THIS AND THAT ONLINE

Last Friday I was honored as the Featured Site on Chris O'Byrne's Online Arts Marketing blog. The recognition was quite a rush for me, and Im grateful for a day in the spotlight. Yee-gads, Im speechless. If you are looking for additional information and insight on how to market your art online, you might want to take a peek at Chris's site. It was especially gratifying to discover he had been a fan of my art for quite some time, and it makes me aware how much art I look at online without saying anything to the artist about how I feel.
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Many of you know that I have been involved in an Artists in Business group through the local SBDC where I live. It's been a good experience for me on many levels, and in other ways I wish I could do it again. But the time I spent will lay a good foundation for me to build on. Recently a member from the group, Connie Rose of Constance Rose Designs, began writing about her art and I've learned more about her art in the short time she's been online than I have the whole time I've been in the group. It says something about the power and immediacy of this medium.

Constance Rose topaz bamboo yarn

Connie spins her own fibers and weaves the most exquisite scarves I think I have ever seen. She writes a lot about her process with photos to back it up, which I found fascinating, since this is an art form I know nothing about. Education is a great thing. Please go over and welcome Connie to the blogosphere. Glad to have you here, fellow artist. It looks like you've made yourself right to home.

WHAT IS TOO MUCH INFORMATION?

Points of Light Mandala - (Healing in Circles series) - © 2006 Sue O'Kieffe

This particular mandala, created from a photograph of a dandelion gone to seed, is an image of mine that seems to draw people in. I, too, like the way where the seeds connect in the circle that they seem to create little points of light.

The other evening I received this comment at my other blog from someone who stumbled upon my work: " I was have [sic] so much problems in my head, but your pictures comfort me. I would like to thank you for posting such great pictures here..."

This is what I believe is the higher calling about my art, that it does bring comfort and sustenance to people who view it. I try not to let my ego get in the way about this. This is the feedback I receive over and over from people who have viewed and purchased my work.

I am in the process of designing my website. I was reading some information at Chris O'Byrne's website about telling stories about our artwork on our website. This got me to thinking about the journey of my art, which is deeply personal. I have wondered if the story of surgery I had last fall to remove a growth on my carotid artery would be a good idea to include in an "About the Artist" page on my website. While I do believe that this tumor, located in an area of my body directly related to expression and communication, has a bearing to my growth as an artist, is it something I really need to include about myself? Even by posting about it here, I am letting my readers know about this very personal issue.

This is a topic I would like to kick around for a bit, and it is something I would appreciate receiving feedback about. I would encourage you to leave me comments, or contact me via email. I do have an email link above.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and for leaving me your thoughts.

PRAYER MANDALA

Prayer Mandala - (Healing in Circles series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2006

Three weeks ago I returned to working full time outside the home after an extended period working on my art at home. It has been a bit of an adjustment, and for a while I felt very discouraged about working on my art. I have also been feeling a sense of no direction, with so many different things on my plate I want to accomplish and no real idea how to get there.

Recently, both on my blog and on Diane Clancy's blog, I have come across more internet marketing material via the suggestions posted by Chris O'Byrne. His postings took me to his blog. I have decided my next step will be to listen to some of what he has posted via podcast to see if this will help me more closely solidify some of my ideas for my website. The website has proven to be a much more daunting task than I ever imagined, because I know that putting it up is so much more than it looking purty.

I created this particular mandala last fall, and it's the first mandala I created where I filled in the background space. For me it has a sense of both containement and outward direction.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. I would love for you to share yours with me.