There are a few things we can be certain of in this world. We have all heard the saying that “the only thing that we can be sure of is death and taxes”, but as I get older, I find that something in that quote was left out… change.
While some of us are uncomfortable with change, others thrive on it. I am not sure where my feelings lie in this equation, but I think they are somewhere in the middle.
Change can be scary, as many times change is accompanied by the ‘unknown’. But without change, there is no room for growth and improvement, and I would rather experience the discomfort than live my life in a state of stagnation. How terrible that would be!
From another perspective, change can be a very useful tool to get us through circumstances that are not optimal at the time. When I am feeling frustrated and 'stuck’ in a certain situation, I find comfort in telling myself that things won’t always be the same, and that change is inevitable and will eventually occur. It really does help.
I have been blogging on a nearly daily basis for just about six years now. I began my blog at the Lumberjocks.com website some 1700+ posts ago. It had never occurred to me to create a blog. Who would be interested in my thoughts and rambling ideas anyway? But there was interest and over the years I have developed a nice little following of other creative people who say I help inspire them and who inspire me as well. What began as something that I wanted to do to help expand and promote my business, soon became a daily habit and I have met and befriended countless other creative people who have the same desires to make things as I have. It has been mutually beneficial and I believe helps me focus much better and as a result of it, has helped me tremendously. I am very happy in the decision to try it.
Over the years, I have seen a change in my posts. Initially, I focused mainly on woodworking and designing patterns for the scroll saw, as that was my main focus for my work. But through time and growth, I have embraced many forms of creativity and as a result of that, I have gained followers from many different creative avenues. This is wonderful to me, as I find that those who are creative rarely tunnel themselves into one form of craft. Most people try this and that and there are several aspects of crafts that bleed over to other areas. There truly are no boundaries. It opens an entire world to us all.
Because of this, several years ago I decided to branch out and publish my blog in several places. I learned how to do so on my own site, and besides sharing it to the original host on Lumberjocks, I also post to Facebook, Twitter, G+, and Pinterest. By expanding it into those venues, I also have been able to expand my audience, learn new techniques and make new creative friends. This all leads to some wonderfully positive results in my own designing.
As our little company continues to grow, it also is constantly changing. I like to look at it in the same way that I view my life – a kaleidoscope of ever-changing shapes and patterns. I like that analogy because a kaleidoscope uses the same elements and rearranges them in endless beautiful patterns. It reminds me that we don’t always need MORE to make positive changes in our lives, but sometimes just reorganizing our priorities and making changes within is enough to improve things.
With that all being said, I have made a couple of changes to my blog here that I hope you will like.
The first change I did a couple of days ago, and I found it amusing that only one person mentioned it to me. (Perhaps my following isn’t what I think it is after all! ) The former title focused on scroll saw patterns, but since then I have branched out into so many other things, I thought it made sense to change the title to something more encompassing. Not only will it attract a wider audience, but also is more true to the content of the posts that I make. It is better all around.
Another change I am making is that I decided to also post my blog on WordPress. I had several of my customers mention to me that my blog was difficult to read from my site on some of their devices. Since our site is on a template, it is not easy to override some of the features and it makes it hard to change things. This seemed to be a good answer. WordPress is well-liked by many of my colleagues and offers such features (as subscribing to new posts and instant notification for me when someone comments) that I my site here doesn’t offer. I posted the first blog there yesterday and I already heard that the blog looked much better on devices. I think it will be a good additional platform, and while I will still be posting here, I invite you to check it out and perhaps subscribe to my new posts. My name on WordPress is Sheila Landry Designs and you can follow the link HERE to my home page there. I will be spending part of the weekend filling in the information and familiarizing myself with the formatting. Thank you for being patient with me. I would love to hear your feedback on it when I get settled in.
On the creative front, I am going to be working on my watercolor design that I am doing for an online class. I got started yesterday and I am happy with the result so far. Here is a little 'teaser’ for you to see:
I promise more by Monday.
Finally for today, I want you to be aware of a wonderful artist that I discovered through my travels. His name is Jason Morgan and he does spectacular work in drawing, painting and photography. I have watched many of his videos on YouTube and purchased several technique books. I love his teaching style and like many artists, he loves to share his love of creating.
Every Friday, Jason offers a new set of photos that he calls “Free Friday Photos” for our own use. Unlike most photographs, these are intended for us to use to create from and SELL our resulting creations – completely cost free. The only limits of use on the photos are that they cannot be sold as photos. This is most generous, and when you see Jason’s talent you will understand how amazing he is. He is truly an asset to the art community on so many levels.
Today Jason has an offer of a new CD he created (that is also available as an instant digital download) that contains 100 beautiful wildlife photos for anyone to use in their art. This would include those of you who scroll saw and are always searching for beautiful, quality reference photos that are truly available to use without additional cost for your creations. He is generously offering the new D at half price for a limited time! Jason talks about it in his latest YouTube Video here. You should stop by and see some of his work and tutorials. His site link is here: Jason Morgan . I hope you stop by and see his astonishing work and show him support. It is artists like this that not only encourage other artists, but make our world a more beautiful place.
Well, that is about all for today. I hope that you all have a great weekend. I have a busy one planned as usual and I hope to accomplish a lot.
Enjoy what life has to offer you! If things aren’t going well, remember that change is just around the corner.
via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/143582425929
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