Case-Notes from the Artsy Asylum

Art and Connectivity

There was some weird disturbance in the force on and off for the last week which had one laptop unwilling to communicate with the printer, and my laptop offline in spite of the rest of the computers in the house connecting to the network without issues. It was all weird - but reminds me of the importance of having contingency plans.

I like not being tied to the office - so the laptop is where I do nearly all of my daily work. Perched on bed, living room chair, sunny office corner, kitchen table - watching football - or wherever - I am happily in touch with what's going on with images and projects in various stages of "process."

In the time between today and when I started using a computer in 1981 my working life has changed a great deal. I can't overstate how much is because of technology - it may be that I can't even comprehend it.

It never even occurred to me ten years ago that I would ever use a computer to create image files - or for that matter do anything connected to art other than have a database of art purchasers. The computer is like an addendum to my brain at this point.

But I think that the biggest change in my computer and art life probably came with laptops. Now I can still work even when my spine injury reminds me it's in charge, forcing me to lie down for the greater part of a day or more. It's a real plus to have an option; reading and watching movies can only occupy me for so long - and it's hard to cut and glue in bed without making a heck of a mess.

Anyhow, I needed something to do while not connected last week. So I took advantage of the time without net-access on the laptop to do art related chores like converting image sheets to .pdf files, resizing and reformatting others, weeding out duplicates from the files and creating content for an artistamp themed screensaver.

I need to be making a list of those sorts of things so I've always got a way to be productive, even when not connected. If you have suggestions based on how you handle this sort of art/real world/online world stuff I'd be glad to get your input.

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Lessons from Air Force Football - stamp sheet bonus

Artistamp issue 139.05 puts a face on what fans of Air Force Academy football have felt the last two years as in 2004 and 2005 the team has struggled to keep up it's winning ways.

Fisher DeBarry, the winningest coach in Air Force football history may represent our frustrations in this artistamp, but he is a steady influence on his players.

After every game for twenty years, when only team and coaches are allowed in the locker room, his players know that he will emphasize the things that matter most, not their standing in the Mountain West Conference or what the press is saying.

DeBerry takes the words "For God And Country:" seriously and knows how to impart values that his players can live by. Whether they win or lose, the first item on the agenda is to thank God for the opportunity of playing the game and for the lessons and values that will make them better officers and better people.

On his wall hangs a plaque that reads, “A coach’s success is not measured by wins or losses, but by the men his players become.”

The men his players have become include hundreds of guys who went on to serve their nation and honor their coach. Today he'll be telling them just what I'd want him to tell my own son, "Go to church tomorrow; call your mom and daddy and tell them you love them, and remember who you are."

For the fan, although it's not the huge horseshoe of Ohio's Buckeyes, there is no more inspirational place to spend Saturday afternoon than Falcon Stadium at the Academy in Colorado Springs.

Sitting at the base of the front range of the Rocky Mountains under a wide blue sky, with their mascot falcon soaring and cadets singing the Air force Hymn, Fisher DeBarry is part of what makes that magic happen.

Here's to you, coach.  Download 139.05Frustrationball.pdf

The entirely imaginary but nonetheless estimable Empire of Ephemeria has this day issued a  commemorative Artistamp that is free to download and can be printed on your desktop printer using standard or gummed paper. Permission for personal use is granted by the copyright holder, Susan Reynolds.

For ideas how artistamps can be used see Slideshow   Semper Fi Project   Card / Tag projects  or other freebies and articles in the Artistamps Category of the Artsy Asylum Blog 

By the way Coach, I'm hoping you won't need an excuse to smile after meeting BYU, but this week I'll be sending you some stamps to make you laugh.  

Mind Meld Miracle or Blogging 101

Maybe it's just me but it seems like any number of us in the over 40 age group - I don't know that it's artists especially but those are many of the people I run into - aren't as up to date on technology as we could be.

So if you are even semi-new to reading blogs,or interested in learning more about the techno-speakish lingo or even if you just need more information about blogging, the Blogging 101 site may be of interest.

It gives a nice overview-ish "not too detailed to be interesting to an artist" sort of primer on the subject while at the same time being entertaining and non-geeky.

If I had known about it while I was trying to figure out how a permalink was different from a trackback it would have helped. I guess I could have used my dumbfoundedness on the subject as the subject for an artistamp, but I'd have rather skipped the whole learning process and had some sort of mind-meld miracle performed where I'd wake up one morning saying "Aha; I get it."

Reading through Blogging 101 is a big improvement over a lot of what's out there and far surpasses those pages full of distraction like the "articles" at About.com

 

Miers - Almost Supreme Artistamp

Apparently being a smart lady, Miers withdrew herself from the grueling Supreme Court confirmation process 5 minutes ago. Yet another artistamp Opportunity!

Stay tuned - I expect one to be issued A Stamp has been Announced by BEADAD (Bureau of Ephemerian Artistamp Design and Distribution) soon.

UPDATE - As expected, the BEDAD folk have their ducks in a row and have worked their tiny fingers to the bone in the rush to crank this out.

Issue 137.05, the Almost Supreme in the USA Artistamp awaits your downloading via the link below. 

Download 137.05AlmostSupreme-halfsheet.pdf

Feel free to suggest this blog's link or address to others, but passing on the image file to others is not permitted under Ephemeria's Registered Use License

Link: The top U.S. national news headlines

Cats, Ornaments, Prints, Plus

I sent this out this afternoon and promised those who can not get HTML mail that I'd add it here as well. What's going on is that promising to stay in touch a bit better with my email subscribers got me thinking. And you know how dangerous that is.

Talking with my friend Christina from Skybluepink (purveyor of cool stuff for non-fancy prices)it's become clear that I'm in a much better position to bring people things that they need - not to mention things they want desperately - if I actually stay in touch. (duh)

I hope that by saying this publicly I will be influenced to make a priority of getting an update out to my mailing list at least twice a month. To commit to weekly would be nice, but not realistic over the long haul.

Crossing my fingers that this is just the right incentive to get my newsletter writing in gear, I'll move on to say that the message for now is:

- On a personal note, we're struggling to keep it together this week as we learned that a fatal heart disease in the matriarch of our kitty clan, my daughter's cat Sierra, gives her very little time left to live.

It's hard to even begin to explain how something like this affects a family of cat lovers, as much as we try to soldier ahead as usual.

I may re-release the Find Sweet Contentment artistamp on which Sierra dozes in the sun as a tribute to her, but right now all I can do is try to keep busy with other things.

- And I have been keeping busy. There are a few new prints and other gift items for you to pick from for yourself or holiday gifts at the cafe'press gallery in the  section marked All NEW Pieces

- This week designs are being finalized for the 2005 Holiday images which will soon be released in porcelain ornaments, tiles and mugs

- You will find the current crop of ornaments in the Holiday Section and others - like Gifts form the Earth which benefits Katrina victims - can be found with the prints of the same design

  - I'm excited that more artistamps and collage sheet files have been added to the Lulu/Ephemeria download portal and I plan to add at least one each day until they are all available in that convenient order and download one-stop-shop format.

  - The pricing on Lulu/Ephemeria downloads will remain lower than normal for a week or so to encourage you to test the system and report how the experience goes for you.

  - The blog is now available by subscription from FeedBlitz and you can also add headlines from the blog to your "MyYahoo" home-page.

I'll have more to tell you by this upcoming weekend. Fall always brings a flurry of activity in the studio and this year looks like no exception. So look for updates.

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Any Service Member

Free Online Marketing e-book

If your life in the arts or another part of your life has anything to do with web commerce you'll want to hear from Jim Sterne. He is an internationally known speaker on e-marketing and customer interaction who  produced the first Marketing on the Internet seminar way back in 1994.

These days he's focusing on the value of a website as a way to create and strengthen customer relationships. His e-book "Advanced Email Marketing" covers online marketing topics by way of text, real-world examples, and hands-on worksheets.

Now tell me who would turn down the opportunity to hear what he has to say, especially given his twenty years of experience?

The best part is that his 115 page book is available for .pdf download FREE through artsmarketing.org. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the download link.

Sterne's company, Target Marketing is on the web at www.targeting.com.

Offbeat Art Makes Me Smile

I know that the flat Susans are kind of "out there"  (including Susan Past at right) but I suggest that artist Mark Newport has me seriously beat.

And my previously off the wall stuff like the Odd  Hairdo Days and Chin-hair Appreciation Month artistamps just can't compete with the work that Mark is showing at the Greg Kucera Gallery.

Nobody can say that he doesn't have a vivid imagination and serious attention to both detail and insight.

I guarantee that any time I'm looking for knitted superhero ensembles, he's the guy I'll be going to see.