Welcome to my new website! This is the first step in a new journey and I'm so glad to have you along with me for the ride. Some of you reading this have known my work (and me) for many years. Some are new friends who I am glad to meet here.
For starters, I want to say THANK YOU for sticking by me and for being patient with me. Those who know me know I am introverted and (hopefully) humble about my work. I don't think I have ever "tooted my own horn" in any real or meaningful way. Many people over the years have asked me "when are you going to sell your purses?" or "How can I buy one?" and it's been incredibly flattering to me. I've wanted to thank so many people for so long and just haven't had a home site to do it from. That changes today.
This is going to sound utterly ridiculous and portray me as incapable for my excuse. But quite simply, I couldn't make the commerce platform for my old site "work" anymore. I won't mention which commerce platform it was, but over the years, the developers took a platform that was mostly easy and enjoyable to work with and made it into something that only a web designer could manage. Now, I have many talents that I am proud of, but web designer isn't one of them. So, here we are on this new site. It's easy here, and even enjoyable. I've had a blast learning and consulting with other knowledgeable folks on how things work. I hope I do get better at it as I have a lot to learn.
While I was absent from blogging, the world has seen many challenges to real life and to the virtual, online world we all inhabit and share together. Let me address the one topic that encompasses what I strive to do with my work, by way of a promise: There will never be AI used on this blog or on my commerce page. Of course, I can't account for what happens behind the scenes on this site. But if a photo isn't perfect, it's showing the real photo and the subject of the photo accurately. (If it's a particularly flawed photograph, it's a safe bet that I took it and not my husband who takes all the professional photographs of my work.) Same goes for the written words here. I am not a professional nor even a particularly skilled writer. I write on my blog as a way to share my thoughts about the art that I make. It's been so long since I've written on my blog, so I really don't know yet what my goals are here. But one fact over arches all. I will write using my own words about art that is in the physical realm. My art is in hard goods. A handmade thing, hopefully imbued with beauty, qualities, and even imperfections. It's real. Do I feel threatened by the trend in popularity of AI? No. I feel set apart by it in every good and positive way. The advent of AI has made me appreciate what I do even more. Some things like writing and photography are difficult for me. But making my art, though challenging at times, is the easiest thing I know how to do. But striving for perfection as is subtly being peddled with AI will never improve what I do, or improve me as an artist. We have to look at our individual human talents as already perfect, while striving to always get better at them. I know that you are here because you understand and appreciate that too. Let's stay in reality together.
