Alltop and Art Blogs
It would seem, if one uses Alltop as a gauge, that most artists and art bloggers use wordpress or typepad or other free blog hosting services. This confused me at first. Owning a domain name seems so important, installing WordPress, refining the blog to fit my taste, and creating my own unique website -well, isn’t that a no-brainer?
Turns out, I’m wrong. It’s not about the cool factor of one’s own, paid for hosted at GoDaddy or elsewhere, blog website. It’s content. It’s daily posts, it’s information and links. Turns out, many artists are not geeks. Turns out, many artists aren’t married to geeks. I’m both blessed and cursed by my web knowledge. The skill-set used in creating this website do come in handy BUT creating and maintaining also demand much of my time. Whereas I could be in the studio with my assemblages, I delete spam comments, rearrange HTML to fit my taste, and other web maintenance duties which would not be necessary if I just posted on a free-blog service.
Tis’ a conundrum. I suppose it all boils down to be a bit of a control freak, of wanting a web page designed “just so” and not settling. I have this insane need to fidget, to re-invent my web space. I will subdue the freak, put her in her proper cage, and just blog. From now on, I post and I do not design. I remain content with this layout. Rob says artists with free blogs will eventually realize how they need to brand themselves, that they need domain names and specific sites. Perhaps he’s right… wonder what the average time frame is for this to occur?
*mark this day, oh faithful friends and when you see the template of this website change, when the design is not constant, please contact me and remind me to stop this insane re-building urge.
We’re almost to where how we got here.
Short fiction coming soon – I am going to write an assemblage story… thus creating a new fiction genre. Collage fiction? Assemblage story? Must think of a good name for it. Will post it later today — once the glue dries and the dust settles.
Service dogs
We’re researching service dogs and debating Roxanne’s ability to be trained as one for me. She seems quite apt, very intelligent and able to respond well to commands even at age seven months. It’s way to early to begin any formal training – let’s get to house training and a few little commands like “come” “sit” “stay” and “put down that chicken”.
Years ago, we realized Thompson the Jack Russell terrier could tell when I was getting a migraine headache. He has a set routine: First, he stares at me, moves back and forth in front of me to get my attention, sometimes he’ll quiver a bit with a sense of (I guess) anxiety. And then, if I lay down, he molds himself to my body – as closely aligned to my side as possible without completely fusing with my skin. The only time he ever does this is before a headache. He’s not like Linus who shivers and quakes at thunder and loud noises like fireworks. (Did ya’ll know that’s a genetic trait and he can’t help it? It’s something they look for when choosing dogs suitable for training as service dogs.)
Now we’re thinking perhaps Roxanne could be truly trained as a psychiatric service dog. It’s fascinating research. The Delta Society has great information. There’s a therapy dog training facility nearby, but I don’t want Roxie to visit other people, I need tactile stimulus to help with emotional or situational overload. Fascinating, eh? Recently I met a young woman seeking a service dog for help managing diabetes. This is a new field and information is scarce. Assistance dogs … who knew a service dog could assist me? It’s going to be a great journey – training and working with a dog. It’ll take years.
Okay, so this is just the beginning of the journey. It’ll take years…
click here for more interesting reading about what assistance dogs can be trained to do — on the iapd.org website.
Assemblage Art
What trips your trigger? For me, it’s abandoned metal, cracked and chipped paint on an old piece of wood, an old chest of drawers with the legs missing… rusted elements of some forgotten automobile.
I re-purpose discards and turn them into art. I assemble items someone left behind and create meaningful (?) dissonance. It’s a collage of three-dimensional proportions. Connected by wires, glue, screws, nails, string… more pieces of objects left behind.
It’s the ultimate form of recycling — turning man’s factory-produced detritus into art. It accentuates man’s ephemeral existence.
I shy away from plastic, though. It just doesn’t conform to my will. I suppose I could utilize techniques involving spray foam skins or melting but plastic just doesn’t do it for me. Metal, wood, paper… rock, stone, glass.
And buttons and clay.
What’s better than Imitrex for a cluster headache?
Easy… it’s hearing from Emilio Merlina in Italy. Rob and I adore, admire, appreciate, *let me check the Roget’s for more words to use here* his work. And now it seems that “last news” will be ours.
In Costa Rica last summer, we met our friend Giorgia Vicari. The friendship turned into a solid one. Rob even built the website for her delicious real estate development, Montelaguna Residence in Playa Samara. She is my first Italian friend. Now it seems we have another, it’s Emilio.
His piece “last news detail” has mesmerized me since I first laid virtual eyes upon it on absolutearts.com
Emilio’s multi-media sculpture embodies my feelings for Mom as she aged. Confused, a bit rusty… her edges were sharply defined. I await the sculpture’s arrival from Italy.