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| "Hey, Coconut, Mon!" 18x24 mixed-media on canvas |
We’re all eager to start them. We want our own public space in the sun to share
our personal trivia or our hopes and dreams. Millions of blogs attest to that
fact. But what happens when the enthusiasm fades, a blogger moves to another
space, or just leaves his or her audience hanging as weeks turn into months and
months into years?
We have clogged search engines and the skeletal remains
of countless blogs hanging in the pathways of cyberspace. I was amazed as I
searched for viable art blogs how many of them have not been updated in months;
some for more than three to five years!
Amongst the casualties were new mother blogs, created by
first time mothers who wanted to share the miracle of birth and their amazing
adventure into motherhood. Others wanted to share a wonderful vacation with
humorous stories and full-color photos. But when the vacation excitement
fizzled, the dazzle of motherhood wore off, so did the blog.
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| "Day Dreams" 9x12 oil on canvas (SOLD) Prints Available |
Many blogs are started with good intentions, but they
fail miserably when the blogger realizes there is no substance. There are no long-term goals. There was a beginning, but no ending. The
blogger had no vision for the purpose of his or her blog or the discipline to finish
it.
Clanking around this wasteland, I still found some good
information, an interesting fact or two; but it required an investment of time to find that juicy fruit, that bright star among the scattered bones of defeat. Some bloggers move frequently from space to space,
leaving their old blogs behind like bread crumbs to lead their followers back
home. Some links failed, leading me on a wild goose chase.
With all the apps and gizmos out there, I sometimes have difficulty uploading my
own updates, especially in the evening hours. The large sites like Facebook and
Twitter become unpredictable, and double tweets or failed tweets happen on occasion.
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| "Playing Dress-Up" 16x20 mixed media on canvas |
Abandoned bytes and cyber debris join other waste
materials in the heavens. Our Satellite Station over the years has dropped scraps and
junk that still circles the globe endlessly polluting the atmosphere. Our oceans are
filled with garbage and the ghostly remains of plastic bags. Japan’s Tsunami debris floats around the globe, butting up against foreign shores and introducing them to alien species.
Our “throw away” society continues to add to our mountain
of debt and our growing landfill piles. Wouldn’t it be great if someone would
find a way to clean up this wasted space or manufacture things that would
last? If our economy is so bad, why do so many people throw thousands of pounds
of food in the trash each year? Solutions not rhetoric is what we need.
Suggestions anyone?
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| "With These Hands, Wonder" oil on 18x24 canvas |
We have to recycle our food waste here in Monmouthshire - and I wish we didn't! I'm not one to waste food but I do eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and storing their peels etc for the weekly collection gives rise to flies and goodness knows what else!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that the recycling programs really help when you think of all the resources involved in transporting and processing it. But I do agree that I wish more products were manufactured in a way so that they could be repaired, instead of so many things having to be thrown away when they go wrong! Apart from anything else, it would give jobs to people with the know-how to do repairs. I once employed a brilliant handyman who had lost his job when small electrical goods, such as irons and toasters became 'disposable'.
Here in Florida, we were disappointed to find they were burning in landfills what we had carefully sorted. I wonder if governments are playing us?
ReplyDeleteMany people mulch their food waste with grass clippings underground. I'd still worry about rodents.
I think all new bloggers should br told 'PPO':- Persistence Pays Off. Write it (if anyone does write these days) on a sticker and remind yourself that you and your blog will ultimately make an impression one person at a time. What an excellent article.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Neil. I noticed that many of the first-time bloggers don't even have a place to comment or to join so they don't think anyone is reading their blog and they give up!
DeleteSerious blogs should make it easy for their readers to find them and to interact with them.
Carol, congratulations on your artwork titled "With These Hands, Wonder" making the August 2012 cover of Natural Awakenings. This magazine is delivered to my studio, and when I saw the cover, I was immediately drawn to it because of the vibrant colors.
ReplyDeleteThat was so exciting to hear! The paper they use in Natural Awakenings doesn't do the painting justice, but it does a good job of advertising. So nice to hear you saw it there. Thanks for telling me!
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