Blogging 101

  Blogging 101

  Blogging 101 is mostly about the blogging
  vocabulary. To understand blogs, you need to know
  the terms blog, platform, domain, and web host.
  Once you have mastered these key elements of
  blogging, you can enter any conversation about
  blogging with confidence. After you know what
  exactly a blog is, you will be on your way to
  passing the final exam of blogging 101.
 
  Blog is short for weblog, which simply means a
  series of online posts presented in reverse
  chronological order. That's all! Most blogs are text,
  but there are also photo blogs and video blogs. The
  rest of blogging 101 has to do with the technical
  side of things. If you are setting up a blog, you will
  need a platform, a web host, and a domain. A
  blogging platform is a computer software program
  that allows you to write posts and to update your
  blog. Your platform is also what you use to design
  the look of your blog, from color scheme to font
  size. The web host is sort of like the virtual file
  cabinet where your blog is stored. Your computer
  communicates with the host when you upload or
  edit a post. The domain is the online address of
  your blog, and usually ends in ‘dot com'. Now that
  you know what a blog is, what a platform is, and
  what domains and hosts are, congratulate yourself!
  You have passed blogging 101.        
 
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A Great Idea For a Blogging Web Site is No Longer Enough

A Great Idea For a Blogging Web Site is No Longer
Enough

 Because there are so many blogs and web sites about
blogs on the internet, it can be tough to distinguish your
blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you
are starting up a new web site aimed at bloggers or
whether you are looking to make your existing blogging
site more distinctive, the key to building and
maintaining a site that will capture the interest and
attention of the blogging community is finding your
niche. If you can fill a unique need in a way that no
other web site does, you'll be able to build a lasting
readership among web surfers. Once you have
discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but
finding your place in the blogosphere is the place to
begin.

Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea,
and you can't build a successful site that will last
without one. There are many great sites aimed at
today's bloggers, and competition for the attention of
this growing demographic is fierce. To make your
blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will
need to offer something that no other site is currently
offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an
already popular site does but in a more impressive or
valuable way.

One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging
web site is to look at the sites that have successfully
captured a blogging audience already to determine if
you can appropriate some of their strategies to help
realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add
a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart
from your competition. Many people agree that the web
sites that do the best in today's market are the sites that
have the most personality. The fiercely individual
surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that
responds especially strongly to personality, so consider
how you can give your site a unique and attractive
feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to
your site's design and content.

Once you have a great idea for your site, have
pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to
fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next
step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers.
In the long run, a great idea just isn't enough to propel
your blogging web site to success. You will need to
draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to
draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger,
your great content will keep them coming back, but it is
vital to get that first glance or your site won't have a
chance to shine.

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Upcoming Trip to Sotheby’s

Upcoming Trip to Sotheby’s

I am planning a trip to an auction at Sotheby’s in June.  I have a real interest in 20th century British art and they have an art auction scheduled.  I have spent a great deal of time planning this trip.

While I was browsing the Sotheby’s online catalog, I found a signed Sickert named South Façade of St. Jacques.  I saw this painting once in London in 1971.  It has been in Canada since its purchase around that same time.

The painting is thought to be painted around 1900 after the artist had been in the town of Dieppe for two years.  He found a great deal of beauty in this medieval place.  He loved the architecture and it was the subject of a lot of his work.  Sotheby’s has several pieces of his work up for auction at this event.

I also noted in the catalog that Sotheby’s will be auctioning off a watercolor of a cat by the artist Gwen John.  She painted a lot of cats and also portraits of seated women.  She was known to paint the same picture over and over again like Monet did.

There was another lot listed in the Sotheby’s catalog that interested me.  I really am partial to Sickert and there was a painting that he completed in Venice while he was there with his wife.  There are stories of marital troubles between them and the trip to Venice is thought to have been taken to repair their marriage.

I can’t wait to see the painting Thunder in the Mountains by James Dickson Innes.  His watercolors are really splendid.  The painting is thought to have been painted in 1910 in the mountains of North Wales.  Sotheby’s has such an extensive catalogue for this auction.

I’m anxiously awaiting my trip to London.  I love Sotheby’s art auctions and going out to expensive restaurants at night.  I plan to go to the Mango Tree while I’m there.  It is the best Thai food, hands down, that I’ve ever eaten.

My business partner was really taken with the Landscape Near Lyons painted by Sir Matthew Smith.  I liked this oil painting as well.  The Sotheby’s catalogue reported that the painting was done in 1922 and that there is a still life of flowers on the reverse.  My partner will be unable to make this trip and has asked me to bid on it for him.

I have a small private collection of pencil drawings.  I liked the Flower in a Glass Vase that was penned by Christopher Wood in 1925.  I think that it would display nicely with other still lifes that I have.  I think that this pencil art may well go for twelve thousand dollars.  My favorite pencil drawings have all been found at Sotheby’s auctions

I have a patron that is very interested in a lot at the Sotheby’s auction that contains Poppies by Ivon Hithchens.  She has authorized me to bid up to sixty five thousand dollars for her.  I hope that I am successful in acquiring it for her.  I know that this Sotheby’s auction will be well attended because they all are.  It is too much to hope for that no one will notice this fantastic painting.

After looking forward to this trip for so long and poring over the Sotheby’s catalogue so intently, I must say that I have my heart set on Broomswade by John Piper.  I absolutely must have this watercolor.  The person that is selling it has been the only owner.  He bought it directly from John Piper in 1966.  If I win nothing else, I will win this painting.

The only other painting that I plan to bid on at the Sotheby’s auction is one by William Turnbull.  There is a collector that I know that desperately wants this painting.  He owns several of this artist sculptures and has now started to collect his paintings.

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Unique Faberge Eggs

Unique Faberge Eggs

Faberge Eggs have always been special to me.  I’ve been searching them out at art auctions since I was in my early twenties.  I did a term paper on the Faberge Company and their history of making eggs for the Russian Tsars between 1885 and 1917.

The first Faberge Egg that I ever found at an art auction was actually quite by chance.  The Faberge Egg was not one of the advertised items and was actually a bottle topper.  I instantly fell in love with it and took it home from the art auction for one hundred dollars.

I saw an advertisement for a tropical Faberge Egg from a collection St. Petersburg.  It was set to be up for sale at an art auction in New York City.  I knew that I was going to be unable to purchase it, but I wanted to see it in person and at least put in one of the lower bids.

The tropical Faberge Egg at that art auction in New York City ended up selling for over six thousand dollars.  That is out of my price range, but I was happy just to have been in the same room with this masterpiece.  The eggs themselves are just exciting to be near.

The first Faberge Egg was made in 1885.  I know that it will never turn up in an art auction, but hopefully I will see it someday in an exhibit.  The first one was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III and was given to his wife as an Easter present.  The surprise inside the egg was a golden hen in a golden yolk.  The hen was wearing a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside.

The antique Russian Faberge Egg that I found at an art auction recently was so detailed.  The silver enamel egg has rubies and eagles and is marked with Faberge hallmarks.  I was able to win this egg because I was bidding with someone else’s money.  The best eggs always end up with the richest people.

The piece that I want in my collection is a genuine Lillies of the Valley Faberge Egg.  I found one at an art auction I went to ten years ago.  I was unable to buy the one I saw, because I didn’t have the money at the time.  I’ve been saving for the time that I see another one.

The Lillies of the Valley Faberge Egg is covered with pearls and pale pink enamel.  The egg is on a stand that has legs of matte green-gold leaves with rose dewdrops. The gold-stemmed lilies of the valley have green enamelled leaves and pearl flowers. I will look for this egg at every art auction I ever attend.

This Faberge Egg is delightful.  It is surmounted by an Imperial crown of rose crystals.  There is a pearl knob that reveals the surprise of this egg.  The surprise is portrait miniatures of Czar Nicholas II and his two oldest daughters.  The portraits are framed in rose crystals and backed with gold panels.  I have heard a rumor that one will be at an art auction next year in Miami.

The last art auction I attended I purchased a Faberge Egg called the Imperial Clover Egg.  It was for my personal collection and I won it for under a thousand dollars.  I felt like it was quite a steal at that price.

The Imperial Clover Faberge Egg was originally made with a four leaf clover inside of it that had portraits of the four daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra.  The portraits went missing during the Russian Revolution.  The egg that I bought at the art auction had a stem of clovers standing upright.  Two clovers in green enamel and the third, a four leaf clover, was done in diamonds.  The diamond four leaf clover is a pin that can be worn.

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Stained Glass Art Auctions

Stained Glass Art Auctions

I have found some really beautiful pieces of artistic stained glass at art auctions.  The worship committee at my church asked me to find some church window stained glass when I went to an art auction last fall.  I found an excellent piece for them that was framed and 73” X 38.5”.  The congregation loved it.

I found some wonderful stained glass at an art auction for a client that was trying to complete his new kitchen.  The three windows I won were exactly right for him.  The stained glass had a Victorian star design in shades of blue.  The borders were all beveled and the piece was hand cut and soldered.

The modern stained glass windows sometimes come sandwiched between two pieces of tempered glass to protect them for years of use.  The windows I bought at the art auction were framed in vinyl.  Each of the stained glass windows was 30” X 30”.

Stained glass art auctions always include lampshades.  I went through a period of time where I purchased every stained glass lampshade I would find at an art auction.  I am a little more discerning, now.  I found a stained glass lampshade not long ago that I purchased for my mother.

My mother just redecorated her bedroom in green and mauve.  The stained glass lampshade that I found for her only had variations of those two colors running through it.  It was perfect for her and she really liked it when I gave it to her.

I had a call from a client last week that asked me to find a piece of stained glass to hang in a picture window.  She always had a curtain hanging over that window, so I had trouble picturing what it looked like.  I stopped by her house and chatted with her before I went to the art auction so that I could get better idea of what would delight her.

I talked with this client for awhile and found out that she used to grow roses competitively, but that since her arthritis had gotten worse, she was no longer able to garden.  She had a curtain hanging over that window so that she wouldn’t have to look into her bare backyard.  I instantly knew exactly what kind of stained glass art piece she needed.

The art auction was a lot of fun and I found a large oval stained glass piece to hang over the picture window for my client.  It was almost three feet tall and just under two feet wide.  The red roses done in stained glass were just magnificent.  She was so happy after the stained glass was delivered; she thanked me with coffee and bagels.

She hired me again to find a special piece for her bedroom window.  She liked the idea of replacing the curtains in her home with stained glass pieces of art that I could find for her at art auctions.  I looked at the way her bedroom was decorated taking special notice of the colors she used.

I found a fantastic stained glass piece for her at the art auction of a peacock with lavender in the background.  It fit really well with her existing decorating.  She hired my son to hang this piece for her.  She was pleased with his work and has promised him future jobs that require more strength than she possesses.

I was asked by a friend of mine to find a special piece of stained glass for his office.  I went to three art auctions before I could find something that felt right.  His taste and furnishings run the direction of more contemporary than most pieces of stained glass usually represent.

The third art auction I attended had a contemporary piece of stained glass art that depicted a landmark in Anchorage, Alaska.  I did not know it at the time, but my friend had family in Alaska and was actually familiar with this landmark.  I purchased it because I liked the style and the coloring, but it turned out to be an even better choice because of its subject matter.

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Special Hummel Figurines

Special Hummel Figurines

I find old Hummel figurines at art auctions all the time.  I’ve been collecting them for my mother and her sister for a long time.  They don’t have the time to go to art auctions, but they have the money to buy nice figurines.

The Apple Tree Boy Hummel figurine I found for my aunt last year was so cute.  I attended an art auction about an hour away from my house and they had lots of decorative collectibles.  I was able to find several items for my mother and also for my father.

My mother and her sister both want to have an Umbrella Boy Hummel figurine.  I have only been able to find one at all of the art auctions I’ve attended.  They share the piece equally while I’m looking for a second piece.

The whimsical Hummel figurine called Pleasant Journey is so cute.  It was the first Hummel that mother and my aunt ever received.  The scene is of two children pulling a third child in a wagon.  My grandmother found it at an art auction and it reminded her of her children.  She gave it to her two daughters on their shared birthday.

My dad sings in a barbershop quartet.  My mother asked me to find an appropriate Hummel figurine at one of the art auctions I attend to give to him for his birthday.  I actually was unable to find just the right item for over a year.

My mother was thrilled when I found the Harmony in Four Parts Hummel figurine at an art auction in our hometown.  She presented it to him on his birthday and he really liked it.  I think she may have liked it more, but that is okay with him.  He has always been very supportive of my mother’s collecting.

My mother gave my son a Hummel figurine when he graduated from high school.  I thought it was an odd gift to give a kid that had never expressed any interest in collecting them.  She did choose a nice piece from her collection that I had purchased for her several years ago at an art auction.  She gave him the Hummel figurine Little Fiddler because he plays the violin.

When my aunt went on a cruise, I decided to find her a nautical Hummel figurine.  I had to attend four art auctions before I found one.  I ended up purchasing the Hummel figurine called Land in Sight.  She loved it.

Hummel figurine Let’s Tell The World was a special piece.  It is really pretty and it depicts three children ringing a bell.  My cousin has been going with me to art auctions looking for it.  She thinks that we need to give it to our mothers to share like they do the Umbrella Boy.

I don’t usually collect Hummel figurines.  I leave that to my mother and my aunt.  The only exception to this is the “Can I Play?” Hummel figurine.  I found it at an art auction and it reminded me of playing at my grandmother’s house when I was a child with my brother and my cousin.

The most expensive Hummel figurine that I’ve found at an art auction in the last couple of years was a vintage piece called School Girls.  I got into a bidding frenzy with another collector and ended up spending a thousand dollars.  The piece was celebrated with a party at my aunt’s house.

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