Link up or no link up

Welcome to the weekend. Welcome to my Saturday linky party – s~A(R)T~urday!

The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.” Auguste Rodin

It has gotten quiet around here hasn’t it? And just to clarify I am talking about me, not you. You are awesome. Every week you are sharing your latest creations here with me, with us. Which is why s~A(R)T~urday is here to stay. But – it will become even more quiet as I am contemplating taking a break from my Wordless Wednesday. Shocker, I know. Stopping the one post that should come easiest to me? Want to know why?

It feels like a rat race.

When I started my WW linkups some time ago it was a true Wednesday post. And they felt fun. There were a few other WW posts that I would be linking with – no stress. Then it became the Tuesday on Wednesday WW. Alright, no problem, I usually got it ready the night before anyhow. Then there was a transition to starting it on Monday. Seriously?! Didn’t go there.

But that is just one aspect that kept bothering me, the lesser one. The other one is that there are so many linkups and nearly everybody who is posting a WW adds their own linkup. Which, of course, is totally fine. Yet as a result – there are now a gazillion link ups out there. All competing for the most participants. And when do you get the most participants? When you link up 1) on all the big ones and 2) do it early early early = Monday, Tuesday at the latest and 3) leave a comment. Then there may be reciprocation in the form of links on your own WW. But – why? Tell me why? The idea of a linkup is not to ‘link & run’, but to find other like-minded people and explore their site. Have you done that? I  know I am guilty of not having done that in a while, because of – you know it – time.

A few times over the past weeks I stopped myself from joining this rat race, and simply posted my linkup without any or hardly any visiting and linking on other WW i.e. no (self) promotion. The result – have a look at this week’s WW post – two participants, five comments and they all are my virtual friends, who follow my blog and who I follow, too. Given, it is summer and school break, some are away and we are all enjoying this time. And we should, so definitely no guilty feelings for you or for me. But I will say this:

I am taking a break from WW.

And it starts this week. My intent is to hopefully being able to focus more on things that matter more to me. That is 1) my offline life, which has been and continues to be slightly more demanding than usual, 2) creating, which has suffered heavily by #1 and 3) posting my s~A(R)T~urday art linkup on Saturdays and reading and interacting with its participants and other blogs and bloggers.

So now, without further ado, last week’s final entrant to s~A(R)T~urday was Jenn, please check out her entry here.

And here is my latest photo creation. The photo itself won me the Topaz Lab (filter suite). So, obviously I took the photo and worked on it in Topaz. But it would not have been me if I had not added something. Can you guess what it is? Correct! The lighting and sun-stars. What do you think? Over the top or just right? Anyhow, now it is your turn, what have you created?

Poppies awaiting the storm

(click to enlarge)

poppies, painting, photoshop

 

This is the original photo




 *** Here is where I link up today. ***

Please help me spread the word about my Saturday Art Linkup and grab my badge below:

sARTurday

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I hope that over time we will be building a community dedicated to art and creating. I rather like these words said by Andy Warhol:

Don’t think about making art, just get it done.

Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. 

While they are deciding, make even more art.” 

[inlinkz_linkup id=552728 mode=1]

Why don’t you join me along my journey and follow me on fbgo and tw if you prefer and see what I come up with next. You can, of course, also subscribe by email – (click) here or you may follow my blog with Bloglovin or my preferred reader Feedly.

Drop me a comment and you’ll make me smile!

claudia3

 

33 thoughts on “Link up or no link up”

  1. I think your creation is simply perfect, not too little, not too much. I love the overall feel you get when looking at it. The color combination is exquisite, and I enjoy the little pops of orangey-red. Awesome job! Smiles, Linda at Paper Seedlings

    Reply
  2. hALLO LIEBE CLAUDIA!
    Ich hab nicht alles verstanden, was Du schreibst.
    Ich selbst habe mich auf das reduziert, was mir wirklich Spass macht. Und die Menschen haben offensichtlich ein Gefühl für Authetizität.
    Es kommen immer mehr wirklich treue Blogfreunde.
    Nicht son oberflächliches tralala und auch nicht, was ich gar nicht leiden kann – GAR NICHTS.
    Und mit jedem, wo ich Bauchweh habe – gerade habe ich beschlossen an zwei “Partys” nicht mehr teilzunehmen, geht es mir besser, wenn ich damit aufhöre.

    Meine eigene “Party” habe ich eingestellt.
    Ist ja gar nicht nötig.
    Wenn Du allerdingsdiese, deine Samstagsparty einstellen würdest, da würde mir ganz in echt wirklich etwas fehlen.
    Wir besuchen uns ja untereinander alle weitgehend!

    so, jetzt muss ich raus, mein gatte klopft, wir bauen gerade eine hütte auf!
    herzlich P.

    Reply
    • Ja, da ist was Wahres dran mit der Oberflächlichkeit und Authentizität. Oberflächlich liegt mir nicht und für Authentizität in großer Menge = große Blogparties fehlt mir einfach die Zeit. Also, zurück schrauben und klein weitermachen. Genau, denn Spaß soll es ja machen.
      Und keine Sorge, meinen Samstag werde ich nicht einstellen.

      Reply
  3. I totally feel your pain. On so many levels and in so many ways. We all have so much going on in our lives with jobs, spouses, family, pets. WW became difficult for me to create or find content due job and other stuff. I could have used photos from items in my store but that felt too creepy to me. Like I was using WW to sell my stuff. Not good. I like the poppy prints! The second photo especially. Tres Moody. 🙂

    Reply
    • Yeah, it truly is a very common syndrome of today’s life. So many people and bloggers you are hearing it from.All the more important to filter and concentrate on the things you love most. And be, like Pippa said, authentic. I will keep on trying.
      I got a little lucky with the photo. I went out to shoot poppies and the clouds happened. And you know I love clouds.

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  4. Ich wollte noch schreiben, dass ich den Zugang zur Party immer nur finde, wenn ich aufs Wasserglas Deiner HAUPTSEITE gehe. Vielleicht haben andere ähnliche Schwierigkeiten am Anfang einen Zugang zu finden….
    o.k.
    ich bin mir sicher, du wirst ein nettes grüppchen zusammenbekommen.
    Dass Du Werbung dazwischen hast – jetzt – finde ich schade. aber noch schreckt es mich nicht ab.
    Die Idee nochmals auf die Vorwoche zu verweisen finde ich sehr gut!
    H.P.

    Reply
    • Hmm, das ist wirklich komisch. Da dies eine WordPress Seite ist, könntest du einfach die Kategorie an die URL anghängen, also so: http://www.imagesbycw.com/sarturday/ oder aber über meine Hauptseit,dann Journal/Blog und dann ist es der aktuelle Artikel http://www.imagesbycw.com/journal/ Mal schaun, wenn ich irgendwann mal wieder Lust habe an der Webseite zu basteln, dann…
      Bzgl. der Werbung – die ist schon von eh und je da und ja auch nur der eine Banner. Wenn er Dir zu viel ist, dann kann ich Dir einen AdBlocker empfehlen wie z.B. Do Not disturb, die leisten ganz gute Arbeit. Ich finde, solange eine Seite nicht rechts, links, oben und unten überladen ist mit Werbung, ist es o.k.

      Reply
    • Intimidating – I like that! Overwhelming and confusing and simply too much? Like you I prefer to get to know the participants. So, I will try even harder now with our little community here.
      Thanks for being part of it, Laurie.

      Reply
  5. I totally get this. I have been so busy with the kittens and summer chores, on top of regular chores, things that have to be done, and some health issues. I haven’t linked my WW because I just haven’t had time to visit everyone in the meme link ups. I don’t want to be rude by linking and not visiting. It is hard to even find time to post anything some days or weeks. Bill is home now, and his sister and her husband came for an unexpected visit. I guess Summer is a busier time. I hope yours is good. I love your photography. Hug.

    Reply
    • Awww, your little minions,.. they are so cute and they need you, they are real life, as are Bill and his sister and husband. I certainly belong to the group of people who think that virtual friends are easily as good and important as real-life friends, but – that’s just it, both are important and need their time. And there is only so much time and so much one can do. Except for the various hiccups health and car related I am good. I love (!) the current warm/hot weather. But since yesterday I am dreading the end of summer 🙁

      Reply
    • Thank you so much, Julie. I very much appreciate your kind words.
      I guess it was a tough decision to make and it took a while, because the WWs really were my first regular post, and it is photos, which is what I do. But still, it felt more and more aggravating to me and that is something I definitely do not need or want around here.

      Reply
  6. I can’t say I’m fully guilty. With so many blogs out there, I tend to visit and read the ones I link up to. So like this one, I explore those that linked up. But if you had another linky, I probably wouldn’t get to it. I have seen some amazingly beautiful artwork of yours and those that link to this site and will continue to visit. Thanks for hosting. Visiting from sunshineandelephants.

    Reply
    • Oh no, Lowanda, seriously I did not intend to put anyone on a guilt trip. Sometimes there is just too much and even ‘a little reciprocation’ can be too much – I totally get that. My point is that in my case talking about the WWs it felt that the ‘link&run’ attitude totally took over. Which is why I decided to take a break from it. Not sure if it is going to be permanent, or maybe just my on linkup. Time will tell.
      I really appreciate your words and am happy to hear that you are exploring other participants. And like what you see 🙂
      Thank you so much for your compliment about my artwork and that of other participants.
      I am very happy to hear that you will be back. Thank you, Lowanda.

      Reply
    • Oh no, no image from you, Monica?! That’s o.k.:) There will always be times when other things are (way) more important than our virtual world.
      I am honestly still torn between the usage of filters when I am doing Photoshop work. I like it, quite a bit, when I see other people’s work and use heaps of filters in my iPhone work, but in Photoshop… I really learnt it from the bottom, the basics and know how to manipulate things, so using filters in Photoshop almost feels as if i am cheating – oh no! 😀 I’ll get over it, I am sure. See you next week!

      Reply
  7. As a linky host, authentic community is more important to me than numbers. But yeah, when it all gets to be too much you gotta have to courage to stop the things that feel burdensome. Good for you knowing where you need to pull back. Love your image and the edit. Pretty cool.

    Reply
    • Yes! So true, Kim. But, with social media and pressure I am pretty sure one time or another we all feel like ‘why didn’t I get more link ups’ or ‘more comments’ or… I really need to step back and re-assess. I felt very tempted to post a WW today, without a linky, but decided against it 🙂 ‘pat my shoulder’ 😀

      Reply
    • I like eye candy, Gingi, thank you so much – hope you’re doing o.k. Now that I am down a post to one post *smh*, I will hopefully have more time again to connect. Thanks for ‘trolling’ 🙂

      Reply
  8. Well I definitely agree with you about this whole competitive WW thing — it’s exactly why I never started my own WW link up. because…why are we doing it so early as a Monday??? Also, I will not link up my own WW post with a blog linky that has 50 plus link ups already: what’s the point? You’re just lost in a sea of other posts. I like the smaller, more intimate ones because as you say; it tends to be people who follow one (and thus support!!!) one another already.

    so obviously I did come here to check for your latest WW linky, but certainly whether it is WW or Saturday art, or just a regular post: never disappointed my friend!!! Truly beautiful edit. love it. And the original I remember as one of my favourites already. Happy to be back from holidays so I can see your lovely art — and get inspired. (although, I am having some nasty virus problems right now, so if I disappear briefly again, it’s due to that. ugh!)
    I will leave your button on my WW post though — because of course I am going to toot your horn of genius creativity!! ha 🙂

    Reply
    • Gosh, you are a good friend, Les. Thanks a lot, for being – you!
      It really has taken me a while to admit it, you know, about the WW. It had been brewing, and finally was enough. Some of the hosts of the mega-WW-parties are really nice e.g. Ramona (Create with Joy), but still – it is just to much. I think I may be either starting a normal WW or maybe another post or – wait, September is around the corner and Coffee Chat and Songography may be back on Tuesday – happy times 🙂
      p.s. I hope your virus is only there for a very, very brief visit…

      Reply
  9. I understand what you mean about the WW game. It kid of frustrates me too. But I’ve decided that I’m just going to keep mine on Wednesdays, and whoever joins, joins. It’s usually the same handful of people, sometimes a new linker here and there, but at least I’m getting some conversations with those 5 people going. But yeah, I wish they’d come visit more than just once a week, you know?

    Anyway, your creation looks pretty cool, as usual. I actually think both edited and original look great! I think it’s cuz the angle of the shot makes it look inviting. I totally want to go run in that field! (But of course I wouldn’t cuz I’d come out full of pricklies! haha!)

    Reply
    • Good for you, Janice! You got to make your own choice and i did tag along for a long time, but finally had enough. As I said, it was just no fun, just ‘I have to do this’, anymore. But, you know, I can almost feel it, that I’ll post a normal post again and then I’ll sure to be linking up on yours 🙂
      Thanks for your kind words about the photo & image. Actually if you wanted to run, there was a nice rural one lane road, perfect for running or biking next to the field….

      Reply
  10. I am so sorry that I’m just now getting here. 🙁 This discussion is one that I’ve been pondering for quite awhile. Wordless Wednesday bothers me a lot – the link-ups that I visit and participate in are so huge for the most part, that I wonder why I bother. I don’t get any traffic from them…even if I comment on other posts, and like you said – it’s almost as if every single person who posts in a linky has a linky. I read a post in a blogging facebook group recently that said if you’re not getting anything from a link-up, then stop participating. It feels a bit liberating to think, I can let go of this if it doesn’t serve me.

    Which then makes me think about my own link-up. Perhaps I’m doing it wrong, but it’s a lot of work for me behind the scenes, and I battle with wanting to grow the thing and then realizing that I wouldn’t be able to keep up if it got much bigger. I really want it to feel like a community and I think I’ve not been handling that well lately…which means it is time for me to think about how to make it work better for every one involved.

    Anyway. Random Thursday night thoughts when I should be packing or in bed.

    As you know, I love your work. I don’t know where it comes from, and I know that’s not the eye that I have…but I love it. Thank you for sharing it with me.

    Reply
    • Hi Jen, don’t overthink it and don’t over-worry. I love your linkup and I know how much work must go into it and I appreciate all of it! On the one hand I hope my little community will grow, but on the other hand, if you are committed, and you and I are committed, the workload will multiply, too. However, there is one thing we need to main: The fun in doing this thing called blogging. If you don’t enjoy it, take a step back and re-think. I am actually re-thinking already. And my community’s comments prompted it. I may actually do a Wednesday post again. But, BIG but – on a Wednesday and possibly not wordless. We’ll see. Point is: You have to enjoy what you are doing, life is too short to waste time with non-important stuff.
      I’ll see you on your site in a little while 🙂
      p.s. I sometimes don’t know where my work is coming from either. But it is evolved. I started out doing straight photography, like yours. Which is wonderful. But somehow I evolved from it. Which does not mean that I am not taking photos anymore, it just means that there is something else for me now on top of photography.

      Reply
  11. I absolutely adore your photo. Me being me, I like the original shot the best, but the edit is pretty awesome too!

    As far as the link up goes – I, for one, got super confused regarding Wordless Wednesday in general! I post on MWF, and I like the linkups I participate on Monday and Friday quite a bit, so I followed Jen over from Pierced Wonderings to link up here on Wednesdays, since that’s my regular posting day and I like your blog. But then I realized that the link up is actually on Monday? And there are so many, some on Monday, others on Tuesday, none actually on Wednesday! At first I thought they were all connected, so I tried to keep up and visit as many of the links as I could,..which of course, led to me getting pretty overwhelmed. And since I wasn’t joining in until Wednesday and everyone had pretty much moved on by then anyway, I just gave up! Now I just kind of rotate through every couple of weeks in no particular order, because I always forget where to post what and when!

    Reply
    • Hey Kelly, that is totally o.k. You know, honestly, I still love the original photo, too. But since it won me the Topaz Lab I needed and wanted to work on it with that.
      Yep, that’s me, too – overwhelmed and confused with the WW. You apparently beat me to the giving up part 🙂 But you know what? Your comment and those of several others gave me slight boost to possibly post on Wednesday again. But, on Wednesday! Not earlier! And I will not be part of the rat race, but just see if actual people link up and linger and comment, and of course I will reciprocate and reconnect. Maybe a new start, we will see. Still a few days to ponder.
      Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it a lot!

      Reply
  12. I LOVE your Topaz-altered photo! It’s just perfect – not too much. I saw it in your paintings gallery (I think) and clicked through. So I was surprised to see that it’s digital!!

    Reply

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