A blip about a blog

As most of you know I blip every day, or in other words I upload a photograph every day to the Blipfoto site. The only conditions are that the photo has to be taken on the day you upload it to and you have to take the photograph yourself. They have recently added a new Digital Group to the site where you can show photographs illustrating the role the Internet has played in your life. You can see my contribution above, including a glimpse of myself taking the photo and in the background reflections of my studio. I have the fact that the sun was shining this morning to thank for being able to do this.

Gardenia rose

And of course also the fact that I am now able to use my laptop in the studio because we are now on wi-fi broadband since about the last 2 months. I started to think about what the internet has meant for my life. I started this blog in December 2006, so have been at it for coming up for 6 years. During that time I have cried in front of my computer, laughed at it and also, I'm ashamed to admit, yelled and screamed at it, so frustrating has it been to deal with a dial-up connection.

wild orchids in our garden

But nonetheless I persevered. And that tells me that I wanted to have that outlet to the world. Art needs to be shown and shared, otherwise it becomes a private indulgence of little value. This blog has been been my window through which the world can look inside my life and art, even though I'm tucked away in a one-track little lane in the middle of nowhere. Through the medium of the internet I became engrossed in mixed media, collage and Artist Trading Cards. I started making journal quilts after reading about them on an online chat list, I started following the Sketchbook Challenge for themes via the same list and I found out about the Sketchbook Project and am working on my 4th sketchbook at the moment. And so, so much more. Too much to mention here.

Sally Holmes rose

The Internet has however done something else for which I'm even more grateful. I have "met" many, many like minded people, exchanged ideas and techniques and eventually also the ups and downs of our lives. One person I simply have to mention here: my wonderful, sweet, and supportive friend Lenna Andrews, whose presence in my life I value deeply, who is always there for me, and who has been a great influence in my art life too! Without her presence my internet life and my life in general would be a poorer one. Thank you, Lenna.

honeysuckle

As you can see I've interspersed this post with pictures of our garden which this morning was blessed with sunshine and blue skies for once, because this garden has featured on this blog almost as much as my art and in a way it's closely connected to it. I was an artist before I became a gardener and the garden started off as a place for colour inspiration. I value it now in its own right. And I love sharing its beauty as well as that of many other places I visit with you all. The thought that people really read my words remains both amazing and joyful to me. My statistics tell me that more than 106.000 visits have been paid to it from all over the world. In the last week or so alone 162 visitors from Russia popped in. Здравствуйте!

I don't think I'll ever get over the wonder of it all. I still remember (back in the middle 70s) computerizing the catalogue in the library of the Free University of Amsterdam, using punch cards. The computers necessary for this task took up an entire floor of the building and yet, they were less powerfull than the humble Toshiba laptop I'm using at the moment. Doesn't that just take your breath away?