Can I just say how much I love Pan Pastels?

Compared with other, wet, messy art supplies, these things are AMAZING! I drew a picture and "painted" it this morning in about 5 minutes. Of course, the background had been created over time, as a by-product of some other mixed media experiments with my gelli plate and sprayed inks. I love the idea of keep a stack of backgrounds around and then whipping up a pretty face using my pastels right over the top, which allows the layers underneath to show through. So awesome!

 

 

LOL... Wordpress Ninja, why are you blogging on blogger?

So yes- I love Wordpress.org for MANY reasons, too many to list. However, I believe in the power of Google- and Blogger is a Google product. So my blogger blog is a heavy nod to the SEO powers of the internet god: Google. I blog here because it is quick and easy, and I don't require plugins or a shopping cart for my personal rants. I have other ways, such as an embedded Etsy widget, and a page of my Artfire listings...I am skilled at html, so I can add stuff to the sidebars on the fly...

When I design a professional website for a client or service, I always use Wordpress. It gives me a level of control and functionality that blogger can't match (at least, not for me, since I have invested almost 0% of my time learning the blogger ins and outs.) I'm just here to write, post photos, and have a place to put my thoughts...so blogger is enough.

But if you are looking for an awesome platform where you can control absolutely every aspect of your online presence experience, a self-hosted Wordpress website (doesn't even really have to be a blog...) is where it's at.

Some of my clients and projects, all running on self-hosted Wordpress:

www.TotesAdorbz.com (not a blog!)
www.iloveyoupink.com (a work in progress)
www.LessonPop.com

And of course, our business websites:

www.DreamYourSuccess.com
www.ThingsCrafty.com
www.PolymerClayTV.com

and, my very first blog, long since abandoned....but shhhhhhh- it was on Wordpress.com! A great place to start out, but if you begin your love affair with wordpress there, you will eventually graduate to self-hosted.

www.studiobijou.wordpress.com

All I want to do is BellyDance!

Ugh! And let me tell you, finding a class series and actually completing the sign up process here in Austin has been a nightmare.

Rachel Brice, image from http://paisleycurtain.blogspot.com/

1. All you dance instructors should get together and create a master site where interested parties can watch a short video of your dance style and teaching style, and link to an ACTUAL calendar of your classes, with buttons to buy a seat in the class.

2. Websites for single artists should really have working links to actual calendars and purchasing mechanisms.

UGH! I spent an hour trying to find a class I could sign up for. And WTF! Why are ALL beginning Bellydance classes on Tuesday nights? Could someone PLEASE diversify and offer a different night? It's the only night of the week I actually have a schedule problem, and ALL of the classes are then. UGH! My husband said it's probably due to competition or something. Come on, women, cooperate!

OK, rant over. I emailed two teachers trying to get a response and sign up for something, we shall see what happens....

Heavy Heart

Today I write with a heavy heart. We discovered that someone had done something illegal and wrong in our business dealings. The story is here, if you are interested.

 The backlash has been interesting- of course people who know this artist as a "friend" are in support of her, whatever she does. People who are more business minded are questioning whether she did it or not- what are the facts? The fact is, she did it. She can't refute that she broke a contract and pirated DVDs that belong to my company, and sold them on her own.

 Why did she do this? Why does she feel she has a right to tell everyone that we are mean and nasty people who only want to defame her? Why does she feel she has done absolutely nothing wrong (she actually told me that in a private message.)

 Well, I guess that has to do with why anything happens in this life. We could continue. Why did god let both my mothers die? Why do drunk drivers live, and kill whole families in crashes? Shit happens. I have no control over anyone but me. I did nothing wrong.

We didn't want to get into a lawsuit where the guilty party would just throw up her hands and say "I never sold a DVD." (She would do that, she doesn't keep good records and probably doesn't even actually know how much money she has stolen from me at this point.) So we did what we felt was right- we told all the guild leaders about the situation, sent them copies of the fronts of the DVDs that she has pirated from our company, and asked them to not allow her to sell them illegally at workshops and retreats.

We put a message on Facebook about it, because most of our peeps hang out there and would be able to spread the word so more people would know. Hey, it's our product we are talking about here- why would we want to put "bad" or "mean and nasty" public statements online about our product that we are trying to sell? We only want to tell the truth, so that it doesn't continue to happen.

Do you know how many artists face issues with copyright? So many. And for this person to do it to us is terrible. And she is continuing to uphold her "side" of the story. What side is that, that it is ok to steal and break the law?