More photos from Fremont

Here is Grace showing one of her wonderful travel sketchbook/journals. She usually uses pen, not pencil, which was an "a-ha" for some people last night.

 I am going to include some other photos from last night and then tell you of a personal challenge I've been dealing with regarding photos, my iPhone, and blogging. I used to be able to hook my phone up to the computer and have an immediate link to iPhoto start up. My new photos on my phone were transferred to the photo program where I could edit them, name them, and store them for easy retrieval and use. But after a recent update to either the phone or the computer, things stopped being so easy. But tonight, I was able to get it figured out (yippee!) and get my pictures off my phone again. So that was a MAJOR step for me. The next one is to figure out how to manipulate the pictures and text consistently to do what I want to do, in terms of format and placement. It's all very hit and miss and never quite what I intend but I never have quite enough time to master it! At least I usually know what my next challenge is, right? Good night for now!

The March Newsletter--proof that there IS one! Even though it can't seem to be sent out. . . . .

Yesterday's frustration was because I've had a newsletter ready to go since the beginning of March and haven't been able to send it because I was still working on my email list. I just can't seem to get all my contacts in one place etc. and still be able to send mail successfully--a large mailing that is. I had a cover letter written on beautiful stationary at my recently reactivated .mac account. I added the attachment and was told I couldn't use the stationary. I took away the stationary and was told the attachment had to be compressed. I sent it all and most of the addresses (on .mac) were rejected. I copied everything and sent it on gmail last night and today it doesn't show up as sent mail. But I got some returned addresses and Roy got his letter complete with a viewable 2 page newsletter. 

So right now, I have no idea where I am with the whole newsletter/email list project. No one responded at all which makes me think it wasn't sent. I'll see what materializes by this evening and then I may do my Charlie Brown scream again!

How did Charlie Brown say it?

AAaaaarrrrrrrrggggghhhhHHhhhhhhh! 

Or maybe I should say: !@@#$%^&*()!!!!

That's how I'm feeling right now, but I'll tell you more tomorrow, OK? (When maybe I'll have resolved the problem.)

:) Nighty-nite!

Another Experiment

Tuesday was a sort of quiet day, but not a very productive one. I've been struggling with organizing my long art mailing list, trying to consolidate a lot of lists into one master list. It has taken me forever and I'm still not "there" with it. I have a March newsletter done and past due to send, but I'm trying to finish cleaning up the list first.

Meanwhile, I'm going to try posting it here and see if you can view/access it. Would you please let me know via a comment if you can get to it HERE on my aDrive storage place and see it. Click HERE! Does it seem like you could print it if you wanted to? My plan is to send it to everyone on my email list plus post it on the blog. I wanted it out on March lst and I failed miserably at that. The Art Stand Gallery event, last Saturday, wasn't sent out as a reminder and the ACA show in Visalia is there too, but it's up all month.

Well, see what happens and please let me know, OK? THANKS! :)

Subscribing to Mixed Messages. . . and being "Responsible"

Hello on a beautiful Thursday! Today I "sat" at The Art Stand (Cooperative Art) Gallery from 11 AM till 5 PM. There were a LOT of visitors today, out driving the Blossom Trail and/or coming in as a result of our increased advertising efforts. Yippee! It's great to have new people discovering the best-kept-secret-of-an-art-gallery in the Central Valley each and every day.

Yesterday, I said that I'd talk today about how to receive notification of new posts on Mixed Messages. You may have noticed a heading that says "Subscribe to Mixed Messages" (below the followers and archive areas) and 2 little boxes in the right hand sidebar of the blog. They say "Posts" and "Comments". When you do the pulldown menu on each, you have a choice of Google, Bloglines, netvibes, newsgator, Yahoo, and Atom. I know some of you ask me how you can use your Feedblitz feature, but I don't know anything about it. I assume these 6 choices offered in the gadget from Blogger are very similar to Feedblitz. If you have a Google account, choose the Google one and if you have Yahoo, choose the Yahoo one. I think the one at the bottom called Atom is perhaps a default because you do see it at the very bottom of my blog also. So, in any case, if you pick any one of the 6, it will "hook you up" so that you are notified whenever I do a new post and it sends it to you via an RSS feed system, I think. It allows you to see the recent (maybe all of the posts?) posts directly on your Google home page, for example, without logging into the blog at all. It saves you time and simplifies the process of reading multiple blogs frequently.

Hopefully, that will help you understand how to subscribe though I'm not totally clear on how it all works myself. A friend told me that she was asked to type in the email of a friend before she could proceed though the steps, but I don't see that request anywhere in the process that I've just described to you. I do remember seeing it somewhere else though--and it was for when you want to send a link to one of my posts on to someone else so that they can see the post also.

Again, LOTS to learn!

Today's painting is 'Responsibility", another in the Words Series. We all have to take responsibility for our own learning, for maximizing our efforts, and for taking control of our lives and our art. It's a process. . . . a journey. . . . . and it is sometimes rewarding and satisfying, sometimes frustrating and confusing. . . . . but always necessary.

I can't believe how much there is to be learned every day!

I made the title statement mainly in reference to my blogging experiences. But, really, it's true in ALL areas of life. Today at my Marketing Salon session, I learned SO much from the other 6 participants. And that has been true every single time we've met over the last weeks. It is so nice to be able to share thoughts, hopes, dreams, and concerns with like-minded artists and to laugh with them, too. I've enjoyed the relationships that are developing and I hope that we continue them after the 9 bi-weekly sessions are completed.

What I've learned regarding the blog today is about the insertion of a calendar. I've been trying to add one for a while--not too seriously until 2 days ago--but I wasn't able to get one that worked for me. And I'm still struggling with it but it is there, at least! I just did a little calendar in a program I have called Print Shop Deluxe, saved it as a PDF (which did NOT work), and then saved it as a JPEG. I added it as a "gadget" to the top of the right hand sidebar, but it's too small to read. So, I have uploaded it to aDrive (my free storage area) and if you just click on the small version, it will allow you to download a large, readable version of it. Right now, it's only a very basic calendar. I need to add more dates etc. and I also need to figure out how to make it sharper and clearer. But you see what I mean about learning a lot! I think it should help to keep my brain sharp and my wits about me--IF it doesn't all drive me crazy, which is another possiblity. Technology is so fantastic, but it can also be extremely frustrating when things are going well. Learning new technological skills definitely develops patience!

And Patience should be, and probably will be, one of the words in my "Words Series." But it isn't yet. Today, I'm going to show you the painting of "Integrity"--and I love the definition of integrity that I remember from years ago. Integrity is doing what you know is right even when no one is watching! So, on that note, I'll upload the painting photo and say my goodnights for now. Tomorrow, I'm going to explain about how to have my newest entries/posts sent to you via email. I'll do my best with the topic and then maybe you can give me some feedback about whether you've been able to do that successfully, and if so, HOW so?? :)

Sunday evening

Well, I managed to make my goal(s) look prettier in the sidebar, but I haven't moved off of zero on either one of them as yet. I put a frame around them and saved them (cropped) and then imported them into a gadget. . . .and it worked! Now, why can't I get off of zero? LOL

Actually, I will move very soon. I am working on 3 large paintings and they are nearly finished. And I have about 6-7 small ones almost completed, too. So, when the zeros change they won't just change to 1's! Thank goodness! But I do want to see the numbers moving upwards.

There is a show coming up the last day of the month, and in April I am having a solo show at the Reedley Opera House, and there will be the theme show in April and May at Timberline. So, I have a lot of things in the works and I will have new paintings very soon.

Today, I've painted a lot but didn't take any photos. (Some things need to remain secrets, you know!?)  Tomorrow is the Double Reed Day at Fresno State and I'll be there most of the day. So, tomorrow evening I will be back to painting and posting. More soon!

Moving Ahead

Before I move ahead and away from the energy of One World, One Heart, I'd like to thank Lisa (its organizer) for all she did on the huge project. I think everyone would deem it an extraordinary success--beyond her wildest dreams, I am sure! So, thank you, Lisa. Also I'd like to thank everyone who visited my blog, signed up for my giveaways, and explored my artistic world as shown on "Mixed Messages". Thank you also to those of you who have sent nice compliments and have become followers. I hope to get to know you better over the coming weeks and months. The 2 winners of my giveaways have contacted me and their prizes will soon be in the mail. Congratulations! And thank you for participating, ALL OF YOU!

Life brings us such unexpected happenings and we have to learn to go with the flow and assume they all happen for a reason. Yesterday morning I got a call from an artist friend asking if I had 2-3 paintings that I could get to her right away to be in a small show at a winery for the next month. So, knowing that wine paintings are very popular in the central San Joaquin Valley, I said "Sure!" and hopped in the car to gather up the 3 that I currently have finished and framed. Getting them collected and ready to send off this afternoon took me away from what I had planned for the day, but I think it will be good exposure to a new group of people and I welcome that. I sent "Jewel Tones" (can be seen on my slide show), "Parallels" (also on the slide show, it depicts words that describe wine AND women both), and "Through Rose Colored Glasses." Also some prints and cards and PR materials. We will see what comes of it. (Crossing fingers. . . . . )

This morning, I was up really late (or early, depending upon how you look at it!) trying to get my Etsy store set up. I wasn't very successful but I will persist and explore other storefronts more tonight or tomorrow. I think it's a good venue for some of my smaller items, not my full sheet framed mixed media works necessarily. I am struggling with pricing, shipping costs, and creating a banner. In time, I will be successful at it though.

Well, I want to watch Westminster even though I know who won. There are so many new breeds that it's exciting to see them in the groups and Best in Show. After breeding and showing Gordon Setters and Irish Setters for over 25 years, I still love the dog show scene, even if it's now from afar! Today's photo is of Cooper, our one current dog. He is the first small dog (13#) that we've ever owned and the only mixed breed. Shown here rather untrimmed, he is a darling dog--part Lhasa Apso and part Jack Russell terrier. He is cute and smart and funny and, you might suspect, spoiled rotten! We love him a lot and so do all 3 kitties, all of whom weigh more than he does!

Affirmations for Artists in Today's Economy from Alyson B. Stanfield and ArtBizCoach.com

When you need affirmations as an artist, here is a short podcast to visit. . . . and revisit. This is the first time I've added something like this to my blog. That steep learning curve is still in evidence.

The artbizcoach.com site is a good one to visit for all kinds of marketing tips, tools, and techniques when you need motivation and inspiration. Check it out!

Today, we cleaned and set up The Art Stand Gallery for our Blossom Trail season. Then I went south to Visalia to hear the Tulare County Symphony concert. It was really good and I enjoyed the concert, as usual, but I only painted for about a half hour today. Tomorrow is another day, as someone (Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind"?) playing a famous part once said.

Continuing to work on the extended aspects of "Presentation"

Preparing for a nice presentation takes a lot of time. It is really fun and rewarding, but it takes a LOT of time! I know why some people don't ever really get into making up a "Business Kit" or designing desktop publishing items or marketing tools. They all take time. And when you don't work with something for a while--like making label templates or printing envelopes--it's like starting over again to get back into the groove.

Well, I'm having fun updating everything and making some new things but right now, I need to spend my time on completing that project rather than writing a long blog post. So, I'm going to sign off for today and get back to that work. When I have things done, I'll share a list of items and some photos, I hope. More information very soon!

Tired :(

I think I need a lot more sleep. Too many late nights and too steep a learning curve lately. I've been trying to master Photoshop Elements and I just can't get the hang of it. Some parts of it are getting better, but I cannot do what I want with layers. It is frustrating because I know it should be easy.

The OWOH comments are "tapering off", it seems, and I want to get back to my regular painting and blogging. Today, I am posting a new painting, I think. It is called "Tuxedo Junctions" and it seems somehow appropriate after two concerts yesterday and concert dress. It is all about "keeping an interesting white space" like a lot of my other paintings.

The importance of design

All of the elements and principles of design come into play in every artistic endeavor we engage in. This was apparent to me again today in a dichroic glass class I attended. Applying contrast, texture, line, repetition, and variation hopefully produced some interesting little experiments for this first-timer in dichroic glass.

From the class, I went and played 2 concert band performances, so now I'm going to call it a night!!

WOW!

This whole OWOH experience is really exciting! I've visited a lot of new blogs and plan to check out a lot more in upcoming days. I'm enjoying it all and marveling at how varied the giveaways are. I am also learning how to do a lot of brand new things. Talk about a steep learning curve! Yikes! But that's what keeps us young, right?

I can now see why people put their original OWOH post and logo in the sidebar. I'm contemplating now about what to do to adjust so that mine doesn't "fall off the bottom" and disappear from view before February 11th. Hmmmmmm. I could just not post for a while, but I made a commitment to do my best to post every day. Oh, well--onward and upward!

{Obviously, it was an easy fix to just keep changing the posting date each day to keep the OWOH post at the top of the list! Duh!?}

Grrrrrrrr

I've been frustrated for the last few days because we've been having to use dial-up internet access rather than our high speed connection. And everything takes SOOOOO long and often times may not work. So, I apologize for the short posts recently but things should now be back to normal again.

Practice, paint, or post?

How 'bout all 3? I almost didn't post today because I haven't been
able to sign onto my blog. But a do have a Plan B, my cell phone.

I am trying to paint every day, practice my oboe (most days), and post every day. Yesterday I had a major blogging accomplishment because I was able to finally modify the text in my banner/ header so that I am more pleased with it. I am starting to be able to use Photoshop Elements a little more and that is how I did it. Yippee! And good night for now!(With maybe 1 minute to spare! Though it showed up much later than it should have.)

Sent from my iPhone by Kathleen

Photography Class at The Art Stand Gallery

Today, I took a 4 hour photography class at The Art Stand Gallery, and artist cooperative that I am a member of. The class was taught by member Jeri Burzin and it focused on the basics of light, composition, and the camera. I need to know all I can about taking "good" pictures so it was an enlightening class for me. I plan to just keep on trying to learn one thing at a time and continuing to try to employ the elements and principles of design as I take photos for the blog(s) and for my own personal reference photos and documentary photos. It was a fun day!

Friday Evening, after "Gran Torino"

Hmmmmm. Today is the first time I've been able to write a post directly into the post window on my cell phone. Before, I've had to write an email to myself and the email body became the post. Another milestone accomplishment, for which I can take no credit because I haven't changed anything that I know of.

I am including an iPhone photo of some of the books I am preparing as little samples for my upcoming class. After lightly sanding the shiny surfaces of the covers, I wipe them down and then lightly cover all the surfaces with one or more thin coats of gesso. Then, working on this semi-blank "slate", I will begin to collage paper and other items onto the whitewashed surfaces. I will show you more of them as they progress.

Do you keep an artist book or journal other than your sketchbook?

Wow! What a steep learning curve. . . .

I can't believe how much I've already learned, just since starting this little blog a few days ago! Tonight I was successful in adding a slide show of 10 paintings at the bottom and also a counter. Yesterday, I tried to do both and couldn't make either one "happen". But I got it today. Yippee!

Rather than send out a notification to everyone that I want to know about "Mixed Messages," I chose 12 people to send it to as a sort of trial run. So far, people have sent back positive responses and have been able to successfully navigate it so I guess I'm on the right track. What I can already see is that I'm going to have to get busy both painting and with the camera to be able to add an image each time I post because once I've used an image with a post or in the slide show (gallery) I will try to NOT use it again. (Off she goes. . . to paint or charge the camera. . .  AND to get her "ducks all in a row!")