A funny thing happened as I posted my most recent Thursday Thoughts - I passed 400 blog posts! Sadly I missed the moment when I did 300, so I am a bit behind in my give-aways.
It seems timely for a give-away based on a series of blog posts to appear around Thanksgiving time. In Australia we don't celebrate or mark Thanksgiving, but because so many connections and friendships have been established through this wonderful world of blogging, I am much more aware of the day and get to think more about what it means to stop, pause and be thankful.
I am always grateful and thankful for the networks of support I have developed with people who blog and with people who comment on my blog. The feedback is a really helpful things along the way. For many artists we live somewhat isolated lives, not able to participate fully in an art-based world because of real jobs, other jobs, other duties and roles. So we often beaver away at home, in our studios, in our spare moments and without exhaustive networks and connections and the time to promote, and publicise, don't always get to show our work in a public way to gauge and get any measure of how it is received.
Blogging has changed all of that for me as I have found kindred spirits who respond to my work, who 'get' my work, who encourage me and often overwhelm me with their kindness. For all of that I am grateful.
So to mark my personal milestone celebration and in the spirit of giving thanks to those who support me, I have decided to offer a give-away where you get to choose which of the offerings you would like if you win. Kim S did this and I thought it was brilliant (even more brilliant because I won!!)
So firstly I am offering one of my "BushGlyph" books - single page binding, hand bound, hand embossed with fragments of photographs of my favourite scribbly bark.
Secondly I am offering a set of 7 small blank journals titled "Stormy Rainbows" They are held in their own box, are stitched with waxed linen thread in rainbow colours and the pages are Canson Mi-Teinte - perfect for scribbling in.
And thirdly I am offering some pebble scrabble letters - five words spelt in pebbles.
In order to go in the draw, all you need to do is leave a comment, telling me what you love most about blogging (if you are a blogger) or what you most enjoy if you are commenter not a blogger. Please also say which piece you would like to have ( Number 1, 2 or 3) if you won.
I will choose the winner next Sunday night (Australian time) and am looking forward to hearing from you all!
It seems timely for a give-away based on a series of blog posts to appear around Thanksgiving time. In Australia we don't celebrate or mark Thanksgiving, but because so many connections and friendships have been established through this wonderful world of blogging, I am much more aware of the day and get to think more about what it means to stop, pause and be thankful.
I am always grateful and thankful for the networks of support I have developed with people who blog and with people who comment on my blog. The feedback is a really helpful things along the way. For many artists we live somewhat isolated lives, not able to participate fully in an art-based world because of real jobs, other jobs, other duties and roles. So we often beaver away at home, in our studios, in our spare moments and without exhaustive networks and connections and the time to promote, and publicise, don't always get to show our work in a public way to gauge and get any measure of how it is received.
Blogging has changed all of that for me as I have found kindred spirits who respond to my work, who 'get' my work, who encourage me and often overwhelm me with their kindness. For all of that I am grateful.
So to mark my personal milestone celebration and in the spirit of giving thanks to those who support me, I have decided to offer a give-away where you get to choose which of the offerings you would like if you win. Kim S did this and I thought it was brilliant (even more brilliant because I won!!)
So firstly I am offering one of my "BushGlyph" books - single page binding, hand bound, hand embossed with fragments of photographs of my favourite scribbly bark.
Secondly I am offering a set of 7 small blank journals titled "Stormy Rainbows" They are held in their own box, are stitched with waxed linen thread in rainbow colours and the pages are Canson Mi-Teinte - perfect for scribbling in.
And thirdly I am offering some pebble scrabble letters - five words spelt in pebbles.
In order to go in the draw, all you need to do is leave a comment, telling me what you love most about blogging (if you are a blogger) or what you most enjoy if you are commenter not a blogger. Please also say which piece you would like to have ( Number 1, 2 or 3) if you won.
I will choose the winner next Sunday night (Australian time) and am looking forward to hearing from you all!
Hi Fiona. All those posts!! Congratulations. Please can my name go into the giveaway hat for Stormy rainbows? What I love most about blogging is how it has enabled me to connect with other creative people across the world through the pages we each post. Sometimes I can hear them all cheering me on in my big projects. It's like a big interactive magazine store where you never know what's going to be in the next issue.
ReplyDeletefiona, it's exactly the same for me. making connections outside my small world has opened my life in a wonderful new way. you put it so well, and you seem to juggle your commitments better than i do. does it ever get more managable?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 400 posts! What a milestone! As for what I love most about blogging, that's easy. It's the connections made with kindred spirits, the interaction, the feedback, the knowing that I'm not alone in this... Yes. The connections that otherwise would have been missed. By the way, please add my name to the hat for...oh it's a difficult decision...Stormy Rainbows.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, my turn!! I love blogging for all connections with like minded crazy souls out there in cyber space - nothing better than not having to explain your creative inspirations to the world - synchronicity at its best. No 1 is my fave xoxoxox
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 400 posts! I have quite a way to go yet... What I love about blogging is that is has given me a bit of confidence that people out there *are* interested in what I do. Without the support of the online community don't think I would have taken the plunge and signed up for a degree course (half way through now). And of course, inspiration comes by the bucketload from reading other people's wonderful blogs!
ReplyDeleteI would really like a chance to win no.1 the BushGlyph book - it is beautiful, and I fell in love with the scribbly bark the first time I saw it.
Congrats on reaching this milestone. I went back to your first post and found your entry intriguing - "Welcome to my blog - a place where as a self confessed cartaphile (my made up word for paper-lover), bibliophile and graphyophile (my made up word for lover of writing) I hope to share my love of paper, books and writing; and some happenings in the studio." I think you've achieved your goals and so much more! I follow your blog, and others, faithfully (thank goodness for google reader) because it is my resource for sharing, learning, and understanding. I've 'met' amazing artists, like-minded souls and generally fantastic folks who open their mind to others. To see the evolution of their work is fascinating and inspires my own development. I admire the commitment of bloggers. Thank you for all you're doing and your generosity in sharing. I would be absolutely honored to own a copy of your BushGlyph book. Will you please enter me? Thank you, happy day and please keep us 'posted'!
ReplyDeleteFiona, I don't have a close art circle here in KwaZulu Natal so the blogworld has become my art tribe and I honestly don't know what I would do without you all. Congratulations on 400 posts! Your Stormy Rainbow set is WONDERFUL!
ReplyDeleteStormy rainbows is my choice as well. What I love most about blogging is the journaling aspect of it. It's a visual reminder of where I've been and it's a way to include friends in my artistic and travel journeys.
ReplyDeleteWow, I would love to be included in your drawing for the pebbles. They are so wonderful! I also love to get comments on my blog and feel that connection with other artists traveling through life at high speed, with a bit of creativity always at the fore.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Robyn Fiona, my tribe is scattered over the globe, and without you all I would be less creative...the juices flow when I see and read about the works you are making. BushGlyph makes my heart beat get stronger.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you are in the blogging world.
Fiona, what a generous expression of your thanks! And all the offerings are so special in their own way. I have enjoyed reading your thoughts and sharing your adventures you have posted. It is a wonderful thing this blog world.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 400 posts! That is definitely a milestone to celebrate.
It will be fun to see who will choose each of your gifts. If I had to pick, it would definitely be the "BushGlyph". How lovely and subtle is the beauty of that book.
Jo
oh contain my excitement!!!! Firstly, congrats on your 400th post Fiona and thank you kindly for the link.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love most about blogging... has to be the connections I have made hands down, and no more feeling isolated! I'd LOVE, LOVE, to go into your draw, such a difficult choice! No 3 - I do LOVE the pebbles
Friends, friends, friends, I have met so many wonderful people through blogging that I don't think I could of any other way. Congrats Fiona and the chance to own something of yours would be an extra added bonus and my choice would have to be the BushGlyph book. I love scribbly gum marks.
ReplyDeletex te
I personally love being on both "sides" of blogging, although I am a better reader of blogs than I am a writer on my own blog. Love the inspiration that I find by reading other artists' blogs and also love when you read something that lets you know there is a kindred soul "out there" that feels the same way you do about some aspect of life. I love each of the three gifts you offer as giveaways, and would be thrilled with any of them. If I really have to choose, I guess I would say the "stormy rainbows" or the word pebbles. Hmmmm... guess I did not really make a choice, did I?
ReplyDeleteThank you! Helen
such a generous offer... blogging,we all agree, opens up the world and brings what we enjoy most to our email, to our RSS feed and to our minds, hearts and souls.
ReplyDeletewe learn, think, engage, just read, reach out and dream with an other - sometimes they dont even know it.
i love the first book offer - that something straight from self - those calligraphic marks and ways of seeing ... yum ...
Congratulations >>> Gina
Congratulations Fiona! 400 posts is a terrific achievement.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful and generous pieces you are offering in celebration. I love the scribbly bark markings so much, it is impossible to go past your first book.
As for blogging, without a doubt the best aspect is the sense of community. It seems to be the last space where the old "honesty box" system still operates, generosity abounds and it is often a lot easier to find like-minded souls than in the "real world". I'm very grateful for the blogosphere.
Hi Annie - I love the idea of interactive magazines and the next issue - brilliant!
ReplyDeleteDear Velma - living in small places no longer means we live alone kind of thing doesn't it? There is never enough time for art; but I accept that my work-work gives me many other gifts (like income) and makes me my moments in the studio even more. I think you achieve an amazing amount of quality, interesting and beautiful work "in your spare moments" - but probably like me, the quest for balance continues.
Thanks Jennifer - there is an absolute sense of comfort in discovering I'm not alone in this isn't there? It's quite an astonishing moment or reflection to realise there are folk just like you (but not quite as we're all unique and special) experiencing some of the same things, the same worries, and the same little happy dances!
N- so true. So often synchronicity appears thru these links, and like you I like not having to explain stuff; blogging people have shared experiences or insights I think.
Hi Helen - nice to meet you! I have just had a lovely wander over at your blog - talk about inspiration! I love that we feel inspired and energised by what other folk share and show and I agree that confidence builds in this supportive environment Go well.
Dear Hollis - what a clever thought - to go back to Post 1! I think I have stayed true to that; and am pleased that I have grown and my own voice has become clearer (and less nervous than those early posts!). I think there isa generosity amongst bloggers - sharing ideas, images and progress, its an amazing opportunity to learn form others isn't it - I know I do.
Hi Robyn - I love that Kwazulu Natal and Maleny mountain top seem so close, and that so much creative and supportive energy flows around the world (and flies from fingertips and keyboards!). Who would have thought that technology would become a key to artistic support and endeavour?
Thanks LL/Jan - I too am often struck by the journalling and reflective nature of blogging; of charting progression and advancement and of observing those points where we got stuck and wonder why. It offers so much to us and to others I think.
Hi Jackie - I like your idea of travelling thru life at high speed! So often it feels as if we are whizzing by our studio spaces, our inspirations and our attempts to do something. But if we keep that creative spirit at the fore, we seem to find and make time for it and it renews and energises us.
ReplyDeleteThank you Leslie - I think that sense of energy being multiplied in a way by our ongoing connections and inspirations that appear thru this blogging world is an important one - it refreshes us, keeps us inspired and creative.
Thank You Jo - I have delighted in discovering your blog as well and the beauty within it. I think its a marvel when I sit and think about it that when I am going to bed folk over your way are going to log on, leave a comment and greet me in the morning! Incredible really...Go well.
Hi Kim - yes it's so nice to know we're not alone hey? And to think that keyboards and images keep us connected - fabulous!
Dear Trace - hope you are travelling safely. I really can't envisage how many of us would have met otherwise. I don't go to many arty course/workshops or conferences and even if I did visit a town where folk live - how would I know they were there? Yes, its an exceptional opportunity in the 21st century to be having these connections across the country and the globe - I am thankful.
Hi Helen - It is nice to be on both sides isn't it? I love being able to tell folk when I think they have done something amazing and I love hearing what folk think when I do something. Occasionally there is that wow moment when you think "snap" I think, do, feel exactly the same!
Hello Gina - nice to see you! I agree that there is such an interchange and not all of it is made public or even shared directly with the blogger; we glean so much that gets tucked into our brains and then appears somewhere some other time. But those moments of connection and exchange are priceless.
Thanks Amanda - I love the notion of the honesty box! It fits so well with the spirit of generosity and sharing that I have experienced in this blogging world. And yes somehow, in amongst the million of threads that make up the web; we can find those kindred spirits...go well.
That's a massive number of posts Fiona... congratulations. You have treated us to so much beauty and wisdom along the way. If I was to choose one of your very generous giveaways it would be 'Bush Glyphs' ... a quiet piece, so typical of your work, that would become a treasured reminder of how blogging has brought so many clever people into my life. The network is constantly expanding, and bringing me new ideas, and lots of encouragement. I love it!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your 400th post Fiona! Following the blogs of others has helped me to learn and grow. Having my own blog has encouraged me to try new things in order to have something about which to post! :) Your giveaway items are all wonderful!! I love your lettering and the pebbles.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on 400 wonderful posts. And for the heartfelt and handmade giveaway. Such wonderful items, so hard to choose. But seven is my lucky number, so I'll go with the Stormy Rainbow.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have a blog and had wanted to do reviews of pens, ink, and other art materials as well as show my doodlings and musings, I hit a health speed bump and haven't kept up. What I loved was the sense of connection while unable to travel out in the world. Also, since reading reviews of art materials helped me immensely in finding the "right" media, I wanted to do the same for others. As a commentor, I like being able to offer encouragement and give my 2 cents worth. Thanks!
Thanks Jo - the time seems to have flown really and 400 is quite a number I guess...altho I still feel quite new and fresh about it all! The networks do continue to expand don't they- and we discover new folk serendipitously each week.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane - I agree wholehearedly with the idea that it encourages us to DO something so we can blog about it - its an interesting driver of my art and also the way I see the world now.
Hello Ginigin - thank you for stopping by and commenting. Even with lots of cheap airfares - this blogging world connects me more than travel does! You do have to feel healthy and well to actively blog i think - its a time and personal commitment; hope you find your way back soon. 2 cents and encouragement are always welcome!
What a lovely idea Fiona, a Christmas give-away.
ReplyDeleteBeing a book person your little rainbow books appeal to my calligraphic meanderings and I relate to the bushglyph as I love scribbly gum trees. Have wonderful ‘silly season’. Best wishes Valerie
Fiona as an expat Aussie living in Iceland blogging has helped me to stay connected with family, friends and to make new friends along the way. I too love the journaling aspect of writing plus the inspiration given by reading many other blogs. I am just realising that there is a huge art community out their in blog land and am just starting to make connections.
ReplyDeleteAs an artist/printmaker and an Aussie I can't go past your BushGlyph.
Thank you so much for such an inspiring blog and tumblr.
What a wonderful offer. I just adore the pebbles. I have a delightful windowsill with a long counch alongside it where I can sit and watch the trees, I have little trinkets there and those pebbles would be perfect. LOVE. I love blogging as it opens up other sides of me, puts me in touch with people I'd have otherwise never 'met' or found, and gives me a window into others lives. Thank you for allowing me to see in yours Fiona. :)
ReplyDeleteThank so much Valerie
ReplyDeleteVicki - what a wonderful adventure you are having (I have just popped over to your blog). I'm glad you are finding the many connections out there that bring us all that bit closer. Go well.
Louise - you are welcome! The blogging does act in many ways for us doesn't it and we all get and give so much I think. Thank you.
Congratulations Fiona on all those posts! I think the most amazing thing about blogging is connecting with so many wonderful people from all over the planet. Its like one receives love and encouragement through the either somehow from such kindred spirits (as well said by you!) I love your work, and I love the BushGlyph book.
ReplyDeleteCynthia - thank you for commenting! The blogging connections make us all seem that bit closer don't they? Go well.
ReplyDelete