Category: Uncategorized

“Canvassing my Friends” is a blog created by graphic designer and painter Sarah Ritchie to showcase her wonderful art, and as she puts it: “….to make myself accountable, for my painting, to all my ‘friends’ on Facebook. One by one I will paint my way through my list of friends, using each person as the source of inspiration for one painting – their personality, life story, my memories, our interactions, etc.”

As someone who makes her living through her obvious artistic talents, it surprised me to read that Sarah has felt constrained by a bit of fear in allowing the painter inside of her to emerge. But of course, most creative people have self-doubts regarding their talent and are often reluctant to actively produce.

It is a credit to Sarah that she is confronting this fear, and is brave enough not only to admit it on her website but to push through it by actually producing as she has promised herself, her friends and–through her site–the whole world. At the moment there are nine canvases featured on “Canvassing my Friends”, each one of them inspired by a person in Sarah’s life. While this is Sarah’s way to hold herself accountable in her stated effort to produce more, one has to believe that the world is a better place for her having executed her plan as well.

This is an absolutely inspired format for a website! Just imagine how honored any of Sarah’s friends must feel to have a painting dedicated to them featured on this site. Apparently it’s working for Sarah too, as there are over 100 blog posts on “Canvassing my Friends” already, and the blog is only six months old. Keep going Sarah!

I also found Sarah’s musings on art and creation interesting; it’s a pleasure to read the thoughts of a creative person as they consider their world, and one gets the feeling that Sarah’s written expression of her thoughts on art history and related subjects informs and potentially expands the scope of her art.

Blogging lends itself very easily to presenting the fruits of a creative person’s labors, and it gives them a way to give meta-commentary on their art and their life at the same time. In this way a fuller picture of the artist emerges, one that complements the art without complicating it or diluting its impact. “Canvassing my Friends” is a perfect example of this, and also a reason why Facebook, wonderful as it is to help us reconnect and stay connected to friends, isn’t quite enough to adequately present the work of a person who has a lot more to reveal than what they had for dinner last night.

I hope Sarah continues painting–having created a perfect context in which to present her art, as tributes to/celebrations of friends, I suspect the momentum evident on this blog will continue.

One very small suggestion I would have for the site is to give us a larger photo of each of the canvasses: there are obviously deserving of it!NULL

The Handy Goddess is one of the best concepts for a website that we’ve had submitted for review at TheWeblogReview in a long time. Barbara, the site’s creator and the pink-helmeted head of handy-ness is to be complimented on its stellar execution as well.

One of the site’s taglines is “DIY at it’s most entertaining”, but this is a website that requires two tags to do it justice, and the second is “Campy, Playful, Funny & Constructive”. If you can’t imagine how all these qualities could be contained in one blog then read on.

Apparently Barbara is a mistress of all trades, with a background in fine art and a talent for humor and just about anything one would need done in the way of home improvement, up to and including bathroom renovations, advanced plumbing techniques, finishing furniture, and creating household crafts of every kind.

The site is in a blog format built on WordPress, but by including YouTube-hosted videos on virtually every post, Barbara has turned the site into a real multimedia gem, with very solid production values. Her presentation style in her videos is equal parts campy flirt and solid tips for anyone interested in DIY improvements around the home. Ever heard of that mix before? Neither have I!

I can’t imagine anyone pulling it off better than Barbara does. Lines like: “I guess we’ve got a stripped screw, it gone and lost all of its threads” become double entendre that somehow works in Barbara’s capable hands, but don’t laugh too hard or you’ll miss her instructions on disconnecting plumbing for a sink remodel!

When you have Barbara’s onscreen presence and you’re featuring subject matter that lends itself so well to video presentation, it’s a no-brainer. Site owners are recognizing the value of video not only for improving SEO and the usability of their websites but because video can serve as an additional funnel to your site, letting visitors discover a blogger’s YouTube channel even before they find their blog. For The Handy Goddess, video and pink tools are clearly a recipe for success!

The Handy Goddess works as both entertainment and DIY education, but in addition to that it should serve as encouragement to anyone who thinks they can’t create a website that will attract thousands of viewers by communicating their unique expertise and personality. Barbara has a lot more of these qualities than most though, and I’d highly recommend The Handy Goddess for home improvement tips and campy, playful entertainment.

NULL

This site at first to me looked very busy. The colors were different and the cursor being changed was weird. But then I started to play with the site some more. Links weren’t just changing from blue to red or being underlined, but phasing from one color to the next. Lots of dhtml/css stuff going on too. An image of a bat or angel, if you pick heaven or hell as your location, that you can move around the page. Lots of very cool tricks, old with new that I have yet to see. As far as the content goes, he doesn’t say much about him, but rather other sites and just basics. The site is so interactive, however that it almost takes away from the weblog, or is trying to make up for something with the weblog. Still a good read, and a fun site to play/look at.Tj Hanton.net

Some of the best sites out there have a little catch that makes you want to come back. For some, it is pure satire, others good dhtml/css tricks, and others their posts. This site, is definite posts, but how they are done. Now you are asking, what the hell is he talking about?



Here is the formula for this site. Take one dad with a palm pilot and camera, take one baby girl (daughter), and take weblogs. Mix completely and you get shebazzle. This is a weblog through the baby and the dad. The dad thinks of what Alli is doing and posts it.



Lets look at some good examples. Alli, likes to buy “relationship books”. She also doesn’t like to be a passenger in the car and instead likes to drive. Oh yeah, what makes these posts even better? The photographs to prove these things!



Originality for perspective of the author goes to this site. I really enjoyed it and I hope you do too.shebazzle.com: alli — through dad’s eyes (and palm pilot)

Really good news/links site. Scott goes out and finds very amusing stories and then posts his take on it. My personal favorite is a post from July 16th about skin color cream. He quotes a Dr. Suess book as his little take on things. Design of the site is really good and works well for him. But the key to this site is his spin on the stories.Xkot’s Random Access Log