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Posts tagged ‘blogging’

Jan 1

5 Comments

Happy New Year, Happy Anniversary!

candleWell, our little blog is one year old today. We’ve grown from a single person (me) to a rich community of bloggers, commenters, and silent friends. We had more than 25,975 page views in 2008. We wrote 285 posts and tallied 1,705 comments. In February we started the Monday Page for posting periodic goals and commenting on those goals. On May 1, we launched a weekly creativity contest and since posted 36 weekly prompts. Breakfast, our weekly (now bi-weekly) profile of a creative mother from the blogoshpere, began in June. We’ve since visited with 26 amazing women who are turning their creative dreams into reality.

I’ve made some true friends through this blog this year — women that I think about and care about, every day. I am so grateful for the learning and shared experiences of motherhood and creativity that have materialized through our virtual connection. The inspiration is invaluable. Thank you to all the regulars, as well as to those who pop in on occasion to say hi — and to those who visit with us but prefer to stay anonymous. You are all part of what makes this a special place.

I’d like to give special thanks to Cathy Coley, who unfailingly comments on every post, contributes her own blog post every week, always enters the weekly contest, posts to the Monday Page, and in general serves as a leader in our community. I appreciate everything you do, Cathy!

I look forward to seeing Creative Construction’s continued growth in 2009 — and I can’t wait to see what all of you creative women pull off this year. I hope that your 2009 is full of love, happy and healthy children, and more creative joy than you can even imagine.

Dec 18

7 Comments

Dee: Yes I’m Insane, So What?

My name is Dee Thompson and I am a paralegal and writer in Atlanta, Georgia. I am a single mom to a 17-year-old beauty, Alesia, adopted from Russia in 2004, and my son Michael, age 12, adopted from Kazakhstan in 2007. I spent 20 years dating and never found Mr. Right, so finally I gave up. Now I am much happier because I have my children, and my mother lives with us and helps me a lot. I write The Crab Chronicles and Scribblerchick’s Movie Dish whenever I can — lunch hours, late nights, early mornings — as a way to keep my writing skills and blow off steam. I also want people to read The Crab Chronicles and think that adopting an older child can be a wonderful experience. In addition to blogging, I have written a children’s book called Jack’s New Family, about a boy adopted from Russia and how he adjusts to America, and numerous magazine articles. I have manuscripts about my kids’ adoptions, and I am looking for a publisher. Both my adoptions were pretty unusual. I met Alesia when my choir sang at her orphanage. Before that I’d had no idea I would ever adopt a child. My son is missing his right hand due to a frostbite accident, but he’s a great kid.

When I blog I am sometimes very informative, sometimes funny, and sometimes I just need to vent. Some posts are all three. Here is a recent post, entitled: Yes I’m Insane, So What?

I tried to go to sleep last night and ignore the bizarre beeping that was happening somewhere downstairs all night. Found out this morning it’s a smoke alarm with batteries that are failing. The intermittent beeps are to annoy you until you start screaming and tear your hair out trying to figure out why the beeps are happening and you approach the smoke alarm with a hatchet and a crazed look in your eye and — I digress.

We had a day of epic thunderstorms and tornadoes whipping around middle Georgia. It’s December. We should have SNOW, for crying out loud. Instead, we get thunderstorms. It was so weird driving in this morning feeling like it was July — I didn’t need a coat or even a jacket — and hearing Christmas music on the radio.

I looked at Michael last night and thought OMG, his head is getting bigger. It IS bigger. He takes after me — I have a freakishly large head. Mother looks pained every time she recalls my birth, because I came out looking like a big-headed alien child with bright red hair. The first photo, the newborn photo, shows a tiny creature that looks extremely pissed off, probably because Mother stayed on a diet the whole time she was pregnant and gained less than 20 lbs.

I don’t have any such traumatic birth or infancy memories of Michael, of course, but the head thing really amazes me. He is growing almost 1/2 inch every month, which explains the bigger head. The pediatrician said for boys Michael’s age, normal growth is about 2 inches a year. Mike is growing 3-4 inches a year.

I was on the elevator in the parking garage yesterday and this woman tried to get on, then realized we were going up and stepped back, apologizing to me and the other lady on there. We just nodded. I started at her as the doors closed. She was very tall and skinny, and appeared to be an alien life form. I turned to the other lady in the elevator, though, because I thought, I need confirmation of what I have just seen. “Is it my imagination, or did that woman have the tiniest head you have ever seen?! Good lord!” The other lady nodded and started laughing hysterically.

There’s a guy I see all the time in the parking garage, smoking, and he has a very large head. [In a man, that’s called “leonine.” In a woman, it’s called “a freakishly large head”!] Anyway, I saw him yesterday and thought, if you and the pinhead lady got together — would your child have a normal size head?!

I love this quote: “Insane people are always sure that they are fine. It is only the sane people who are willing to admit that they are crazy.” — Nora Ephron

I am quite willing to admit I am very eccentric. Maybe even crazy, but not in a bad way.

Michael asked me last night while he was brushing his teeth what my favorite movie is. I couldn’t think, so I just said Braveheart. He rolled his eyes, “No, what is your favorite movie that WE DON’T HAVE?!” he demanded. Again, brain fart. “The Color Purple?” I said. He gave me a look of great suspicion. I’m sure he has no idea what The Color Purple even is, but it sounds weird that I like both that AND Braveheart. Finally, duh, it occurred to me that he was thinking about my Christmas gift. I said “Sweetie, we are going shopping this weekend and you can pick out a gift for me, OK? I’ll tell you what I want. Don’t worry about it. I’ll also help you and Alesia pick out something for Granny.”

He gave me a speculative look, like, can I trust you? He reminded me of a cross between Opie Taylor and a very short KGB agent.

I had a dream last night that I was hanging out with Tom Cruise. We weren’t doing anything fun, but I was thinking in my dream, you are so cute but you need to get a CLUE, dude. Quit hanging out with the crazies and get a wife your own age.

As soon as I mentioned this dream at breakfast, Alesia mentioned a dream involving her friend Elena, in which Elena had very long legs and knees oddly positioned. In the dream, Elena was wearing high heels. Her legs looked fabulous except for the knees. This led to a discussion of shoes, and Alesia said Elena wears high heels to school. I must have looked distressed, because I think it’s unwise to wear high heels in a big school — I bet her feet hurt at the end of the day. I detest high heels anyway. Alesia immediately got angry at me and said in her typically infuriated raised voice “Elena can wear high heels IF SHE WANTS TO! You’re not her MOTHER!!” Lately, Alesia gets furious with me every time I disagree with her. She talks VERY LOUD at the slightest provocation. It’s maddening.

It was a loooooong therapy session tonight…

Nov 25

Balancing work and motherhood

heatherIf you haven’t discovered Momversation, hop on over and join the fun. This site features slick video conversations — and a lot of laughs — with notable women from the blogoshpere. Don’t miss Heather Armstrong from Dooce.com lead a video discussion on the perils of navigating work and family life. [Note that the image to the right is not embedded video; you’ll need to click the link above in order to watch the video.]

You might also enjoy the video conversations on surviving the holiday season and how to deal with family members of a different political persuasion, among others.

Heather Armstrong’s blog, Dooce.com, is an internet phenomenon, as reported by the New York Times. Heather has just announced that she’s pregnant with her second child. If you’re not yet familar with Heather’s no-holds-barred blogging style — even when it costs her sponsors — you’re in for a treat.

Sep 25

1 Comment

Inspiration: A Year of Mornings

The photo blog 3191 is a daily pairing of photos taken by two friends, MAV and Steph, who live 3,191 miles apart — one in Portland, OR, and the other in Portland, ME. (Read my previous blog post about this treasure trove). The friends have just published their first book, A Year of Mornings. I received my copy this week and it’s beautiful.

Cathy recently noted that she can pick up just about any book and flip to a random page to find exactly what she needs to read at that moment — and I think this book serves that purpose beautifully. Bravo.

Sep 25

6 Comments

Karen: Intro

Karen Winters headshot

Karen Winters, creative journeyer

I’d like to thank Miranda for welcoming me so warmly to this blog as a co-author.

The topic of fostering creativity is very near and dear to me, and I’ve spent my whole life in some kind of creative profession or pursuit. Art was a first love in my early years, but somehow I got put into the “writer” pigeonhole because I seemed to have an affinity for it. After UCLA grad school in journalism, I went to work for an ad agency as a writer. Somewhere into year six of that career I found I was taking all my vacations to work on documentary projects with my husband, so I made a career change and learned how to produce and write for that medium. Excitement, expeditions and Emmys followed. As time passed and the digital era dawned, I learned how to do computer graphics for our productions, which led to publishing an aftermarket book on Photoshop. By this time the circle had started to close and art was once more a major and beloved part of my life. More time passed and with our children launched into college and careers, I revived my passion in art and I am now a mostly full time fine artist. I’ve taught and managed creative people, mentored others and love to demonstrate and teach whenever I get the opportunity. These days I can most often be found doing plein air painting, being a part of the daily painter movement, studying art or getting ready for shows and competitions. My daily art blog is called A Creative Journey because for me that’s what it’s always been about. It’s not a goal but a never ending journey that brings constant challenge and satisfaction. I love to meet fellow travelers and to learn from and share with others. Thanks for letting me hang my creative hat here.

Jul 15

Betsy: Pitches/submissions wanted for my blogazine

Hi. I’m really happy with how my new blogazine, The BetsyG-Spot, is coming along. I’ve gotten great feedback on the quality of the essays, and I’ve published one wonderful essay by another writer, with another in the queue.

I welcome your pitches/submissions for my site. While I am not currently paying writers, the more readership the site builds the more likely I will be to pay writers in the future.

I take pitches for the Sex in the Suburbs feature. I recommend that you read what’s there already and also take a look at my Submissions page. As you’ll see, I don’t take stories about marital bliss (though I am really happy for you if you have that!), so if you are interested in writing something, dig deep and go somewhere you might not ordinarily go when you think about relationships. The subject doesn’t have to be dark—in fact, I really favor humor—but it does need to be personal and go somewhere unexpected.

The Wheel of Fortune feature is a bit more flexible, and I am willing to look at submissions of any length for it. Topics include Weird Things that Happen (an informal vignette is welcome here from any reader), Mind and Body, Media (reviews, points of view), Getting On (ack…this is really about aging), Nostalgia, and Random…with more topics to come. Really, humor should be at the fore, but a really great, true story or essay about something on the poignant end is also welcome.

In any case, I hope you’ll give it a read and pass it on to others you think might like this type of content. Growing a blog turns out to be a lot of work!

Jun 23

6 Comments

Cathy: Joining the blogosphere

Well, Miranda, you have done it. It’s all your fault.

You’ve inspired me to blog.

When my comments are longer than some blogs I’ve seen, I know you’ve gotten me back in the habit of writing. I am very grateful. I have had ideas coming out of my ears, and much to do with mothering and creativity. Also, I find the more I’m writing — or exorcising the daily drek — the closer I feel to coming back to the projects that need the dust blown off of them. Right now my creative attention span is too short for the novels or screenplays and I don’t feel like researching and organizing and editing forty gazillion old poems. But I know I can do this. And if I blog my way out of the day to day, maybe I can blog my way back into the bigger projects. And it beats sitting down to longhand journal three pages a day by a long shot. Hold a pen and a baby? Not able to read it later. Type one-handed while nursing? Time-consuming, but doable. And I do highly recommend Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way for anyone who can get past chapter 7. Not me. Not yet anyway. Writing Down the Bones is much more my speed. I find it very inspiring, and can read it in snippets. Flip it open anywhere, read a page or two or three, and you’ll likely find exactly what you need to get your writing or other creative juices flowing. Natalie Goldberg rocks!

So, this may be it. The beginning of something new, and the pruning of the paths into my brain toward the neglected novels whose windows are a bit cracked and whose corners are a mite cobwebby.

Another metaphor: I’m at the end of the diving board, bouncing slightly and inhaling deeply, waiting for the splash of cold water in my face.

When I was younger, I had this Emily Dickensonian dream of writing away in my little room, and someone coming across the treasure trove of my words after I’m gone. I’m much more realistic — and less shy — now, with a 13 year old who, like his mother, is ‘too smart for his own good’, a 9.75 year old who is the funniest kid on the planet, but not without his challenges, and a nearly 3 month old, who, of course, is the most beautiful, smartest, strongest, etc. girl ever born. Considering this is what I have to work with, besides getting back into tutoring for viable income in the near future, I gotta start somewhere, catch as catch can. Maybe it’ll help others, like all these creative blogger moms have helped me know I could do it, too.

Besides, dear Miss E D didn’t have the internet, and was a tad weirder even, than I.

Splash! The water’s fine

Jun 19

3 Comments

Online Inspiration: Creative Liberty

Liz Massey is a creativity coach and the blogger behind Creative Liberty, a blog dedicated to fostering creativity across media. Liz offers a bounty of interesting articles related to creativity, including a weekly roundup of creative links (in which Creative Construction has been mentioned a couple of times–thanks, Liz!).

I happened across an interesting piece that Liz wrote on “one-sentence journaling“–the idea being that short and sweet may be just the key to unlocking your creative self.

Perfectionism and over-scheduling are two enemies of creative expression, and one-sentence journaling has the advantage of tackling both of them head-on….While writers may seem to benefit the most from keeping one-sentence journals, it is a handy tool for anyone who finds that recording their ideas on a regular basis leads to creative expression later.

This is an excellent tool for creative people with little time to spare. It’s a great way to stay creative, make a record of the day’s highlight (or downfall) and, quite possibly, retain your sense of humor. To read more about this intriguing technique, read the full article here.

I look forward to continuing a mutually creative relationship with Liz!

Jun 13

6 Comments

Breakfast with Lisa

Welcome to the second installment of our new weekly series, “Breakfast,” where we get to know an inspiring, creative mother from the blogosphere, and be treated to a visual peek into her creative space. Meet Lisa Leonard, a self-taught jewelry designer, blogger, and mother of two boys, ages 4 and 5. Lisa’s customized jewelry is fresh, inspired, and hard to resist. Hand-stamped sterling? Love it. (Hey, if I order the “tiny squares” necklace I’ve been drooling over, can I write that off as some kind of blog-related business expense?)

CC: Please introduce yourself!Lisa Leonard
LL: I am Lisa, most of all wife and mommy, but also a sister, daughter, and friend. I love to create things that are unique and special, something that will touch your heart.

CC: How did you become a jewelry maker? What else do you enjoy creatively?
LL: I started my jewelry business after my first son was born. Over the last 5+ years it has changed in many ways. It has grown beyond my expectations, which has been so exciting and also a bit scary! My designs have also changed and evolved. I also love to take pictures, do crafts with my boys, and decorate.

CC: What inspired you to launch a blog?
LL: My sister started blogging and it seemed like such a great outlet for creativity and keeping in touch with friends. I have been surprised how many new friends I have made through blogging and what a connection it has been.

lisa_spaceCC: Where do you do your creative work?
LL: I work from home and it is certainly nothing fancy! I started the business so I could be close to my boys, so working from the kitchen table [click on photo for larger image] or kitchen counter make the most sense.

CC: What do you struggle with most?
LL: Balance is always a challenge. I thought working from home would be perfect, but then I starting feeling pulled between the boys and the mountains of work to be done. After a major meltdown I realized I needed help. At first I thought about hiring a sitter, but that meant less time with the boys. So I hired someone to help with the business. It was hard to let go, but it has been great for my sanity and for the business.lisa_leonard_necklace

CC: Where do you find inspiration?
LL: I feel like inspiration hits me all the time! It can come from other artists, such as painters, seamstresses, or poets. It often comes from nature…shells, sand, blue sky, or trees. Sometimes it comes from random things like the light through a window or two colors next to each other.

CC: What are your top 5 favorite blogs?
LL: I love: Tara Whitney, Sarah Markley, SouleMama, Flip Flops and Applesauce, and Bling.

CC: What is your greatest indulgence?
LL: Man, I love a good pedicure. I get a couple every month and it’s my guilty pleasure. I also love time with my girlfriends, watching movies, reading magazines, sitting in the sun, and a gooey chocolate chip cookie.

CC: If you were having coffee with a mother of young children who wanted desperately to fit more creativity into her life, what advice would you offer?
LL: Have fun with it! Start small and let it grow. Find something you love and do it a little every day. Always think of ways to make it more yours and more unique.

CC: Thanks, Lisa!

Jun 12

2 Comments

Online Inspiration: 3191

There is so much artful inspiration in the blogosphere–it’s hard to avoid the occasional eye-candy bender, surfing for the better part of a whole day hour. A few weeks ago I discovered the blog 3191, and I’ve been addicted ever since.

The photo blog 3191 is a daily pairing of photos taken by two friends, MAV and Steph, who live 3,191 miles apart–one in Portland, OR, and the other in Portland, ME. The unplanned photo pairings often have a fascinating relationship of color, form, texture, shape, or evocation–always interesting to explore. The duo spent 2007 creating A Year of Mornings with this online “conversation,” which will be published as a book by Princeton Architectural Press in fall 2008. (I confess, I pre-ordered a copy at amazon.com.)

Now the two friends are working on their nightly pairings for A Year of Evenings. Add this blog to your regular travels if you haven’t already–you’ll eagerly anticipate your daily dose. (And don’t miss walking beside these creative women for a day by reading their Dailies at Design for Mankind. GREAT stuff.)

3191 is all about the beauty of everyday life–relevant art that reminds us to move a little slower and look a little closer. I’m so enamored of this photo pairing idea that I’m thinking of borrowing the concept, just for my own enjoyment. Who can resist?

May 29

10 Comments

Online Inspiration: Design for Mankind

Periodically, we post reviews of online sources of inspiration: websites and blogs that encourage creativity and connect creative souls. If you’d like to suggest a favorite site for a future profile, please e-mail your pick to creativereality@live.com.

erinSometimes you meet someone online who is so obviously cool that you wish you could sit down and have a latte together posthaste. That’s how I felt when Erin Loechner responded to my profile request. I’d stumbled across Erin’s blog, Design for Mankind (via a post at Creative Every Day) and was blown away by her beautiful, free eZine, Inspiration. Both publications are appealing explorations of creativity and creative people.

Erin describes herself as “a 24-year-old Midwesterner living in Los Angeles with a passion for reading, writing and [not] arithmetic.” (OK, so if I was 24, artsy, and living stroller-free in LA, I might have a shot at being cool too…hey, a girl can fantasize, right??) Erin may be younger than many of this blog’s regular readers, but you’ll find plenty of inspiration in her blog and work. Here’s what Erin has to say about her creative life.

CC: What led to the creation of your blog?
EL: I began Design for Mankind almost a year ago for absolutely selfish reasons. Living in LA has its perks, but community is one thing that I had struggled with. It was so difficult to meet like-minded people when I spent the majority of my day plugging away at an ad agency and spending time with my husband at night. I’ve always been a blogger (I started a personal blog in 2001), so I thought I’d channel my love for art and design and seek to build a community of individuals in need of inspiration [much like myself!]. The blog has grown immensely from there, and I’m so grateful to my readers for its success!

CC: And how about the eZine?inspiration
EL: The eZine was one of those light-bulb moments. Last December I was finding very little inspiration in print and was discouraged—after all, as fantastic as the web is, I love something tangible to flip through and make notes on. My magazines just weren’t doing the trick anymore and I wanted to know more about what “normal” people were like, rather than executive editors of million-dollar corporations.

The eZine launched in January of 2008 with a glance at the inspiration boards of various artists/designers and has since grown into a monthly topic to ponder and be inspired from. It has been an incredible tool in meeting new and creative individuals and has been such a fun project for me to work on. I’m excited for the coming months, as the eZine has been shaping itself into a very powerful gift. I can’t wait to see how it grows!

CC: With a fulltime job and a marriage, where do you find time for creativity?
EL: Ahhh, precisely my dilemma. I recently resigned from my position (in April, actually!) and am now a full-time blogger. I found that I was encouraging so many of my readers to take time out for creativity and wasn’t practicing what I preached. Thankfully, my advertisements will supplement my income for now (I live very simply).

CC: What are your personal creative projects (aside from the blog)?
EL: I’m learning to illustrate! It’s such an exciting experience, really. I know nothing of how to create art and am not a very crafty person, but am so inspired by artists like AshleyG and Keri Smith who have found their own way to create something beautiful.

CC: How do you organize (share) the Dailies on your blog?
EL: I like to keep the Dailies well-rounded and offer a peek into the lives of bloggers/artists/designers that are very well known (Irene from Bloesem, Victoria from SFGirlbyBay, Mav from Port2Port Press, Stephanie Congdon Barnes, Lisa Solomon, and the like). But, I always balance that out with those smaller folk who I feel should have a light shed onto their work. I featured Vic from Lost today (a fantastic Aussie blog) as a tribute to hard-working bloggers who feature great content and aren’t always given credit for that.

CC: What do you do in terms of marketing/promotion for your blog (if anything)?
EL: You know, I’m actually not so good at this part. I’m a natural socialite, so I love commenting on other bloggers’ posts, and I think that sort of established relationship does the marketing for itself. I’d hate to “use” other blogs to self-promote Design for Mankind, so I like to keep things solely based on friendships and not so much on the PR side of things. I’m a firm believer that things will unravel the way they are meant to, and I try to let nature run its course on the blog—whichever direction that may be!

CC: How do you find all the cool people, resources, and things you write about? (Or do you just know ALL the cool people online due to your natural coolness??)
EL: Ha. You’re sweet! I’m a digger. I LOVE research and find new artists in the most unexpected places. A good rule of thumb for me is to ALWAYS check out links from other artists/designers’ sites. Chances are, if you love the artist, you’ll love their friends.

CC: How is your Etsy store doing?
EL: Eh. It’s OK. I don’t pay much attention to it, to be honest. The posters were something that came from a few readers requesting a copy of a graphic I had designed for the second issue of the eZine. I wanted to make them available for everyone, so the Etsy store was the easiest solution. It’s been a learning experience—I’ve lost a bit of money in the process, but you’ll have that. The main thing I like to keep in mind is that inspiration begets inspiration, so the act of producing something tangible and offering it to a wider audience can only come full circle!

CC: Great to meet you, Erin–thanks for the inspiration!

May 16

Betsy: Productive turnabout

I’ve had a huge turnabout since I last posted (which was a while ago) that I am pretty excited about. I think one major trigger for this turnabout has been the writing Fridays I have been spending with Miranda. The other trigger is that I am not working as much, which is why I have time for “writing Fridays.”

I have always had a hard time writing for myself when my job is writing for others. It just doesn’t leave much writing brainspace, if you know what I mean. So I’m glad, in a way, I’ve been a bit short on work so I can focus on some personal writing projects, as I’ve been meaning to for the last several years when I’ve had to work full-time.

My current project definitely got its kickoff when Miranda and I got together for writing. While we do spend some time gabbing, for the most part we are both working intently. I like having a place to go and a “co-worker” in the room. It is a highly productive time.

In any case, I have written a ton and am really excited about getting my new blog off the ground. It is taking up pretty much every minute of my time (I don’t really have time to write this…PhotoShop calls…), but I look forward every day to doing the work, whether it’s writing, designing the page, or dealing with some of the technical issues.

And now, knocking water pipes call… (What is that about?)

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