10/07/2005: "We all fall short..."

I got an email last night, it wasn't mean spirited or anything but it did say at one point "for an artist blog, you sure don't talk about art very much"...

hmmmm

I didn't know how to take that. In my defense, this is an *artist* blog, not an *art* blog so my focus is not about art criticism but about ME ME ME, the artist. And as any artist can tell you, there are times when the mind is alive with a thousand ideas and it's all you can think (and write) about night and day...and then there are times when the mind is as blank as the white canvas staring you down over your morning Cheerios.

Then said artist is forced to write about bullshit like fortune cookie logic, bear break-ins, and political shenanigans. But one of these days I'll be back, talking about paint fumes, the importance of good lighting, and how sometimes you need to set an egg timer to remind yourself to take a pee break when you're *really* into a painting...which will bore an entirely new set of readers.

Oh, and as far as talking more about other people's art is concerned, the *one and only* time I've ever said anything negative about another artist (Rah Crawford) he responded...made me feel bad...and I realized that I probably don't know what I'm talking about so in many cases I should just keep my big mouth shut!

Replies: 9 Comments

on Friday, October 7th, dave from Nebraska said

I enjoy your blog.
I think many folks out there in cyberspace do. It's not ONLY the art but the artist that we enjoy reading about.
I think part of your art is your journal.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions. On art or anything.
Thanks for keeping us entertained and occupied.
DING!
Gotta go..

on Friday, October 7th, Dio said

Well, its not like your forcing them to read it - maybe if they want a full-on art blog they should take the time and effort to make one themselves.

There's no pleasing some people. Its not like you charge entry or anything. :crazy:

on Friday, October 7th, Howard said

Blogs are whatever you want them to be. Artist do do other things besides creating art all the time. There's all kinds of Art blogs out there. Written all kinds of different ways.

on Friday, October 7th, Elise said

Was that DING! the sound of the buzzer going off for your famous spicy chocolate chip cookies Dave?

And there are a lot of excellent art blogs out there already doing a much better job than I ever could....I mean, let's face it, there are hundreds of thousands of blogs out there on all kinds of topics, nobody is forcing any of us to read them!

and Howard, maybe this guy would feel better if I renamed my blog...instead of "Artist Blog" I could call it something more accurate, like "Boring Alaskan Woman's Blog" or "Wannabe Artist's Somewhat Artsy Blog"...

any other suggestions?

on Friday, October 7th, holly said

If you renamed it "Boring Alaskan Woman's Blog" you could call it B.A.W.B for short: Bawb Blog (kinda like Bob Dog from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood). OK, I've not been getting out much lately. Never mind.

I get highly irritated with (among other things) people who make requests or suggestions about what I should or should not write about. I live, eat, and breathe art history, why should I feel compelled to write about it on my blog that I paid for? Can I take a break from my job? I have no idea what my "niche" is with my blog and I don't care what people think about it. It's mine.

As far as your blog, Elise, I love the variety. It's a journal, you're an interesting person with a lot of diverse interests, one of which happens to be art. If you limit yourself to that single interest, I don't think your blog would be nearly as interesting and I don't think you would be as...hmm..."real" (is that the right word?) to your readers who don't know you in real life.

People make me want to bash my head against a wall sometimes. Excuse me, I meant to say "bash THEIR heads against the wall." ;) :winky:

on Friday, October 7th, Elise said

I know, it's silly right? I think his comments were well intended but it is strange to me that anyone have expectations of another person's (who is a total stranger to them) blog...nothing personal but go get yer own blog mate!

And Holly, I'm glad that you don't just write about art history (though I like that too...) because you're always finding such strange shit. Seriously.

oh, and I see that winky is back, that's intentional this time right?
;)

on Saturday, October 8th, ann said

As long as what you write makes YOU happy.

on Saturday, October 8th, RR said

I love reading your blog. I can't understand anyone suggesting to someone else that what's written isn't what they want to read. If they don't want to read it what is the point in insulting the writer by suggesting they got it wrong! I love the mix of art and real life in your blog Elise. It's a fascinating insight into the life of an artist - your also the only person I know in Alaska and I think that's pretty cool :)

on Saturday, October 8th, Elise said

Is this happy? I'm so screwed!

just kidding Ann, I agree actually!

And RR, I love seeing your art and hearing about events going on in Scottland, you're the only person I know there as well...oh, plus there's Dio in Wales and Mick in Cornwall so now all I need is someone from Northern Ireland and I'll have a full UK set!
:)

That's what I should do, instead of a tradional blog roll type links list, I should make an interactive map with links to all the blogs I love marked on it.

I can think of a host of pointless things to do when I can't paint...if anyone else would like some random ideas just let me know.