat, the cold, the mellow afternoons, the naps — everything. I'm sad it's all fading away.

I decided to try capturing these feelings on canvas. The memories of Home that are fading, the feeling of being away, the feeling of being innocent. So far I have 5 paintings done under this new idea, and I probably like 4 of them. The thing is, I think I'm stuck. I can't seem to produce the 6th one.

And it's not just that. I also started a new animation series, short stories about me and others. When I got to the 3rd one, I couldn't produce any new story.

Why is it so easy to start a new project but so hard to finish? Or can I call it finished if I can't find anything to add? I don't think I'm alone here — I remember seeing a meme that said something like "starting a new art project when I have 17 in progress." It also raises a question for me: how do I know whether a project is worth pushing through? I was listening to a podcast about side projects recently. Lots of great things started as side projects — like Amazon's cloud division. But lots of side projects also fail or become distractions — like Meta's metaverse. I feel like I'm at the point where I need to figure out which ones to keep going and which ones to let go.

There's one I am pushing through: building a community for creatives. It's a slow but steady project and I'm genuinely enjoying it. It's helping me understand the creative industry and making me question how I want to navigate this art world. But I have to admit, it takes time away from painting, animating, and creating. I wish there was a crystal ball to look into.

Why can't I just say I want many things, but slowly?