Today's technological challenges...continued from yesterday!

Why is it so frustrating to try to learn new computer skills???

I tried hard to upload the poster images for the 2 art shows & all I got was a message saying the files were corrupt or in an unrecognizable format (they're in Adobe but I guess it tried to convert them to pdf as that's what it said on the error message) and to try again. I guess I have to learn how to convert them myself? But how? Meanwhile I decided to send them out via email so people can "Save the Date"...however when I got my first distribution list set up on hotmail it was too long (ok, spam prevention is good, I'll just split the list & set up 2 distribution lists & send the email out twice.) Unfortunately while transferring over names to the second list, then deleting them from the first one, I deleted all the names I transferred from not just the first list, but entirely from my contact list!! So, now I've just lost emails for about 40 of my favourite people around Vancouver who I was planning on inviting; I don't know how I'm going to get that information back into my system easily. AARGH!!!

Next technological challenge: my new found artist friend Clay Stephenson (watch for his career in photography and writing, I think!) sent me some info on muses that I'm also trying to upload here fyi but because that's in a word format I can't do that either...and cutting & pasting it turns out like this (below) insteady of the table that he sent me. (not too helpful to you readers I'm sure!) It's all Greek to me!...still I now have the names & domains & symbols/emblems of the 9 muses, and I might take some of them & blog about my muses in future.
Muse
Domain
Emblem
Calliope
Epic poetry
Writing tablet

Clio
History
Scrolls

Erato
Lyric poetry
Cithara

Euterpe
Music
Aulos

Melpomene
Tragedy
Tragic mask

Polyhymnia
Choral poetry
Veil

Terpsichore
Dance
Lyre

Thalia
Comedy
Comic mask

Urania
Astronomy
Globe and compass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse

The other technological challenge for the day is being worked on by my trusty assistant Lauren who is working away in Photoshop on my new logo & artwork for the first test market bag order. I have no idea how to use Photoshop and my branding/logo idea is fast coming to the foreground so I'm lucky to have her around & willing to pitch in on a weekend. The learning curve on Photoshop is too daunting for me to take on at the moment.

So, the logo will be "quick & dirty" (two colours suitable for screen-printing) this time, as they say, so we can get some "Magic Bags" produced for the Art Show in Langley August 8/9. And, you might say, "What's in a Magic Bag?" Well, I guess you'd have to get one to find out! (I think they're kind of like a bottomless bag that you can pull rabbits out of, & they're never empty--or maybe you have some more ideas about what a "Magic Bag" might be, & you can tell me!)

Stay tuned as well for "MY MAGIC BOOK" coming soon from my new printer--they'll be fantastic! As good, if not better than, the "magic fortune cookie caper" that I created in my old corporate life in retail. People had lots of fun with that one although apparently some of the brass were not impressed (it wasn't their idea, after all). I'm so glad I'm out of that environment where artistic/creative expression (mine, at least) was not well supported. Guess that's typical of some corporations but hopefully not all of them!

Ok, as a "workaround" for not being able to get the art show posters onto this page, I'm going to post the invitation below (with the addition of time & address details that were on the posters)--& I guess I am inviting the world to these 2 shows (hope the organizers can handle the volume!!). If you've already got one in your email you don't need to read any further, I can handle cutting & pasting & I'm not going to change anything else (yet!) That's it for the day except for the details below--hope to see you there in August so you can see what I'm up to!
(and, just another rant about technology before I go...WHY DIDN'T THE PASTE BELOW COPY THE COLOURS, TYPE-SIZE, AND FONTS THAT I SO CAREFULLY CRAFTED IN THE ORIGINAL WORD DOCUMENT!!!!) That's worth yet another AARGH!!! And quitting for the day--too much fun to have with my husband & family today!

Save the Dates!!
(& NO, Wes & I aren’t getting married again…yet!)

August 8/9 in Langley—10-5
Acorn Art & Image (it's a house)
4860 203 St Langley
parking at HD Stafford Middle School, 1 block SE 20441 Grade Crescent

August 22/23 at Minnekhada Lodge 10 – 4 pm
(great hiking trails, that’s where I proposed to Wes 5 years ago!) in Port Coquitlam Shuttle from Quarry Road parking lot, musicians, gardens, café there as well.
(Better Google this one, I can’t figure out how to get the map onto my blog & it’s actually quite a remote location for Poco)

Hello Everyone!
Some of you may already have had an invitation to come out & play with me in a new game I’m creating of being a world-class artist making oodles of money (no starving artist game for me!). If not consider yourself invited!

Attached are the posters for two art shows that I'll be at this summer, and I’d love it if you came out & had fun with me there. Your friends or family that live in the area or who are interested are also welcome so pass on the invitations. (If I had enough techno-smarts I’d put a Google map link in for the locations but I haven’t figured that one out yet. Lots of learning to do still—help!)

For those of you who can’t make it or who live in more remote spots, say, the North Shore, Tsawassen, or Vancouver proper, and still want to play with me, why don’t you call & see if we can arrange another event. Perhaps a private showing or an art party for you and your closest friends in your own home or garden—before I head to Australia in November, of course—would be fun? (Any excuse for a party!) A world-class artist is always looking for patrons of the arts to support her and her work! Maybe there’s some musicians out there who would love to show their stuff at the same time?

Once the summer fun ends I’ll be getting my 2010 calendars (similar to 2009, hope to keep cost at $10 + postage & handling), Christmas cards and my MAGIC BOOKS and MAGIC BAGS (hopefully including "MY MAGIC YEAR DAYTIMERS") ready for print. I’ll be taking orders at the art shows (or via email) and they’ll be available in October to distribute before I head back to Oz in November. Let me know if you’re ready to order, for yourself, as well as for gifts for family and friends. I’m getting my list started now for the first printing of calendars—last year they sold out and I had to do another run and still left people out (sorry about that—I don’t want that to happen again!)

And, for those of you who are interested, I’ve started blogging while my website is under development, & you can follow my journey at the link below my signature line. Let me know what you think; you might be included in future posts & you know you’ve really made it if you’re mentioned. My blog is MUCH more exclusive than Youtube!

(OK, one last editorial comment--if you've read this far you're already on my blog therefore you don't need the link! If you want to be mentioned in my blog, just, well, help me, inspire me, send me a response, something like that--or just be my friend & you might show up here too! Thanks for reading to the end--there's nothing quite like doing complete work, as they say at Landmark!)
ttyl
E