Indigo revisited

Once again, I find myself amazed and thankful for the friendships made via the blogging world. Your wishes for a happy birthday were appreciated. Your thoughts and prayers for my family's safety during Hurricane Sandy catch my heart and still leave me stunned at the power of friendship via cyberspace. You'd think I would have learned by now, wouldn't you?

There is a lot that could be dwelt on concerning the hurricane, however, I choose to move on with life as normal as possible and to be very thankful that this time my family was spared. Having little ones in the house really leaves one with no other choice.

With schools closed for the week...and, let's be honest, with a disgruntled heart at the week not going as planned...remember, Pam was to have been here until Thursday...my studio was the last place I could be or wanted to be. That's not to say that there is no work to be done. Just the opposite in fact.

A comment Ersi left on the Roy G Biv - Indigo post has stuck with me, so yesterday morning the indigo mono prints were unearthed and strewn across the work table,

with me oohing and aahing all the while

 and wondering just why I had put them away last year.

Acutally, I remember why.

 

The intersection of what next? 

  and how do I do that? had been reached.

I'd had a vision

of a long forgotten treasure box being found and opened

 Inside were remnants of a life -

pages torn from a well loved book,

bits of a painting,

stories written in another language,

maps and blueprints,

codes to be broken...

Ersi, I owe you a huge Thank You! for getting me back in the studio. Photographing the indigos was just the little push that was needed to get the momentum going again. School is back in session tomorrow. Can you guess where I'll be once the little urchins board the bus?

Just a moment...

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to those who left a comment on the blog or emailed regarding my Thursday post. My confession to spring time blues and skull splitting sinus headaches seems to have struck a cord with many...who were generous enough to share their own stories with me. For that, I am truly grateful. 

The photo above was taken on Friday while out and about with my daughters. The discovery of the partial circle on the aged wooden wall was unexpected - it hadn't been there a few days before - which made it one of those little hidden joys one sometimes finds when least expected...and all the more precious because of it.

That's how I feel about the blogging world and the friendships it has brought. The blog was begun to get my name and art back out there in the art world after a 2 year hiatus. The friendships are the hidden joys that have occurred as a result...yes, of not looking for them, not expecting them.

And for that, I am grateful beyond words.

Thank You!

Dinosaur brainitis

It's amazing what a difference a good night's sleep can make in one's views on things...such as copyright in this internet age. 

It also helps to have a husband who is far more internet savvy and can explain the internet culture in a way that even my dinosaur of a brain can understand and get around.

What helps even more is to have fellow artists share their view on the subject.

Thank You!

Last night's...hmmm...temper tantrum, rant, explosion of words, insanity, naivety...pick your favorite for they all apply - was an eye opener for me. Well, not the rant, but the discussions that have followed.

While I still don't want anyone taking my photo and claiming it or the subject matter as their own and certainly do not want anyone to profit from it, I have come to the realization that my view of copyright as it applies to the internet was very outdated and unrealistic on so many levels. 

As a result, I changed my copyright to one of creative commons this morning. It gives permission to copy and share my photos as long as attribution is given...which is exactly what was done with Pinterest anyway. 

My most sincere apologies to everyone for my outburst last night. I really should have refrained from hitting the publish button. Then again, it is great hear how others feel on the subject.

2 years

Sunday, January 10, 2010, found me just where I am right now - at my favorite Starbucks, enjoying the early morning quiet, sipping my chai and pondering how to start. My laptop had accompanied me, as usual, and after blog surfing for a bit, I sat with my hands poised over the keyboard for what felt like hours, but in truth was more like 10 or 15 minutes. My mind was blank and overflowing at the same time.

How to start? What to say? Will anyone read it? Why am I doing this? Do I really want to do this? How long will I do this? What am I doing? How to start? How to start?!? Just write something! Anything! But what? Just write!!!

And so I did.

It's funny. That first post was an introduction. The second a confession...of my love affair with rust. The third was about experimentation, storytelling and my friendship with Pam Sullivan. Two years later finds me writing about the same topics, but on a whole different level...I think...I hope.

Curiosity got the better me this morning and I checked the stats for a few things that you might find interesting:

According to Blogger stats, the 2 posts with the most all time pageviews are Sketchbook Project - Liz Davidson and Washington, DC, both from April 2011.

While my home country tops the audience list, there seems to be a following in Australia. No doubt this is due to Fiona Dempster of Paper Ponderings as she was kind enough to include my blog in her inspirational people and places list. Actually, Paper Ponderings tops the all time lists for referring URL as well as site.  Judy's Journal and Facebook, respectively, are close seconds.

It's the aspects of the blogging world that Blogger stats doesn't and can't track that really count. It's the connections made with kindred spirits, the friendships forged, the exchange of ideas, the comraderie, the sharing and caring of the creative community.

From me to you, a most heart felt thank you for visiting my blog, for sharing your thoughts and insights, for expanding my world.