Diane Clancy's Art Blog

This painting is practicing Wabi-Sabi as is talked about in Neda Doany’s blog here and here again. Irene commented on the progression on this image over the last couple of days as being related to the idea of change and impermanence being part of life.

Cirque du Soleil Dancers, Digital © Diane Clancy

I feel very delighted that Irene would think that “apparently you have no angst of becoming in the process of growing into some more.” Not true but perhaps I am making progress on my own self and being and creating. This blog, the blogosphere and the support of you fantastic bloggers has moved me ahead in my own creative process to take more risks and be more relaxed in showing work that I haven’t honed and tweaked within an inch of its life.

It is nurturing a playfulness and enjoyment and sharing with others that hasn’t always been true for me around art. In the several art classes I took years ago it was more true for me – we had to produce, produce and produce. And I got some good paintings out of the whole process.

In a way blogging is like that for me – I have a community that I feel a responsibility to create new paintings for. It is a stretching myself for me and my art but also for you – it is very useful to me.

How is it for you?

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Wabi-Sabi, impermanence, blogosphere, playfulness, community, creative process

Doing some work for a client, I have learned a lot of new technical things today about working on the web. WordPress feels pretty familiar to me and regular website work is something I have done for years. I think I am in the process of learning about content management systems. But I am not sure yet what it is I am dealing with!

Emanate I, Digital © Diane Clancy

I am backing up some files for someone, and the whole system is very different from what I have ever seen before. So, something to learn! I have been wanting to know more about this content management thing, and I think I am on that journey.

Thank goodness I know something about Blogger and WordPress! It is amazing how every hosting system seems to be so so different. Just like most of life I suppose. Once again I have jumped in and I am not sure exactly what I am dealing with … it seemed a simple request. Even the ftp is weird!

But I feel sure that I know enough that I will be able to figure it all out.  Hope you enjoy this weekend. Oh, oh, oh – I got an Etsy order today – I am thrilled!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: client, WordPress, content management systems, Blogger, Etsy

How are you doing today – and what is on your mind? I am getting ready to get back into marketing mode. I want to go to CafePress and start a store and buy a few things (of mine) to see what the quality is like. I think that is one of the next steps for me.

Expansion, Digital © Diane Clancy

Also, I want to develop this mini-business of my “Fanciful Animal Images.” I think I might do a website just for these images. I have been reading Chris O’Byrne‘s book that he has been telling us about over on Online Arts Marketing. A lot of what he says makes sense … and I have been thinking about developing this aspect of my business a little separately since he posted some comments on this blog.

By the way, the search function searches everything if you ever want to find out what I (and others) wrote about different topics. It searches tags and comments besides the posts.

Hopefully, tomorrow I will get back to the other business card also. Thank you again to everyone for being part of this community we all have together!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: CafePress, Fanciful Animal Images, Chris O’Byrne, search, business card, onlineartsmarketing

With a tip of the hat to Robert Frost, I wanted to share with you “The Blog Not Taken” – in case you didn’t visit when it was up and running. So I have a simpler interface, one I am happy enough with, and I hope you like it too. I tried to get the titles more vertically centered in the sidebars, but nothing worked that I tried .. so I made the bars narrower. So good – this piece is done – and thank you for all your help and patience.

The Blog Not Taken, © Diane Clancy

I do like the “About Me” on the top of the left bar on this “blog not taken,” but I spent (wasted?) a couple of hours trying to figure out how to do it. I couldn’t find simple code for it. That may be a future upgrade.  But a simple one. I would like to get the last line higher up in the header, but I think that is not going to happen. So, let’s enjoy this evening and I hope everyone had a great weekend! Thank you,

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: blog, theme

Today I made a lot of progress on redoing the theme for the blog. I am fairly pleased with how it looks now. Clearly, yesterday my question was not clear – Today’s question is “How do you like the way this blog looks now?”

Peeking Through, Digital © Diane Clancy

Two things remain that bug me – 1) trying to get rid of the underline on the links under “Diane” (on Firefox anyway) and 2) that yellow-green that loads up under the header. I have wasted a lot of time trying to get rid of that. I might ask the person who made this theme how to do it.

Susan has run into problems looking at the blog at work – it is too wide for their screen. I tried to use a “theme-switcher” so you could choose 2 or 3 columns, but I couldn’t get it to work. It is a WordPress plugin that did not work for me.

Thank you again for all your patience. So, it this good? Too bright? I am much happier with the header now.

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: theme, blog, WordPress

At least eventually I know when to stop and reassess. This is what I had decided to go do – keep a lot of the feel from my original blog theme (see post below). I thought it would look great to have a smaller header and have my links that I like so so much at the top. I struggled technically – but that is not why I stopped.

Diane’s Direction Now Abandoned, Digital © Diane Clancy

All of a sudden, I realized that the changes in the colors that I had made in the sidebar headers were not there. I had originally changed to that fluorescent blue, but then changed them to this blue. I guess I forgot to upload the more subdued blue – so that was part of what was bothering me so much – and I think it was what bothered Chris too – but I am eager to hear from him what he says. Once I changed the header bars to the color I like, then all of a sudden I liked this look for the blog.

Original Theme, Digital © Diane Clancy

This is the theme (template) that I am working from. I like it, but it too busy for my taste. So I have been trying to undo and change. I know some but not enough to confidently change someone else’s complex code. And great!, I just went to check out something and found out that what I fixed on one browser went wrong again on another browser!

So I am 1) still working to get rid of the underlines on the links under Diane (on some browsers), 2) still needing to get some the headers to be blue again (on some browsers), 3) get rid of the yellow-green that comes up before the header loads (I can’t find it yet), 4) figure out how to make the header work, 5) get the calendar back into its sidebar and 6) make the post setup more similar to the last one – I liked it a lot better. Sue said she couldn’t read the blog title and I hate how it is so far. But I wanted to make sure I could get other things to work before I spent too much time on that.

I am very open to hearing what you have to say! Thank you for bearing with me in this process!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: blog, theme

Be warned that the look is still “under construction.” I try to go in, check something out quickly and then put the theme back to a more stable version. I will leave this look up until tomorrow so you have a chance to look (and maybe comment) if you choose. So don’t be too surprised if the look is one way one minute and a different the next. Thank you for your patience!

Reverence, Digital © Diane Clancy

Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on the blog look. It was divided – and that helped me clarify what I thought too. About some things I know what I think, but I have always been one who listens to what people say and that helps me know what is true for me.

I often need time to know what I think. (Other times I have very quick, informed, definite, staying opinions – but they tend to be about other kinds of decisions.) I am a “feel my way into it” kind of person, try it on and see how it feels.

When I paint, I very much use my feelings as guides as to which direction I should go. And life too. But it is a funny kind of thing with a public blog. I am lucky enough to have some fairly regular readers so I want you to enjoy the experience too. And I don’t want to be trying a different theme every day and be disruptive.

The new blog look is too busy for me. Even though a couple of people really like it (not everyone comments), it has become clear I get overwhelmed when I look at it. So, that doesn’t work so well. I do really want my banner across the top. … And I am learning lots of new things … I am excited because I am getting clear how I really do want it to look. Thank you again!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: blog, feelings as guides

It is pretty simple tonight. Smart growth won 2 town election races and I am thrilled! Perhaps we can see some real healing happen. That would be great.

Old Blog © Diane Clancy

I am hoping you will take the time to look at my blog and tell me what you think. Above is an image of the top part of the old look for this blog. If you want to see my other WordPress blog that is similar (to help you remember what it looks like), please do. I can probably figure out how to put the little title type things over the headings in the sidebar. Also I can probably make it into a 3 column blog.

New Blog © Diane Clancy

I spent a bunch of time changing this theme (template) to be whitish on the sidebars instead of dark green and to be bright blue instead of bright green/yellow. Also, I put my own image in as the header … and made a bunch of other changes.

So I am asking for advice – please! Which do you like better? Given that you spend time here reading, I want you to enjoy the experience. I can change colors and such. So I would greatly appreciate which direction you prefer and what you would change. (The image in the header is not open to change – that much I am clear on!)

I would love feedback on 2 vs 3 columns, the basic look … I think the new look might be too much “in your face.”  Thank you! Thank you!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: theme, WordPress, blog

A quick question – does anyone know Chinese? Someone left a comment – that was very nice, it seemed to me – but it was picked up as spam. The link from the person (which is public info – I don’t share emails – the link is right there in the comment header) is http://www.malatown.com.cn/cities/wuhanxianhua.htm. If the comment was sincere, of course I would post it. Unfortunately, other comments flagged as spam turned out to be spam when I went to their site. If someone would take a peek, and could judge if it is legit, I would love to put up his post. Thank you very much!

Journey Within, Digital © Diane Clancy

Does anyone else ever sort of notice something and think, “I will get around to looking into that sometime”? I have mentioned that I have a new host the last several days, but things just really got changed over a few hours ago. I have been noticing that perhaps I had 2 identities in my admin panel – because it wasn’t giving me credit for writing all the drafts and interesting tidbits that I have saved. Odd, but, oh well.

I mostly did some backup last night and loaded things into the new host … but not worrying too much – after all, it takes between 12 to 24 hours or more to fully change over. So, my friend, as we were talking, changed the pointers over to the new host. Cool, right, it might not all be done for awhile.

So, I went to make sure I didn’t need anything else – and it was already pointing toward the new host. So, I lost my chance to go in and make sure I took everything I wanted with me. At first I thought I lost a dozen and a half drafts/thoughts, but when I re-invented myself, they returned. So great. But I remember that there were 2 or 3 drafts in a separate place. I guess I lost them. I must have had a second persona by mistake.

And somehow last night I also loaded the index page (the front page of a website) from a year ago into the new host. Actually, I think I overwrote the new index page with an old index as I uploaded a whole pile of old files … ah, being careful!

But, I should remember, to keep my priorities clear. I have been in a fire before and I was very clear about priorities – I got myself, the other humans and the cats out. Nothing else mattered. So, I didn’t look around well enough … but that is ok.

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: blog, hosting, technology

This is the last (for now) of the Flower Essence series. Today Susan Elkin Photography blog has a new look! Susan has had a site in a section of my site for several years. Due to some changes in our hosting, we were able to set her up with a site of her own – Susan Elkin Photography. When you have a chance, I hope you will go over and welcome her. It is a gigantic step!

Flower Essence IV, Digital © Diane Clancy

This is the same blog info that Susan had before. But she used a new “theme” to change the look of the blog. In WordPress these simple changes are called themes. In Blogger the similar change in look is called a “template.” Same idea, different software.

But once Susan decided on the theme, I still needed to go in and make a lot of changes to her sidebar since her blog has some of the bells and whistles I so much enjoy. There is a price to pay for those enhancements though – those get put in by hand.

Thank you to Chris O’Byrne (onlineartsmarketing.com) for clarifying some of the twists and turns for me. And thank you for being here!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: WordPress, Blogger, Chris O’Byrne, Susan Elkin, Susan Elkin Photography, blog