I have learned that the commenting system is irritating.
Mineral King sunset photo by Trail Guy
This is the procedure:
1. Click on “Be the first to respond” or “# responses so far”. This is at the bottom of the post.
2. After you type your thoughts and submit or enter (I’m unclear because as the “administrator” of the blog, it doesn’t ask me for this step)
3. It goes to a Spam folder, and then I have to mark it “not spam”. After that, it goes to a pending folder, and then I have to approve it. THEN it appears!
The commenting system isn’t very good. My own replies go to the spam folder and I have to do the process with them too. It also doesn’t give anyone confidence that their remarks have gone through.
Oh, and you might suspect this of me – I correct your typos, and remove anything that I deem too personal for the World Wide Web. (Please feel free to correct my typos too!)
It might be possible for me to change the annoying characteristics of the commenting system. However, my attempts might break the whole blog, so let’s just limp along with the current method for now.
What do you think? Want to try responding to this?
P.S. If you don’t see your comment for awhile, it might mean I am in the Land of No Electricity or Internet. Eventually I’ll catch up with you!
You “MUST” be on Facebook/LinkedIn/GooglePlus/Twitter to be considered a serious promoter of your work.
Oh yeah? Do I really need more time on the computer, with “virtual” friendships?
Are these Giant Sequoias having a water cooler conversation? Four Guardsmen, pencil on paper, 11×14, unframed, $175
I’ve heard that Facebook is like the backyard barbecue, another one whose name I’ve forgotten is like the bar scene, and LinkedIn has been compared to the water cooler.
I chose LinkedIn, because the barbecue is too big and feels like a waste of time, I don’t like bars, and having not worked for big companies, I’m curious about the proverbial water cooler. (Ever seen farmers on the side of the road, their pick-ups side-by-side in opposite directions, windows down as they chat? That’s their water cooler.)
LinkedIn is a bit of a puzzle to this simple rural artist. I haven’t yet concluded if it is helpful, or if it is just another distraction from being in the studio. It takes so much time to follow the links, find people’s websites, examine their work, comment if they have a blog, and for what? Are other artists truly my potential customers? And as a definite regionalist (referring to my subject matter), is anyone outside of my area truly a potential customer? Do these people in Minnesota/Washington/New Jersey care about Mineral King or Sequoia or Wilsonia??
Sure, it is fun to be asked to join people’s networks, and I feel warm and fuzzy to see that I now have 120 connections. But why? I’m not having personal conversations with these folks. I’m not looking for a job, which seems to be the primary function of this virtual water cooler place.
I’m always hoping for sales and for commissions, but doubt if this is going to happen from clicking “Accept Invitation” or “Send Invitation”. And that seems to be the motivation behind every person’s request to join his network. We all want sales – we are in business, and businesses exist to make a profit.
On LinkedIn, I am somewhat active in an Art Business group. So far, I have picked up a few tips, commented occasionally, and enjoyed some good virtual conversation. This is conversation minus body-language and vocal inflections, so who can say how authentic it is??
In Mineral King, we seek authentic conversation with real people, complete with body language and vocal inflections. Sunshine at the Neighbor’s Place, pencil on paper, 11×14, unframed, $175
In this Art Business group there are many beginning artists, seeking answers and help. (Most established artists are too busy working to be spending time talking to strangers on the computer. Yikes, what does this make me?) So many commenters obviously don’t take the time to reread what they have written – the typos almost give me a rash at times. It takes time to weed through the dross.
I pay attention to those who are articulate, friendly, professional and thoughtful. This sometimes causes me to look for their websites, which is a little tricky and time-consuming on LI. (lots of clicking and link following and window opening) Again I ask, “Why?” Is this my version of reality teevee, am I just procrastinating, am I seeking like-minded colleagues or do I just want to find a secret recipe to success by copying the business practices of Someone Who Gets It?
I could buy Linked In For Dummies. If I read it and followed its recommendations, would I begin to sell more work to strangers?
I’d rather be drawing, painting, teaching, or blogging. When I’m not doing those things (i.e. WORKING!), I’d rather be knitting, gardening, reading something, or hanging out in Mineral King.
A few years ago I was at my local yarn store. There were some bins of sale yarns. I could not concentrate until I had arranged the yarns in those bins by color. The woman working there at the time told me it was because I am a color junkie.
WOW! A term to describe my obsession with color!
I wonder why I was happy drawing in pencil for all those years when I definitely have an obsession with color. Since I’ve devoted this entire year to completing all the pencil drawings for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia, I really get immense pleasure from working with color wherever I can – knitting, arranging the clothes in my closet in color order (Everyone does that, right?), mixing paint to cover up dress up parts of the workshop, organizing my drawing students’ colored pencils, et cetera.
Awhile ago, I discovered something really fun to do online. It is a color test, and it is free. I scored very high (low, actually, because in the test low is a high score.) Then I forgot about it until last week. I took the test again and look!
Isn’t that thrilling??
You can take the test too. Try it and tell me what you think, either by email or by commenting on this blog. I’d love to hear if it is as fun for you as for me. It’s probably just me. That’s okay, I’m used to being different from the average bear.
First, a confession. I thought “lavender” was spelled “lavendar”. Really! Me, the Typo-Psycho! I was getting it mixed up with “calendar”. This is a prime example of the Middle-Aged-Mush-Brain I am currently experiencing.
Barbara’s Lavender
Now that I know how to spell it properly, let’s talk about it.
Lavender is light purple. I used to hate that color. This was the result of a trauma that happened when I was in about the 3rd grade.
My older sister had a bee-yoo-tee-full lavender dress that I COULD NOT WAIT for her to outgrow. Finally, finally, it came to me. I tried it on, looked in the mirror and was HORRIFIED. My skin looked YELLOW!! I ran to find Mom and told her, “This dress makes my skin look yellow!” She was astonished that yes indeed, it did make my skin look yellow and probably even more astonished that her 8 year old daughter noticed such a thing.
It was a life-defining moment, although I didn’t know it at the time.
In the 1980s, my Mom took my older sister and me to a color consultant to “have our colors done”. (My younger sister was and is too smart to need this and too cute to care.) Doesn’t that sound wonderful?
It was. Turns out that everyone can wear almost every color. The problems occur when you choose the wrong shade. That lavender did not have enough blue in it to suit me. I still have my color swatches from that session, and they have helped me tremendously through the years.
I also learned that as we age, our eyes become more aware of the color purple. Sure enough, in the last 5 years or so, I have come to be almost obsessed with the purple color that has a ton of blue in it. There is a version called periwinkle, and a darker version that is the color of my favorite dutch iris and some lupine and definitely a penstemmon and for sure my favorite Mineral King wildflower called “Explorer’s Gentian.
Explorer’s Gentian
So, I’ve grown from “I hate lavender” to “Oh wow, check out that color!”
Clearly, this California Artist has thinking time while drawing all those pencil pictures of The Cabins of Wilsonia, where she is right on schedule.
This is some of the noise in my head:
While at the Post Office, the clerk asked if I wanted cash back. While at the grocery store, the clerk asked if I wanted stamps. I wondered if perhaps I would be offered a head of lettuce at the bank. . .
How can I live in a town of 2600 (so says the population sign) and go months or perhaps even years without seeing people I know?
How can I live in a town of 2600 and attend a party where I meet scores of new people who live in my same town?
Doesn’t it seem to you that if your phone and internet service quit for 2-3 days that the phone company should offer a discount? I think they know that they have a monopoly and won’t lose a customer because there is no other place to go. And just in case you were thinking of calling to ask for a discount for being without service, they make sure there are 47 phone numbers for them, each complete with its own maze of button punching to make you think you are getting somewhere when instead, you are just punching buttons to pass the time.
How is it that saturated fat, eggs, butter, protein and coconut oil used to be Nutrition’s Worst Enemy and now they are all considered fine, in fact, beneficial?? I’m reading Young for Life by Marilyn Diamond and someone else. She has changed her mind. She thinks there is a plot to keep us from learning correct nutrition. We know it is true that in the years since non and low fat products have gotten popular, our population has gotten progressively fatter.
That’s it. I’m having ice cream for lunch. I’m sure sugar will remain the Enemy, but my fingers are in my ears, my eyes are squeezed shut, and I’m shouting, “LALALALALALA!”
Worth It, oil on board, 8×10″, sold, sorry, but not really, Hi Shannon
I am a spelling nut. Typos jump out and slap me between the eyes. (My own don’t – it is a fact that proofreading one’s own work is nearly impossible.) It sometimes feels as if I might have a form of Tourette’s Syndrome, except that I shout “TYPO!” in inappropriate settings instead of swearing.
Come to think of it, “typo” IS four letter word.
I’ve never forgotten the spelling rule “I before E except after C”.
Weird.
Think about that for a bit. I saw it as a pin on Pinterest. Might have been on a tee shirt:
I before E except after C.
Weird.
Now that I’ve shared that little oddment, I can’t remember what I was going to say.
I’m on schedule for the pencil drawings of The Cabins of Wilsonia. Here is a cabin drawing.
Usable, functional, beautiful, real stuff that I made myself. This is the grown up version of a toddler saying “Me do it!!” No pipe cleaners (are those actually for cleaning pipes?) or glue guns for this chick!
Last time I warned you not to put tile on things that were rotting.
This time I am warning you not to put tile on rusty discs that will then contain water. This was a beautifully tiled bird bath, welded from a couple of discs, a pipe and an auger tip by Cowboy Bert. The water and the rust caused the tile to discolor, and then the tiles began to fall off. Well, bummer. Now I just repaint it blue every year. It’s time again, wouldn’t you agree?
This is a weird little table top that is secured onto a weird little concrete pipe. It is the perfect place for storing your can of Off, which is necessary when you are sitting in your Adirondack chair while BBQing in the evening. (There is an abundance of mosquitos in Three Rivers.) Perhaps you should be pulling the oxalis instead of just sitting.
My friend Bill either made or salvaged this table base for me. He is the source of many cool items, most of which are the basis for more coolness.
In fact, Bill is the source of many of the tiles I have used in my quest to cover almost everything I own with bright colors and grout.
But Wait! There’s More!
You didn’t actually think I was done showing you all the tiled items and other things I have made? I wasn’t kidding when I told you that I love to make stuff!
I love to make stuff, real, usable stuff, things that enhance life both in usefulness and beauty. You can keep your pipe cleaners, glue guns and felt – I want things that function and that last.
I learned that tile can be used in many ways. (I was not kidding when I said I went nutso over this stuff!)
My friend Bill made the table and gave it to me to mosaic. The plan was for me to sell it, and we would all go to dinner. The table didn’t sell, I use it every day, and the restaurant closed. Thanks, Bill!
This drinking fountain is sort of low. So what? It is eminently cool, particularly with its matching stepping stone. Have you accessorized your drinking fountain?
This step had to be tiled twice. Don’t put tile on a rotting item. It doesn’t work. Don’t put a fabulous doormat in front of a tiled step. No one will notice the step. Everyone will notice the doormat. Everyone will ask if you made the doormat. You will have to admit that your friend bought it somewhere for you. Everyone will studiously ignore the step, and you will wonder if it is weird. You will decide that it doesn’t matter, because you love the step.
Would you believe there is more stuff that I have tiled, and more stuff that I have made, and more stuff that I want to make, and more stuff that I have persuaded other people to make for me?
That’s not what the post is about, but I wanted to send the message to Melinda in Salem. I always thought she was smarter, faster, more creative, prettier, a better dresser, tuned into what is cool, had a very neat closet and she could color better than me any day. That’s sort of the way all girls view their big sisters.
Back to Making Stuff:
In 7th or 8th grade, the art class at Ivanhoe School got to do the coolest project in the world We glued tile pieces to a disc (a farming thing – this is Tulare County), then grouted it. I made the most beautiful green and blue butterfly pattern for my Grammy. (Wonder where that thing is now. . . it weighed a ton!)
A few years ago (feels like 5, so it must be closer to 15 years), I bought a couple of fabulous tiled stepping stones. Okay, I bought one, and my friend Judy bought the other one for me. (Hi JudyO!)
I had to, HAD TO, was terrifyingly compelled towards with a scary laser-like focus, MAKE THESE!!
After several very schlocky attempts, I found my groove. In fact, I went nutso. For awhile, I hauled these around to the various shows to supplement my other inventory. Sales were brisk for about 2 shows, and then Bam. Nothing. Now they are all over our property.
This is the beginning of a new series about Making Stuff. It is a peek into the head of a California artist, outside of her working hours.
As a California artist, I draw and paint.
As a regular chick in my non-working hours, I like to make stuff. Always have. This could possibly be the driving force behind my career choice.
My poor mom probably just groaned every time I said, “Mom, I want to make something!” She would send me to a stack of Highlights magazines, which usually had projects requiring things we didn’t have on hand. Or, the end product wasn’t anything that I considered worth the effort. Usually Mom didn’t want the mess – she had her own stuff to make, like clothing for 3 little girls, and dinner.
What I really wanted was to make useful stuff that was Real. Not toys, not crafts, but Real Stuff for Real Life. In my 30s, I developed an overwhelming appreciation for willow furniture. My neighbors (Hi Bill and Peggy!) had made a chair and had a file of info about willow furniture, which they generously shared with me. I began looking for plans and photographed willow furniture wherever I saw it.
We, (Michael and I, not Mom and I) began looking for places that willow grew so we could cut it. (Nope, not gonna reveal my trespasses here.) I was determined to make real, usable, beautiful chairs. It took Michael’s help because he knows tools better than I do, and he is stronger, plus he is driven by perfection rather than mere completion.
This is one of the results. It is a Real Chair, and it has lasted at least 18 years so far. We’d like to make some that are beefier, sturdier, and less wobbly. But, we are busy making other things now. Stay tuned. . .
