Art and Online Sales

"Love is Not Always Black and White"

12" x 16" Mixed Media Collage

As many of you know, MindSieve is in the process of transforming into MindSieve Studio - where there will be online sales, as well as blogging, and sharing with readers how art affects me and many in our daily lives and relationships.  This transitioning has taken me to a whole new world of online workshops, online experts, online colleagues, the world of Twitter, website building, domain names, etc.  You name it, I've been studying it the last few weeks!  ...........and believe me, I've a way to go before I become an expert!!!

You may remember an earlier post here about artists unselfishly sharing their work and expertise with other artists.  That phenomenon I find so rewarding and uplifting.  In that same vein, online, shall I call them friends, colleagues, experts..........share daily their advice for building websites, for marketing products, for enjoying your art, while being swallowed up (if you allow it) by more advice than you'll probably ever be able to use - but it's there for the choosing.  I've been choosing The Abundant Artist, SquareSpace, Fine Art Tips from Lori McNee, Matt LeBlanc Artist, and a couple of newbies in the last couple of days that came across my screen and attention.

In addition, a couple of sites that seemingly would not be all about art, but that resonate with me in the category of self-esteem and accomplishment in life and in one's artwork, as well as in one's art business.  They are -

 

1.  "Diamonds in the Soul" and her "Get Your Shine On" launch - a fabulous outline for bringing the best to everything you live into

2.  "Uplevel Your Business" with entrepreneur Christine Kane

3.  An amazing revelation for me from an article about Triathalon training - no I'm not training for a race - at least not a triathalon - but you'll hear more about the article in tomorrow's post.

At any rate, with this exciting door of online sales opening for me, I feel supported, I feel worthy, I feel creative - and much of my energy comes from the support of the persons, sites, and art  produced by the people I mention here today and who I've noted in my header bar in the Artist Category. Thanks for their positive influence in my efforts - and I'll assume those tips and back slaps keep coming!!

*For sale online June 4, 2011

Where is everyone?

"Is it Safe to Come Out?"
16" x 20" Mixed Media Collage

On the day I'm authoring this post I have various combinations of personal family and friends either living and/or traveling in these places - Hong Kong, Thailand, Barcelona, France and Italy, as well as in FL, NY, TX, WA, HI, MN, CA, MO, WY, OK, GA - frankly those are all the places that I can think of at this moment.

One might assume that with all the news of tragedy in this world locally and abroad that we would hunker down close to home and make sure that none of our children or spouses ever left the nest.  But that's not the way life is.  We continue to move onward and out, exploring, stretching our borders  as well as our imaginations.  

It's amazing that we continue to move about freely even as our hearts jump when a global or stateside tragedy flashes across the news screen or internet - where are our peeps - our children, our sisters and brothers, our friends?  We count noses, we thank God, we breathe a sigh of relief that it is not our family that is personally involved in tragedy - but of course, because we have the global connection and internet and news coverage that we do, it is our family that sits in the rubble of Japan, that cries in the marketplace in Iraq, that trembles at the night time sounds of unknown enemies rummaging through rubble in Haiti and all over the world.  

We would go insane if we had to carry all the fear and burden of every single person in the world in our hearts.  We could not survive if we felt every loss of life as the losses we incur when someone very close to us dies - yet, the least we can do is to pray for those whose burdens this night are unbearable for them alone - pray that for some small instant they may be given hope or relief or courage in their sorrow.  Where is everyone and where should our prayers be directed this night?