Anybody else working hard promoting their work using Twitter, Facebook, Myspace?
Anybody else got more than one folksy shop using separate email addresses?
Anybody else tired of logging in here, then having to log out so you can log in there?
I've wanted a way to manage these accounts, to be able to keep an eye on what's going on without having to spend a long time online and I hope I've found a solution. My biggest problem was switching between my two email addresses, which use the same provider, so allow me to be logged in to only one at a time. It's only a few minutes but I've got other things to do!
After a bit of perusing I came across a blog post by Greg Nemer about Digsby, which is:
"multiprotocol IM client that lets you chat with all your friends on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, and Jabber with one simple to manage buddy list.""an email notification tool that alerts you of new email and lets you perform actions such as 'Delete' or 'Report Spam' with just one click.""a social networking tool that alerts you of events like new messages and gives you a live Newsfeed of what your friends are up to."To appease my downloading paranoia I checked Digsby out and it appears to be safe, you can read more from their blog here.I've downloaded Digsby and so far so good. I don't think it is as handy as TweetDeck for Twitter users as there doesn't seem to be the option to split up activity into friends' tweets, replies and direct messages which I like. However, being able to see new emails in both accounts just by moving the mouse is so very handy!
Do you use anything similar to manage your accounts? Would love to hear from you if you do and if you try Digsby let me know how you find it!
It has been a busy week with all sorts of creative goings on, I've been sketching Florence, working on photographs of Florence (the obsession continues), finished and sent off a set of jewellery which I'll tell you about once I know it's arrived safely and in all the whirl I kept having to look out the window because the world is turning yellow. Chris Martin was right, who'd have thunk it!
R and I got back from Florence at the weekend after a fabulous trip feeling refreshed, revived and inspired, exactly the impact I was hoping for! We spent many a Saturday walking out in the Peak District early last year and, both not natural born midlanders, found ourselves longing for the sea and so we went! It was our first holiday away together and all very exciting. Soon, we got to chatting and musing and declared a mutual desire to go to Florence and so we did. All that within our first two months together!
Our first trip to Florence last year was amazing: we arrived late in the evening and walked to the river wide eyed and mesmerised by all we saw on the way. Every corner turned brought us something spectacular to see and I will never forget laying eyes on the Duomo for the first time. We were very fortunate to have an amazing view over the River Arno from our room at the lovely Hotel Balestri and the whole area felt like photographer's paradise!
The reason for bringing up last year's trip rather than bombarding you with photographs from last week (oh, they'll come don't you worry!) is that it wasn't just a great holiday but our time in Florence really did inspire huge changes in both our lives. Both R and I had been thinking and talking about leaving full time teaching for a variety of reasons but centrally to do what it is we love: create. Then, during a walk in the beautiful Boboli Gardens we enjoyed view after sweeping panoramic view and then noticed some steps up even further to a rose garden with yet greater views. It was on this terrace that I finally made my decision to leave teaching as I was bursting with ideas and inspiration; I even had a name, inspired by the view below and an entertaining conversation with R, Red Shed Art was born!
Clearly anything but a shed on closer inspection but without the 'big' lens it could have been one. So, now, a year on we've been back, have folders of photographs, a growing Italian vocabulary (grammar will have to wait!), sketchbooks filling with ideas and I've got a canvas and some sand to play with this afternoon.
Mille grazie Firenze!
We're just about ready to leave for Florence so I'll see you all soon for tales of lovely park wanders
some Brunelleschi
and stunning views a plenty!
Since joining Folksy I've found some inspirational people who have been very kind in advising me on many a question so today I just thought I'd say a quick thank you to them all!
So Thank You!
Alison of Ali Bali Jewellery who helped me out right at the begining with my shop's terms and conditions and has since answered my silver clay questions.
Laura of Lupin Handmade who, after setting up her own site answered my queries on using a Mr Site package.
Lauren of Lauren Ceramics pointed out some spelling errors on my blog, phew!
Marie from Angel Silver who advised me on setting up a second shop.
Lottie Lodge who sent me a spotify invite!
Jenny Flower Blue for free books!
Kate from Paperleaf Studios for all her help with my website queries yesterday and has now posted a great blog entry on the subject.
Becci of Fired Silver for including me in her pay it forward! I'll be posting my pay it forward soon so keep an eye out!
So thank you kindly each and every one of you, I've been a tiny child turning to anybody nearby and repeatedly asking why, how, what and I'm very grateful to you all!
I've just popped this jewellery order into the post for a young lady's Birthday - the mission was skulls (but girly ones!), bows, cherries and Manchester United. Let's hope she likes it! It bears striking resemblance to the first charm bracelet I ever made which was made for the Aunt of the Birthday girl who commissioned this piece, who wouldn't want to be as cool as Auntie Kath!?
I recall a postmodern cultures seminar revolving around a discussion on how terrorism wouldn't exist without the media . . . So have some good thoughts on the wonderful Northern Ireland today!
First up, the football. Well now we find ourselves winning four Internationals on the trot and, you might need to take a seat for this, we are top of our World Cup qualifying Group. What joy! Heard a few phone ins on the radio after the match on Wednesday and could still make out the Windsor Park masses doing the bouncey!
Well done to Mr Feeney and the boys in green!
Secondly, I have been perusing the wonders of Google Street View and, on a tip off from my brother, took R on a virtual tour of Belfast all the way to my Nana's house complete with Hamish the golden retriever!
Can you see him?!
I've spotted a few more painters on Folksy recently and thought I'd bring them to your attention!
First up David Pennington of PeningtonART specialises in pet portraits and, having had a bash at these myself can appreciate just how good these are:
Further paintings and commission information can be found on David's website.I've really enjoyed seeing the progress updates of Fleshie's latest paintings on her blog.
Anna Shirron's striking, large scale paisley patterned paintings are stunning and more of her work can be found on her website.
On a personal painting note, I bought a new tiny little sketch book to take to Florence and soon there will be paintings to show you!
Over the last few weeks I've made a few jewellery items on request (look at me avoiding the big, long, far too professional sounding word 'commission'!) and thought I'd share them with you.
Top left is a purple rose watch promised to a friend (she threatens me every time I call her my Auntie ;) )
Top right a pair of short aqua dangle earrings bought for a Mother's Day gift
The lower picture shows lengths of a long (150cm) necklace made for R's Mum, who liked the colour of the beads on the memory wire bracelet in my folksy shop and asked for a necklace in similar tones.
I was pleased with these pieces and am working on a number of others which are to remain a secret for now. . .
Hello to you all on Facebook!
Thanks to this handy tutorial I've imported my blog into my private profile and my Laura Cameron artist's page so you can all see when I update the blog.
Joy!
It is a beautiful day, the daffodils are gorgeous, the Edial crows are on the search for twigs, the washing is out on the line and there are mini greenhouses on nearly all the windowsills, I love spring!
I've been reflecting a lot on what it is I do, how to describe myself as an artist, my work. It's been nearly six years since my graduate exhibition and as I found myself somewhat squashed into having a proper job, it is only now that I've been able to go back to the ideas that were, let's face it, only starting at the School of Art.
In the time since graduating I've completed an MA, worked for a high street photographic retailer, a logistics company, trained to be an English, Drama and Media Studies teacher, been (and still am) an English, Drama and Media Studies teacher, embarked upon the wonderful world of digital photography, learned a variety of jewellery making techniques and here I am still seeing the world through blurry frames. This isn't because I've had to get glasses in the last few years but I'm still struck by the idea of glimpses, what we see and experience are but glimpses. My final project at Aberystwyth was very much focused on this idea, the glimpses of an outsider visiting Taiwan for the first time and below is a very badly scanned collage of some of my original prints from the exhibition.
I'll have to try and find the catalogue and scan my page for here. I was thinking about these images the other day and was struck by the comparison with my current interest in ttv and how even the paintings I'm working on are bordered and blurred at the edges in an attempt to emphasise the sense of the image being a part, yet again the idea of the glimpse. I like the idea of every sight being new, an exploration, however slight, and these images remind me of seeing "through a glass, darkly" (1 Cor 13) developing new insights and understanding with every sight and experience. Anyone else read and Jostein Gaarder? Time for another read I think.
On Wednesday I started having pangs of wisdom tooth progression, I cheered it on gleefully, go on tooth, you can do it you can fully emerge into my mouth rather than my head and then stop hurting, go on, go on, go on! This has been going for years and my desire for this bloomin' tooth to finally bloom has turned to despair, dismay and, quite possibly, delirium. The lovely dentist lady explained what was happening and if this horrendous pain happens for a third time they will remove the upper wisdom tooth opposite the struggling lower one. When she told me this my first thought was, there's nothing wrong with that one, get rid of the one making me crazy! But her explanation seemed to make sense, risks of removing lower wisdom teeth, cheek chewing prevention and so on. It's now Friday and I didn't sleep at all on Wednesday night and got about two hours last night, so what have I been doing to while away the hours and distract my mind from the doom . . .
Can't concentrate on reading and don't want to spoil my book with the smell of clove oil and my whimpering, can't potter in the studio as I have had several visions involving long nose pliers helping the tooth along a bit so I've been looking through some pictures and have created the image below and played out several conversations between the men and, indeed the pigeons, then there was some overlapping and the whole narrative went a little awry so I will just share the picture and leave it at that!
Ashes of Roses, one of my favourite charm bracelets, inspired by Ada Monroe in Charles Frazier's novel 'Cold Mountain', has sold!
"The dress the figure wore was the color called ashes of roses . . . Ada realized that it was herself she was admiring, the mirror having caught the reflection of an opposite mirror on the wall behind her. The light of the lamps and the tint of the mirrors had conspired to shift colors, bleaching mauve to rose." Fabulous book!
