Why am I writing this blog

Welcome to my Thursday-rambling-post. Consider yourself warned.

Ever since participating in an online course, going on vacation with my windsurfing accident happening, it has been a bit harder to do all the things I want to. But you know that already. What you don’t know yet, is that I finally feel like I am slowly getting back to ‘normal’. Getting into some sort of a routine. Still hobbling along, but at least I am feeling improvement. Of course, it helps humongously that spring is definitely in the air.

So, what else is new. Not much really. I have been working/working from home all week, which works amazingly well with the new technologies – laptop + internet + VPN and I’m good to go. Aside from that and (still not much) creating new images I have been thinking a lot about my website, getting my portfolio and proper homepage back, and – this blog here.

And just because I feel like it I am joining once again Six Word Friday.

Sharing a collection of fine art,

by fellow visual artists, like me,

made me think about my blog

and why I write here regularly.

Collecting thoughts, sharing them with you,

I have found no simple answer,

but hope that you can help.

Why am I writingWhy am I writing this blog, is there a purpose? Does there have to be a purpose? Should I just keep on doing, writing what I am doing, writing? Without much purpose? It really does not seem to be very purposeful. Except for sharing some of my images, of course. Yet, I like purpose a lot. Hey, I am German after all.

I would love to somehow share more with you.

Throughout my professional career one of the things I enjoyed most, and still do, is passing on my knowledge and experience to colleagues. I feel like over the years I have gone through so much trial and error on, well, really, a lot of things, learnt a lot about: wordpress, website design, CSS, photos, photo editing, gifs, video/editing, social media/sharing – quite the list, huh? I would not know where to start. Would you?

I have done a few tutorials and articles with tips before on this site (just search for tutorials). And I feel like there are so many great resources already out there, both for free and paid services. Should I even bother?

Would anyone, any of you, actually be interested in what I have to say?

I would really, really love to hear what you think. Am I on the right track? Am I totally loosing it? Maybe you are actually feeling the same way or are in a similar dilemma. Then share it, too, and maybe a light bulb will go off for one or both of us.

But for now, have a look at this. Do you know ISSUU? No? It is a free electronic publishing platform for magazines, catalogs, newspapers and more. Once you click on the picture below it will open in full screen reading mode and you can flick through the pages. It looks pretty nifty and you can also get an iPad app.

There are over a hundred pages filled with beautiful images. And on page 72 you will find one of mine. It is fairly small, but I am very proud to be in the midst of so much fantastic art. This is all part of the online course that I was referring to at the very beginning of my ramblings. All participants get to publish some of their best images in this online magazine. Please go ahead and have a look and don’t hesitate to also share the magazine.

p.s. and don’t forget to have a look at my image’s title – hahaha – not very fitting, huh?

     
 

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

12 thoughts on “Why am I writing this blog”

  1. The magazine is wonderful. I enjoyed looking at all of the contributions. I saw TWO of yours Claudia. Purpose. I get it. Used to think that way too. But surely, writing for you and enjoying the process serves as purpose? It does not always have to be purpose for someone else.

    Congrats on being in that gorgeous magazine. Loved it!

    Reply
    • Thank you, Debbi. You are right! I was a little rushed (as always?) when I wrote the post and totally oversaw the second one, the iPhone only photo 🙂 I guess my problem with ‘writing being the purpose’ is that I never saw myself as a writer…

      Reply
  2. Lovely magazine. I agree with the poster above. Purpose can feel like a double edged sword. Purpose can serve both the ourselves and the audience. So, I believe that our purpose is supposed to serve others, but also it is supposed to be personally fulfilling. There is always a sort of tug-of-war. There are times when I feel I am just serving others and my creativity tanks. That’s when I pull back and photograph for the joy of photographing and pleasing myself. When I am full, I can serve others better. I think we have to always be questioning ourselves to unpack what our true purpose really is. That helps align our doing and why we do what we do. It’s okay to have multiple purposes.

    Reply
    • Very true, Kim. Thank you for the little reminder. It really is two or multi sided affair. I guess with my limited ability to move around at the moment I am feeling like I cannot get my personal fulfillment e.g. going outside taking photos, enjoying spring and hence I am looking for other things. But you are right, it is hard to give when your very own resources are kind of low. I am sure I will find my balance again.
      Thank you so much for sharing your insight.

      Reply
  3. I constantly ask myself why I keep blogging. Why I keep holding on to my blog. And what for? I haven’t done much blogging really, other than posting my project 365 and even that takes too much effort some nights. You on the other hand post amazing photos, amazing art and you tell your story. I do think it’s and ebb and flow and we just need to ride it out and stick with it because I for one couldn’t imagine not having it in my life.

    Reply
    • Two peas in a pot, Susi 🙂 I definitely would not want to quit blogging, no, no, no. It just sometimes feels like there is something missing. But how to define that ‘something’ and get it, I don’t know. But you are right, it is a constant up and down and – well, right now it is or was a down for me, I guess. There will be balance again.
      I know how you feel with your struggle at times to post at all. But then it is so fulfilling to get responses, interaction or simply see via stats that people clicked on your content.
      Thank you for following along and making the time to come here whenever you can and comment!

      Reply
  4. What a gorgeous magazine.
    And yes, you’re on the right track. You have a distinct voice with distinct images. Nothing changes that. People will still come to read.
    I just wrote an article for SITS about blogging slumps, and boy, are they rampant. We all get them!

    Reply
    • The magazine really turned out beautiful, right? I went through it last night, slowly, checking out every image. Some of them are just outstanding.
      Thank you, Tamara. Hmm, I never saw myself as having a ‘distinct voice and images’. In fact, as far as images go, I still feel they are pretty much all over the place. And as I answered to Debbi’s comment, I never saw myself as a writer. I am not, especially not in English. I feel like I am mostly stumbling along, trying to write the way I speak, which is not that easy, because I am making a lot of (grammar) mistakes, some of which, I am sure, you are finding in my posts…
      Now I’ll have a look at your SITS article.

      Reply
  5. I loved that magazine!! everything was amazing and beautiful and so inspiring! I cannot wait to learn how to do this.
    and I really like your “bee” – LOL
    I love that flower one of yours that is in there too.
    I wish I could take a course like this!

    Reply
    • Thank you, Leslie. Truthfully there are images in there that I like way, way better than mine. But – that’s the beauty of it, we learn and we broaden our abilities and we continue to do so. So, one day you will be doing this, if you stick with this kind of art next to your writing. My problem is that I just cannot dedicate enough time to it. Some of the best in the course and magazine do this full time for one or the other reason, I am usually two or three lessons behind – LOL

      Reply
  6. I’m a funny one – I truly think I’d keep blogging even if no one ever visited! I thoroughly enjoy the connections I’ve made with others through my space….but mostly I enjoy everything about the process. The collecting of thoughts, events, photos, words…the creativity that’s inspired by life events or prompts or other people’s work. It’s a safe haven for me….my “head space” at it’s best!

    Reply
    • No, not funny, Adrienne, just different (from me). You are a writer, you probably journaled all your life. Me? Not so much, if at all. I guess in a way I am getting there, treating my blog more or less as a journal. I am glad that you found your safe haven though.

      Reply

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