My First Blog

I never thought I would have a blog. I've always viewed blogs as a way for people to just spout off what they were thinking about, a way for them to complain or to gloat about what they were seeing, feeling or doing. This to me always seemed extremely self serving and useless.

That was until I was laid off and have more time to think about what a blog can be. A blog, if properly directed, can be an extremely useful tool for those who want to learn from each other, share their ideas and knowledge. Most likely I hadn't thought about this before because I was always too busy to bother checking out (self-centered, non-thought provoking) blogs. So I'm sure I was totally off base about them in the first place. I guess that just goes to show that my own prejudice prevented me from exploring a land I should have explored long ago.

All that said, here is my blog. A place of participation. A gallery of practical advice and interesting ideas. I am not an expert on this by any means. I am not here to tell you everything you need to know. In fact, I don't know if I'm doing this right in the first place - right now some of you may think I've chosen the wrong format, or that the whole idea is crap. I'm not going to argue, you may be right. But I can't know that until I learn more about it.

I should qualify that this blog is intended to be geared towards those working, or wanting to work, in the Arts. Any arts will do: fine arts, craft, woodworking, theater, dance...they're all connected and inspired by each other. This is not a place to find fixes for your love-life or how to get rid of the crab-grass in your yard. This is also not a place to plug your new show or spout off about what sucks in your life. This is a place to ask questions and share answers. To uplift each others spirits by offering encouraging advice and know-how.

So, go ahead, ask a question and let it roll from there (can I do that? just let it roll? start splinters where appropriate? that's my understanding). I must warn you that if you ask right at this moment few will see it since no one even knows yet that this has begun. But, give it some time, pass it on to anyone you know who would appreciate it and eventually we'll have a community.

I suppose I should start a conversation...

Let's start with my question: Do you have a blog and how do you use it?