Ode

... to the long disregarded blog. Sadly, Facebook has usurped your power, made you a distant object in the rear view mirror of my to do list. You are a passing thought, a "should" and then dismissed with a sigh.

Facebook has made it so easy to share, too easy for the slovenly, with it's quick 120 character punchlines. Does anyone really regard those as ambient intimacy as we are told we should? Or are they merely easier to brush off than a lengthy blog post, or even the briefest of blog entries, that requires more clicking of keys to acquire the meat of a thought.

Like many things, dearest blog, you will morph, you will transform. Let us be mindful of the possibility that your new incarnation may be the Monarch that once was the caterpillar and not another application that lulls us into sleepy discontent as the time wiles away.

Los Pinos 12x12" oil on wood ©Nicole Strasburg

You Make My Day!

I'm so touched to find that Sarah over at Little Paper Bird nominated my ramblings as something that can make her day. Sarah is a wonderful book maker, binder, paper folder, creator. I highly recommend visiting her blog and photo stream. It is always a source of inspiration.

So.... here are the award rules:

1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make your day

2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver

3. Tell the award winners that they've won by commenting on their blogs

Five blogs that do make my day {and often} are:

Amy Karol writer of Bend the Rules Sewing and blogger at Angry Chicken. She's a crafter extraordinaire.

Camilla Engman always an illustration inspiration!

Heather Armstrong at Dooce the writing is serious fun and always entertaining.

Ree at The Pioneer Woman great photos, wonderfully written, and a little Ethel Merman on the side.

Mien at Red Red Day always writes heart warming comments and has a clean, beautiful aesthetic.

Lastly, the gals at Small Stump, where to start, I just love this site.

Okay... well, that's 6 but who's couting?!

I thank all these bloggers for their tirelessness in bringing a smile to their readers, entertaining and informing us, creating and sharing beauty, and being part of a web of amazing women.

In gratitude, truly.

Tree love... of another sort

I was roaming some of my favorite blogs while sipping my morning cup of coffee. Orange Beautiful always has fabulous finds for the creatively minded. Scrolling down was this beauty from Small Stump.

I immediately went to their SHOP on etsy and ordered this print when I discovered my first love was sold out.

I sent word that I was interested in ordering if there was a plan to make more of the little stumps and was directed to Jill and Lia's BLOG. Where, to my happiness, I see there are more stumps lined up to be finished. Lucky me.

What great finds on a sleepy Sunday morning.

Camilla Engman & Port2Port

One of my favorite illustrators, Camilla Engman, has created two images especially for port2port press summer special projects. Two images for $16. Beautiful. Thank you to Design*Sponge for the heads-up!

The Importance of Proofreading

Short video HERE

Thanks for the forward Valori!

On Blogging

blog (blŏg)

noun:
A website in which an individual or group of users produces an ongoing narrative.

verb: blogged, blogging
add new material to, or update a blog

derivatives: blogger

Origin: a shortening of web log


Someone said to me recently "what is a blog and why should I care?" If you guessed that it was someone over the age of 40 asking, you guessed right. I'm posting the answer to this question here, chances are this active questioner will never find the answer unless they are in communion with someone, anyone, younger or computer/internet savvy.

I came to making my own blog through an art marketing seminar. It was listed as one of 9 things that you can do to be seen or found on the internet. Not only is it a fluid form of communicating with your tribe, being available to your clients, and sharing your process with a large art community, every link and word can be a line connecting dots that create a larger audience for the masses of internet users in the world. YES, the WORLD.

Ultimately you are helping yourself be visible. The internet, blogs, myspace, and youtube are incredible tools for the individual to create a personal landscape for any and all kinds of relationships, business or personal. The breadth of uses for the opportunities that this tool offers are limitless (at least in the mind of this one little blogger).

To not know what a blog is? Amazing! To not take advantage of the tool? Crazy!

Blogger makes it painless. Yes, even if you are an octagenarian. Don't wait. Get connected.

Did I mention that it's FREE! How can you not?!

Tools of the Trade and Judy Lee

Introducing Judy Lee at five and a half








specializing in:

recollecting, recreating, and making meticulous pencil drawings

More about Judy:
"I started Five and a Half in the spring of 2006 with a paper trimmer and a pint of book-binding glue, making small handmade journals from the stacks of papers I had in my Brooklyn studio. Since then, the Handmade, Recollected journals have been sent to places all over the world, and are carried by stores in New York City, Chicago, and Berkeley." Read all about her HERE

I found Judy's fabulous journals from the blog of illustrator Camilla Engman.

Now Judy has added a special feature to her blog, a series of interviews, called "tools of the trade" where she invites artists and designers to share their studios and ways/means of working. In addition, the interview includes favorite materials, inspiration and ways of being green in the workspace.

I had the great good fortune of participating in this endeavor.... see the interview just posted today Tools of the Trade: Nicole Strasburg.

Thanks Judy!

Inspiration

Ceramics by:
Jasna Sokolovic

and illustration by:
Kelly Lynn Jones

good design found by:
Design*Sponge

Blogger

Frustration at the hands of blogger....

In trying to figure out how to use this program, which I was assured was "extremely user friendly", it would have been helpful to know that Safari for the Mac is not supported. That is to say, you don't have access to all the goodies to make it USER FRIENDLY!

It took a good couple of hours to find the information that told me what might be the problem. Now on Firefox I'm praying that the troubles have ended and perhaps my posting will be more timely in future.