I’ve said it before, so it may sound hollow by now: I really want to get back to blogging again. Yes, the exact same spot where we left things at the beginning of the year. (I went back to look at my post from Nov. 2020 as well, but today I’ll be addressing things backwards)
Here’s the deal: It seems I can either work on my stuff, and while I do think about how I could tell you about it, at the end of the day there isn’t time and the next day I just want to go back to working. Or I can do very little but spend a lot of time talking about it… Downside to getting a proper work space I guess! I’m getting to create my own art education in a whole new way.
I also tend to work on multiple things, maybe one for a period of time, but not so that I have a finished project. That way I may be able to tell you all about how I learned screen printing, and I made all these stencils – but I never got around to using them much because of ANOTHER project I wanted to combine WITH the printing, and then… or… and the project is still there in my head, but timewise, to you outsiders, it will seem like it died midway.
How do you create consistent content (say that quickly) like that? So I’ve been wondering if I could: not exactly go back to my old schedule, but work my way up to talking with you once a month + same with a newsletter. They say you gotta have one! Only thing that sells! CTA! Engagement! Chopchop!
And the rumours of blogging dying out. Even Instagram at some point. It’s all reels and tiktoks now. But I just know – I’m too stoic to go viral on video, end of story. I never ever say, in real life or otherwise
“Oh my Gooood! Hiii guys, so good to SEEE you! THANK you SO.MUCH. for tuning in to my feed tonight, we’re going to have so much FUN!”
Nope. Nuh-uh. Not in this lifetime. I also never really have a great hair day, or minute. When I try to look friendly in a photo, my mouth is a straight line. Just no.
In other words, situation is the same as last time I posted and asked: IS ANYBODY STILL OUT THERE? Well, let me see a show of hands, pls? And send me your still functioning blogs (see Q below), I need to start over.
I’ve been collecting topics in advance this time to see if that’s the way to go. And I know it’s also a matter of simply getting back into the habit of using words again.
My take on the difference between blogs and newsletters – the latter should be much shorter and you’re allowed to push items for sale. I don’t really have a tradition for doing either in here, so for now I’ll keep it that way unless you insist.
Lastly I need some advice:
- It seems bloglovin has died since I last used it. So what blog readers do you all use these days? Preferably non-platform specific, so that I can input your websites no matter which provider you use.
- All of the things I’ve been doing while not blogging, how would you like me to begin? From the beginning, the end, or just wing it? Forget about that and only move forward?
THE PAPER MACHE STUFF
I never got back to you on that topic did I? I think I was waiting to see if my new cone people where accepted to that juried show I mentioned. They were! But then it got postponed because of covid. Later on, the actual exhibition was set up but remained closed to the public except for the last two weeks. Because covid. So I wasn’t feeling quite as triumphant after 6 months as I did when it all began. Anyway, I did sell 2 geezers. So that was enough for me to want to make a new batch, 5 of which are hopefully going to another show in January.
And now I’m done with them. I want to make more critters and something completely new as well on that front. I’ll make a separate post, I promise. There should be plenty to talk about in fact.
Somebody asked me way back then if they were for sale. And they are. And I have a webshop which I sometimes update! Go check it out. I won’t pop up like a troll from a box asking you if you need assistance or glare at you if you leave emptyhanded. 😉
Next time round, and that WILL happen, because it already did, I’ll tell you about my open studios event in November. Since most of you are abroad there wasn’t much point to inviting you beforehand.
P.S. All this talk of newsletters – I’ve set up one in English and one in Danish. The content may not be the same, because I have yet to get my Danish website/blog up and running, so not many people see either one. Seems like every time I sit down to work on it, the template is outdated and needs to be changed, so when I’m done redesigning time’s up and I need to be somewhere else. Also, I may be losing my current server anyway, so now I just bide my time.
Sign up here (just sent one yesterday, so it’ll be a while)
Abonner på dansk nyhedsbrev her
I love your little people — that seems to be a different direction from your previous work (unless I missed something all these years). Glad you see you back, even intermittently, because you always have something interesting to say.
Thank you! For reading, responding and still being there! ❤
To me it’s not different, just MORE, and yes, I’m probably still trying to do too much for my own good even though horses are gone and yarn is on the back burner, but I’m still into textiles, so they will get their turn again eventually.
I just have the opportunity now that I have my own room to do more of what I always dreamed of (can’t sling paint in the living room efficiently), and time because of fewer critters to look after.
I’m hoping eventually it’ll all come together in a presentable manner and not just inside the chaos that is my mind! 🙂
I have had my own sewing room for about 12 years now — it got more and more stuffed full of supplies, When the pandemic started I was teaching art to three neighborhood kids, so I expanded into a small porch area. Now it is stuffed full too! I am eyeing the living room….
Well, it’s in the word, isn’t it? It’s meant to be lived in, or it would have been called the showroom or the room of boredom.
Åhh, velkommen tilbage. Det er så rart med lidt flere indbyggere i blogland igen. Jeg er heller ikke rigtig med på insta- tiktok- og hvad de nu hedder-bølgen.
Den blå hest er skøn, og det er altså meget flottere her på bloggen.
Jeg vil gerne høre om alle dine ideer, rækkefølgen er lige meget, bare du fortæller.
Min blog er der stadig, jeg skriver om løst og fast; og følger andres blogs som jeg altid har gjort, nemlig med gadgets i sidepanelet på min blog.
Vi må se hvor længe det holder – jeg er blevet rimelig glad for IG, men facebook er virkelig træls.
Instagram er OK, men så heller ikke mere. Jeg synes ligesom ikke, der er plads til en ordentlig historie … og så er det ikke altid, jeg får lov til at kommentere eller lægge billeder op … med det er jo også Facebook der ejer Instagram 🙁 Jeg bliver i hvert fald på min blog indtil enten Blogger eller min browser har gjort det så umuligt for mig, at jeg stritter computeren ud gennem vinduet i frustration. Også selv om det materielt kreative har fyldt mindre på min blog end det plejer i den forgangne tid. Jeg håber, der ændrer sig fremover.
De problemer har jeg ikke, men jeg har også en god internet forbindelse og PC. Nu kan man jo også lave indlæg direkte på computeren i stedet for telefon, det gør det en hel del nemmere, også at få skrevet med et rigtigt tastatur.
Great to hear from you Pia! Instagram is great, but I really enjoy the long format of blog posts, you can just hear people’s thought processes and ideas better when there’s a bit more space. I too would love to start writing blog posts again, but unfortunately I am no longer well enough to manage it, so Instagram is the most I can do at the moment.
I enjoy seeing your new art work and the little characters that you have created. Having followed your blog for many years, it’s interesting to see how your work is developing. And you seem to have made a transition into becoming a professional artist? So I am certainly looking forward to reading more blog posts from you (although I fully realise that often it really is a choice between doing and writing, and it’s far better to prioritise the doing bit).
I’m uncertain if there is still an audience for long form writing online, but I’m not very good at keeping it medium 😉 I’ve decided to try some kind of schedule and to write my posts after something is completed rather than during, maybe that will keep me consistent. Good to have you on board!
I’m sorry to hear your health hasn’t improved. As you know I’ve been going through various issues as well during the lifetime of this blog, some have improved, other things not, so I don’t think I could manage a full-time gig outside the house (nor be qualified for one) and my own business would also be impossible to begin again after a 10 year break.
So while I know it’s hard and very unlikely to make a living from art, I don’t have anything better to put myself into, considering age, location etc. So I might as well just lean into it and see what happens. It’s what I’ve always wanted in any case, so if I hadn’t wasted a couple of decades trying to be a good citizen I might have ACTUALLY been there now!
Life nowadays, well perhaps social media, seems so focused on the short from pieces of entertainment. Long form blogging or just blogging in general will always have an audience. We may find that over time, the long form blogs will make a resurgence as it allows people to connect with the blogger on a more personal and deeper level than a 30 second tiktok of someone dancing to a song.
Wishful thinking perhaps but we can all hope 🙂
I agree with you completely, Rich, personal connection is so much more meaningful than a random flood of content you forget after 15 minutes.