Thanks Guild

I want to thank everyone who showed up to the Potters' Guild meeting last night. We had a nice size group and we even had a few with laptops. I hope I was able to show how the useful the web can be. I will post on the Wiki more tips and lessons as I work through Google sites. The key is just click on stuff and see what happens. The site is live, so make sure you have basic info to share and then work on the bells and whistles as you go. Good luck!

What's New and Free

Not so long ago artists had to hire someone to make take care of their technical needs. Even if they had the know how, they may not have the funds to buy the software needed. More and more companies are building relationships with the creative community. Education is a great resource for finding new programs for their students. I will share different things that are available for use.

Must-have Windows Software

Must-have Mac Software

Google

Webs partners

I'll add more as I learn about them. If you have a site to share, add a comment.

Do I need a website?

I'm good at searching the Internet. When I find a new artist I immediately look for their website. It's frustrating to find them scattered about the net on other people's sites. They maybe featured with a group or information for an upcoming show. But there may only be one or two images available. Now I can search using my phone to search for information. If I like your stuff I want to know more about your work.

Creating a simple website that contains your name and a few images will go a long way. It is like an interactive business card. Using a free site like Google Sites, allows you to update your website without much hassle. If you have a web album, you don't even need to be at your home computer. But it the key is maintaining it. I've been to sites that haven't been updated for years. I don't go back.

When you buy a domain name, find a company that will be sticking around. Yahoo and Google have inexpensive monthly contracts. But don't pay more than $10 a month for your domain. There are more complicated software that will create a better looking site. Adobe has "Dreamweaver". It uses an FTP system of uploading your site. If you are interested in learning more about web page writing I suggest you look into the local community education program through one of our many districts. I know Northside offers many different web page writing classes.

Here is the difference between a template website and using software.
Template: https://nisd.schoolnet.com/outreach/lmkes/rotationspecialists/shore/
Software: http://nisd.net/knowlton/Shore/Shore.htm (I haven't updated this one lately)

A gallery of your work will not betray any trade secrets. If anything it will send heads spinning with ideas. I often use images off the web to help my students become inspired. It is a jumping off point for their work. Use your web page to jump into the future.

Photo Albums

From Booth July 15, 2009

One of the biggest challenges an artist has is to share their work in the best light. I was a two-dementional artist for years. I've photographed my work and my students' work. But now as a potter, I have to learn new ways to photograph my work. I will admit that I haven't solved this issue yet. What tips I can give you is not the quality of the picture you take but the form. Many artist have transitioned to digital cameras. Sometimes we get megapixel crazy. When we choose Fine and high numbers for our camera settings. This produces a large image and hard to work with. You can choose Fine and a lower size setting. Most images on the web look about 2" x 2" and when printed they maybe larger. Typical photograph file name extension will be either jpg or jpeg. These will work for the web. The larger the image file the longer the website takes to load. Stick with good quality small images.

I want to promote starting a photo web album. Even if you don't have a website you at least have a place for people to go and view your work. Check out Tips on photo albums. I use Picasa I can access anywhere I have Internet. I share with family and friends mostly. I plan to expand into the more "public" sharing. The nice thing about using Blogspot and Picasa, I can blog about a particular image in my album if I'm at a computer not my own.