I'm having so much fun creating stuff and writing for this blog. Each week I discover something new about myself, about the creative process, about my community, about how much I don't know.
The folks that offer hosting sites, have spent their time and efforts to make it easy for folks like me to have an outlet. So, getting started and setting up this blog was fairly easy. As I make tours around the internet, I noticed other people's blogs. I quickly developed a case of blog envy. I wanted a cool looking blog. At very least a banner with some visuals. My project this week was to achieve this. How? I could easily have asked my husband to just do this for me or any number of people I know. I didn't want to do this. I wanted create this for myself. I soon discovered that there is, once again, a ton of information and "how to dos" out their on the internet. Lots of free information, lots of free downloads, lots and lots and lots. My mind started spinning, I suddenly didn't want to do this. Why? They all make it look so simple. Follow these steps and bingo! Here's your new pimped out blog!
I kept telling myself this is just another creative project. What's the deal here? I was expressing some of my fears to a friend of mine and an insight came to me. This is a totally new way of creating for me. Now I'm not afraid of other new mediums. In fact, I embrace them. Why is this different? Well, it's not hands on. It's mind on. I can not effect, or at least I don't know how to effect, the creative outcome with my hands. For me this computer creative process takes a lot of thinking, learning a new language as well as a new medium, and it all comes from my mind. My hands weren't in charge here, they were along for the ride. I can't take in a seam here or pull a thread there to make this work. Or could I? Sure I could. I just had to learn which "threads" and "seams" I would need to alter in cyberspace to get the creative end product I wanted.
I went back to the internet. Did some more research and when I got to a place I didn't know what to do...that's when I ask for help from my husband, Broadside. He showed me what "threads" and "seams" to work with to get my result. In doing this, I also realized that I could get my mind and hands to work together.
And my creativity, intuition and intelligence as well. Just like all my other projects! Yay! Silly me.
I didn't want to total re-vamp the blog. I just wanted to enhance it a bit. And I wanted to keep the polka dots.
The thing about Polka Dots for me.
As long as I can remember, polka dots have represented people to me. I remember as a kid looking at a piece of polka dot fabric and thinking about people coming together. Standing side by side. When I wore a garment made out of polka dot fabric, I felt this odd sense of protection. Like all the people, past and present were standing side by side to protect me and guide me.
So, when I saw the template for the blog background and it had polka dots...that was it for me. It represented the campaign. I saw all sorts of people standing side by side expressing their creativity to assist us all to move forward and create something good. That meant any element I added to this new "pimped up" blog would have to have polka dot something. My new banner does, and it has a sewing element as well, 'cause that's me most days.
Once I got comfortable with this new creative medium, it was difficult not to go over board. That's not to say it might happen down the road, but for now, I'll keep my blog looking like it does. I don't know if it will ever be the source of "blog envy" for anyone, that's not my point. I do know there are folks that are enjoying what I'm doing and are doing their own creative thing. And for me that's right on the dot.
Until next week...create to feel great! 15 projects complete 37 to go! Whee!
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