I’m very happy to report that I’ve finally been able to migrate my writing and images from Typepad to a self-hosted WordPress site. There are drawbacks to this, but so far so good. I’ll be updating the “look” of the site over the next few weeks. I need to make a new banner and determine color choices and what not.

The good thing about all of this is that all of you who read or subscribe shouldn’t need to update your links or anything, it’s still just ComfortableShoesStudio.com 🙂

I could go on  and on about what a pain in the arse this transfer has been, but I’ll digress for now.  I have many opinions on typepad. I’m saddened to leave what was once a great platform, but the new ownership has not made any great strides and has, in my opinion, driven a once great company into the ground.

If you want to take a look at some of my older posts, they are available arranged by month and year to your left, for now. The archives may move. I’m not sure how all of this will be set up when I finally decide on a look.

I’m in the process of moving everything from typepad to WordPress. This has been a pretty easy transition, except for the images, which have been a bit of a pain in the arse.

I’m happy to report that WordPress has a few of the features I’ve been looking for in Typepad- first, I can use my browser’s spell check. Secondly, Android apps for photo sharing AND posting! I’m still able to use Disqus for comments (thought it lost a few of the more recent comments in the transfer.) Images are looking to be a problem. I might lose a great deal of them. I’ve got over 1600 posts, most WITH multiple hi-res images and, as of right now, all those images are linked to Typepad and didn’t import over.  So, I’m looking for a way to import all those images before I cancel my Typepad pro account. My blog will remain on Typepad’s mini format, but I’m unclear how that will look and work.  Right now Typepad mini looks like they have ripped off the code for Tumblr, so it might not work well.

Anyway,

My blog might be down for the next 24 hours or so as I begin the transfer to self hosted WordPress and a better company.

I've been with Typepad for nearly 7 years. In those 7years I've rarely had any extended service outages. In the last 30 days I've had 2. Yesterday's lasted for roughly 18 hours and the previous lasted 2 days. Before that I had a few hour long outages, and maybe the longest lasted 3 or 4 hours. Really nothing.

Anyway, my blog was down because Typepad was attacked by a DDOS attack. Very annoying but the reality is that the site shouldn't have been down for hours from a DDOS attack. in addition to the recent outages, I'm annoyed with other issues with Typepad. They've promised an app for android, for over a year, with no satisfaction. The photo uploading is annoying. I can't use my browser's default spell check (which is much easier to use, especially since I've added specialty words) rather I'm forced to use their un-adaptable and clunky spell check.

There have been few updates and changes to the site to make me want to stay with it any longer. In short I'm breaking up with my blogging platform. Consider us separated while I look at other options.

I'm looking closely at other blogging platforms to find one that works best for me. IF you have one that you use, and like, leave  a comment so I can check it out. (If you have a referral code, leave that too, so if I do go with that option I can get you whatever bonuses you get for referring people.)

Artshecried interviewed me! I'm always amazed when people want to interview me about  art journaling and art. You can read the interview over here.

Soooo. I've decided to go with the discuis system for commenting. You'll need to set up an account but once you do no more annoying code or other crap. I've been using it for other blogs for awhile now and it's much easier to use. Sorry for the hoops but now that typepad offers it, I've decided to start to use it. Now that I've made the change the comments will be down for about 24 hours. Sorry!

Now if they would just get off their collective arses and make an app for android I'd be much happier with them.

Over the years I’ve developed an appreciation for vintage things. The patina that only time and use gives to an object is something I look at and enjoy. I’m not sure exactly when the love of vintage took hold, perhaps it was when I realized that many of the new tools I  purchased were not made as well as things I purchased as a kid, or perhaps it was simply an acquired affinity for the unique patina that only time can bestow. Regardless, I have been acquiring a few simply, low priced objects that are old, and I’ve begun to love. One of these object is the simple bullet pencil.

I purchased my first on eBay, but received it after I received my second purchased bullet pencil.* the first to arrive is a lovely restored chrome plated steel bearing the advertising info for “Collingwood Grain Company.” It’s a dusty blue color with bright chrome and a fresh eraser planted in it’s sturdy ferrule. Inside the old pencil has been replaced with a three inch nubbin of a Palomino Blackwing 602. It’s a lovely piece of American history, that I intend to cart around in my pocket.

The second to arrive is an aluminum barreled “Badger Fertilizer Company” pencil. It arrived unrestored and in need of a little work. the eraser was glazed over, and though I could have simply carved off the glazed exterior, or flipped it, I chose to remove it and use it as a pattern to carve a new eraser. I’ll do a different post about how to do that later. The body of the pencil is in good shape. I merely wiped it down with a damp cloth and the bright red-orange of the advertising was good to go. The aluminum needed no care. Inside I swapped out the dry and brittle pencil with a three inch chunk of regular orange Palomino in H.** The bright orange of the Palomino paint goes very well with the red orange of the Badger logo.

Why do I like these pencils so much? Well, there are times when a pen just won’t do, and in those cases when you look for a pencil, you can have one, in your pocket and ready to go in a moments notice. This low tech and simple solution to being able to carry a sharp pencil in your pocket works remarkably well. A testament to their effectiveness as a tool is shown through the fact that they were an advertising staple from the late 1800’s until about 1980. Their sturdiness is evinced by the fact that so many of them are still around in good condition.

While it is easy to refurbish one of these into a usable and cool tool, there are sellers who sell them already refurbished. This is the easier option. You can also refurbish them yourself. You can find lots of them pretty cheaply on eBay or if you go junking. I found some lots of dirty bullet pencils on etsy as well. Prices range from a buck a pencil to way more. Some of the vintage pencils go for a lot more money if they are of collectible brands. Myself, I looked for interesting colors. I like dusty blue and red-orange. You can also plug in any 3 inch chunk of any regularly sized pencil. I used a serrated knife to cut off a chunk of Palomino.*** (Don’t cry.)  

Anyway, for those of you looking to flesh out an EDAJC**** this is a good way to carry a pencil in your pocket without stabbing yourself in the sensitive bits of your body. It’s compact, lightweight, and adaptable.

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The whole video is worth watching. But #33 is to question stuff constantly, that's at 35.43.

Words to live by.

) 

I wrote a response to a comment a few days ago that sparked a flurry of thought in myself. Sometimes, comments give me a clarity of thought on a topic I’ve been thinking about for a long time. In this case, it’s the concept of permission

In my recent post I wrote about mass marketing hype in art journaling and how it has damaged what was once a small close knit online community. The reason we are seeing a mass marketing boom in art journaling is because people are looking for permission. Permission is a funny thing for us. I think women especially have a hard time giving themselves permission to do things for themselves. Men, seem to have less of an issue with this, but that is a whole other discussion and blog post.* Women seem to have an easier time making scrapbooks rather than art journals. I suspect it’s because scrapping is generally not done about the creator’s life, but of those around her. most of the scrapbooks I’ve seen deal with the creator’s children, family, and friends; rarely are they about the creator herself. Why is it so much easier for women to create about others, but not themselves?

Keeping an art journal/sketchbook/notebook/journal/ etc is, in my mind, a form of self love. When a woman decides to pick up a journal and begin to work in it, explore her ideas, feelings, and record the things that she sees as important well, that in and of itself is a transformative act. It's healing. It's saying to herself "I matter. What I think matters. I matter to me. I hope I matter to the future." Giving oneself hope in our future and weight in our present moment is a hugely powerful statement. This is also a statement that is, often, very difficult to make. We look outside ourselves for validation, for affirmation that we are in fact doing the right thing.

This is why we are so ready to accept permission, in all it’s limitations, from anyone who will give it. ** Companies see this inherent uneasiness in women who want to create, and crave to create, and the need for permission to do so and use that as a tool to sell us shit we don't need. Because we are now bombarded, daily, with ads online for more classes, more tools, more of this and that; it's hard to get past the idea that we don't really need permission and that once we start, we won't want to stop.

What we really need is empowerment, not permission. You might see that as a semantic difference, but frankly, it’s important. When I give you permission to do something, I’m retaining power. I’ve got the control, and I’m not relinquishing it. When I help to empower you, I’m never in control, I’ve handed you your very own steering wheel and said, “It’s all yours.” There is no option for me to take control again.

per·mis·sion   [per-mish-uhn] noun

1. authorization granted to do something; formal consent: to ask permission to leave the room.

2. the act of permitting. (dictionary.com)

em·pow·er   [em-pou-er]  verb (used with object)

1. to give power or authority to; authorize, especially by legal or official means: I empowered my agentto make the deal for me. The local ordinance empowers the board of health to close unsanitary restaurants.

2. to enable or permit: Wealth empowered him to live a comfortable life. (dictionary.com)

Starting an art journal/journal is a powerful first step in taking control of our lives and learning what empowerment feels like.

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I’ve been talking about ruts lately. On facebook, in my journal, with friends. It might surprise you to know that I go through ruts. I think that a rut is the mind’s way of saying, “I need a break from all this thinking, just for now.” Sometimes, a rut lasts a night, or a day, and sometimes you feel like you can’t get out of it. Sometimes you power through it because you have an order and you have to get it done. Some people have few of them, some have more.

Here’s the thing, ruts are okay. And sometimes you have to get help to get out of them. You need a little push. I’ll share with you my favorite “pushes.”

1. I reread Kerri Smith’s book “How to be an Explorer of the World .” Yes, it’s a kid’s  book. It’s one of her first but in my opinion it also one of her best. If I could gift everyone I know with a copy of this book, I would. Get it. read it. Allow it to change how you view the world.
2. I get out one of my small 3.5×5.5 inch notebooks. Either one I made myself, or a Field Notes, Moleskine Cahier, or BanditApple Carnet PeeWee. then I start to fill it. I observe and write. I observe and sketch. It doesn’t matter if the drawings are “good” this notebook is for me, and I fill it full of crappy quickly sketched stuff that I don’t show people. Seriously, the stuff I show you on here, that’s the good stuff. Perhaps the next zine I do should be a full copy of my recent mini journal. If you aren’t inspired to draw anything try the following: bottle caps, beer caps, watch, clock, flashlight, brush, pen, phone, knives, scissors, dollah dollah bills, headphones, books, lighter, ink bottles, camera, stapler, binder clips, chapstick, paint tube, light fixtures, chair, computer, laptop, tablet, etc.. That’s just a quick list of the crap around me right now. Once when I was in a rut I drew used tea bags and stacks of bottle caps. I filled a crappy $5 B&N sketchbook with them. Filled it.
3. I write. If I’m not feeling the art vibe I write. sometimes it’s observations about whatever is around me, sometimes its stories from my past, sometimes it’s stories about now. Occasionally I’ll make up stuff about people I see on the train. I imagine their lives and make up a story about them. More often than not this gets the spark going and I want to draw.
4. I sit down with a couple of my old sketchbooks and art journals and a cup of coffee and look through them all. Feel the pages and think about what was happening when I made them. Generally, this will break me free.

Those are my go to rut pushes.

Generally, I think that ruts are usually formed through events and changes in our life. 9 times out of 10 when someone tells me they are in an artistic rut they have just moved, broken up, lost a parent, or had something else happen. (This is the budding art therapist in me breaking through.) So, I think it’s a good idea that if your rut lasts longer than a month or so that you consider what it is in your life that came before the rut and if perhaps you should talk to someone about it. Joining  a local art class can be enough to help.  I think the important thing here is to know that you aren’t alone in rut-dom. It happens to a lot of people and there are lots of ways out. You can try some of my techniques, seek out someone professional in your area, but know that eventually you’ll reach for that journal again.

With the recent mass marketing hype focused on art journaling I think more and more of us are feeling less and less connected to our journals. What was once a safe place to escape now has the weight of expectations and comparisons with other artists. Where once we shared our pages in online groups with only other art journalers we now have an influx of people who are just starting out and are tryign every brand new product on the market. This has taken a toll on the small,close knit community. there’s a lot of pressure to take a “famous name” mass class at great expense. People are doing art journaling haul videos. While I think all the new products are helpful and fun, it’s hard to remember that to art journal all you really need is a pen and a journal.