Be Yourself

Do you love reading blogs that have long, flowery descriptions of their art or latest vacation? I do, but I don't write that way. Should I try? No, that's not me. I'm constantly developing my voice as I expand my art skills, but I'll never be someone I'm not. This is just a quick reminder to be yourself.

Wellington Art Society

I'm wondering if I've ever mentioned what my day job is? A few years ago, as I ramped up my jewelry making and got serious about entering shows and trying to sell, I joined our local art group. The Wellington Art Society formed 30 years ago in Wellington, Florida. Now it includes artists from all over Palm Beach County. I jumped in and joined a committee, joined the Board of Directors the following year, and was elected President the next year. Which means I'm now running a 90+ member organization. We put on outdoor art shows, gallery shows, one night "pop-up" shows, and display art in office and government buildings. My work involves lots of email communication, meetings, and running our monthly events, which include artist demos and challenges. Our latest venture is with our local Whole Foods Market. We will run a one-artist show in their cafe every three months, with a big artist reception the first week. These have been big successes in the past, just now we will be running it instead of Whole Foods. We generally take the summer off from our regular meetings, but we'll be doing outings to museums and small get togethers.

So that's it. My hidden job, that the blog world probably didn't know about.

Here's one of our artists, Linda Rovolis, at a recent show, selling her paintings and hand-painted purses.

M about Me

My M post will tell you about me by telling you about the music and movies I like. I'm no 20-year-old, but if you heard the type of music I like, you might think I'm a bit younger than my 47 years. I listen to the "new" alternative music, as opposed to the new pop, like Lady Gaga and the Celo Green. I get that music from my kids, so I know a lot of the new pop stars. My formative years were REM, U2, The Fixx, INXS, New Order, The Violent Femmes, The Cure. Then I moved into the whole grunge scene, with Pearl Jam and Nirvana, then later, Green Day. So to give you a post that tells you a little about me, I'll mention some of my faves in music right now. Does anyone out there close to my age like these too?

Mumford and Sons

Muse

The Decemberists

The Airborne Toxic Event

The Black Keys

Kings of Leon

The Killers

As for movies, I like so much. I love movies with a twist, like The Crying Game and The Sixth Sense (and I'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't see either one coming.) I like ones that stretch the concept of moviemaking, like Pulp Fiction. I like movies that the mainstream audience didn't see, like Lost in Translation, Stranger than Fiction, and The Visitor. I'm not afraid to see sub-titled movies, like The Band's Visit. And I love the classics: Gone with the Wind, The African Queen, and anything with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. I tend to see the new movies later, when they're on Netflix. I haven't gotten around to watching The King's Speech, but I will. And I love, love The Oscars. (I could open up a whole conversation about the merits of different hosts, and how they could make the show better. Have you seen the movies I mentioned? What are your faves?

What's in a Name?

You've found me, here at Blue Sand Studio. You see that I'm an artist: I make jewelry, I sell it on Etsy, I paint, I live in Florida. But why Blue Sand Studio? Why not just call my site after my name?

Here was my thought process. I'm in the business of creating jewelry and selling it. But I also make artist books, Artist trading cards, paintings, and use all kinds of mixed media. What might I make in the future? Who knows. That was my first thought: don't pick a name that restricts me to one thing.

Why not use my own name then? Because I'm an artist, and my work gets done in a studio. It's a physical place, but also metaphorically, it's a place where I can plan and think about many things. I can introduce other artists on my blog through artist interviews (such as these interviews with Kecia Deveney and Jenni Adkins Horne). I can review books (check out what I thought of Poemcrazy). I can inspire you with my surroundings.


But I always want you to know that I'm an artist, I embrace others' art, and I want to promote myself and others. To me, that means studio -- a place where I can create art and others embrace art.

Why Blue Sand? I wanted something that reflected my beach roots in Florida.


I first thought of "Silver Sand," which would reflect my use of silver in my jewelry. I rejected that because Silver Sand as a google search gives you tons of links to hotels, and I didn't want to restrict it to just jewelry. I chose "Blue Sand," because blue is my favorite color. Dumb, but that's how I got it. There you have the evolution of my business name, Blue Sand Studio.

Care to tell me the origin of your blog or business name?