04.08.10 Thinking of You

I've been thinking of you, the reader, a lot this morning.  

Well, I do that every time I sit down to blog; "Do I really have anything to share that readers would be interested in? What's just the right balance between verbiage and pictures?  How much time do you have to read, should I edit more?"  Et cetera, ad nauseum.

But today's question is "Who are you, dear reader?

This question arose in the very first day of the Blog Triage Online Class which I signed up for in an effort to bring more vibrancy to my blog.

Perhaps I know you well,  you are a longtime friend.  Perhaps I don't know you at all, this may be the first time you've ever stopped by (Welcome!).

You love animals in general, horses in particular.  

You are curious.  You enjoy learning about the process of creating art, though perhaps you don't have the time nor inclination to make things yourself.

You like to get the inside scoop.  Who doesn't?

You love beautiful objects.  Can't resist holding them in your hands, turning them end over end to feel the surface and study the details.  You love to see how these objects relate to others in a collection.

You find satisfaction in connecting with others in this internet age.  You may be across town from me, or across the planet.  Regardless, you are interested in what life is like out yonder.

If these characteristics somehow don't ring true, please don't click away -- take a minute to tell me more about you!  In the meantime, I'll continue to ponder and wonder about you for the rest of the day as I go check to see how the latest kiln load turned out, clean some greenware, and if I'm lucky, build up more wax on the legs of the new sculpture.

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On the other side of the reader/author equation, Blog Triage instructors Alyson Stanfield, author of the highly motivating ArtBizBlog, and Cynthia Morris of JourneyJuJu.com asked students to think about what I, as a blog author, get out of investing the time to write and illustrate a blog.

Blogging offers an opportunity to practice writing, and through that to explore some ideas, share some news and just in general connect with you, the reader.

I admit that I've always enjoyed writing.  Writing as a craft.  Finding just the right word, the turn of phrase that illuminates an idea in a different way is very satisfying.  To an extent I have writing in my blood.  My father trained as a reporter, then worked as a marketing specialist in heavy industry.  My godmother is still a reporter at my hometown newspaper.  Thanks to this early imprinting, my idea of what I can offer through writing has been more about journalism than being any sort of novelist.  Even today my natural inclination for pleasure reading is non-fiction over novels (thank god for my bookclub gal pals who break me out of my rut!).

I just spent about 45 minutes exploring some ideas that arose at a literary/book club event last night. However, those paragraphs have been pasted into a draft of a completely new blog post.  That happens more than you might think.  I'm not one for much public navel gazing.  But hey, on a Meyers Briggs scale I'm an ISFP, the touchy feely artist type: I angst, I ponder, I mull.  I'm good at it.

I also like to teach and view the blog as a wonderful tool for informal teaching.  Which reminds me, have you had a chance to share your preferences for the general time frame for another Wire to Whinny workshop?  I could really, really use your input, even if you have no plans to travel to a workshop this year, your insights are valuable to me!

There's a poll right here, at this blog: right hand column, third item down.  Please participate. Comments are welcome to!

Okay, so this feels like an uncharacteristically long ramble.  And there are no pictures.  Are you still with me?  Should I edit?

Pondering  ~ Lynn