Artslim
 
Picture
The art of slimming - the art of blogging, or does blogging make YOU slim?

You must admit mine is an unusual slimming blog as I talk about the art of living a lifestyle rather than an emphasis on calories in and out.   I talk about the art of striving for personal creative satisfaction as being not only compatible with the art of slimming but for myself as being essential to it.

So today I am actually just going to talk about the art of blogging or web site building, both highly satisfying for me and I know many of my friends are either expert at this and striving constantly to improve on their skills or are they may be just getting a web presence ‘off the ground’, I was sure this would be an topic that might interest them as well as me.I’ll share recent moves I have made to try to improve my blogs Here are some of the tips I am trying to follow.

1/ Know your topic and be unique. 

I try not to copy other successful formulas, I just try to be myself, create posts about things I feel like talking about and have some information I can share based on experience.  It’s so much easier to write in my 60’s than at any other stage of my life, if I hear a subject there is a memory I have associated with that that I usually would love to chat about, so my blog just flow in an unstrained way, just like talk.  For me that’s ‘my style’, unforced, not copied, about things I know and am interested in.  Anyone who loves to talk or write can do that, no special skills or formula.

2/ Two different lots of advise here, that conflict with each other. 
One being to proof read and edit, edit and edit before you publish and the other is to not wait until you are perfect before you have a web presence, because you never will be perfect.

I do proof read and edit, though my dyslexia is so bad, typos slip thorough, I am indebted to friends and readers who help me improve by pointing out these mistakes so I can correct them. If I waited until I have overcome dyslexia and was certain there would never be a typo in my work, I would never utter a word in print.  I personally would have never made some of the most important friends in my life if I had waited to be perfect before going to print.

3/ allow people to get to know you, discover your personality. 

For sure we need to protect private areas of our life but let the inner you, your personality shine through.  Think of the webs you read and enjoy, the authors voice has a personality and it matters not if they are aiming to climb a mountain, scrub oil off a path, or arrange flowers, there is an attitude to life that comes through in their posts that appeals to their readers and that’s why some bloggers and web sites can command huge readerships.  I greatly admire writers of wit and I would love to learn to use humour (I’m basically a serious subject writer), and I plan to strive to learn how I can ‘lighten’ my posts.  I am still learning to be a good blogger and it’s important to me, I have so much I want to share.

4/ Give your readers something for free. 

I know when I am too busy to read many blogs, being offered a chance to win a $50. Voucher can cause me to open a blog I might otherwise have ignored that day, so I have been experimenting for a week now with this idea of ‘what can I give my readers’.  My criteria was that it should not cost me money nor time other than the money and time I already spend to create the web sites and blogs I already own.  All web site owners could brain storm this one as what might work for my blogs and web sites will be different to what others might be able to do. 

My web site host had a forum option that is easy to use. I added this as my first step in being able to offer free services, for my readers.

Once you have an on line presence, you may want to be found by search engines.List your sites manually with search engines.  Your web host company is the first place to look for information about placing your web site in search engines. 

Tonight I am looking at web directories  there are many free places to list your web site, the more free placements you enter the more chance you have of raising your web site up to be shown by search engines. 

So far I have not paid for web site placement as my outer world journey that I share in my  ‘Gone Bush Blog’ in my gray-nomad web site is a hobby blog and this my personal journey is shared mostly by friend contacts.
 
One thing I know, I am ‘hooked on blogging’, I love it and I love sharing my inner world, and my outer world journeys through the medium of blogging. Blogging satisfies me emotionally more than food can.

What creative tools have you been able to harness to aid you in you in being or moving towards being naturally slim?

Is blogging slimming for you? J
 
 
Picture
We are all artistic and creative, the need to create, is strong within us all.
 
"Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."   --  Henry Van Dyke
 
OK, this is my fields of expertise having been a professional artist for 50 years, now retired.

I have created a Loving Ourselves, Forum, in my web site, it is not a weight release forum it's abou self nurture and fulfilmant and as a part os this forum I will be offering  FREE  ON LINE ART LESSONS. 

This  is to encourage people to take up art for self fulfilment and creative art therapy purposes and the information I will strive to supply will be aimed at guiding my friends from beginner through to intermediate standard art.

The art lessons will begin in this web site, here, in early spring. begining around the third week of September. 

I will being creative, on line 'information tutorials from my http://www.kathy-shell.com

Book your spot in my FREE ART ON LINE CLASS, and let’s have fun being creative together.
  
NO Talent Needed.

Beginners WELCOME!

It is the teacher who needs to have the talent, the student simply needs the desire to want to do it.   This is meant to be a fun and learning experience for all who become involved.

I will also conduct, private, tuition for a fee, from my home and travelling studio for those interested.
Picture
 
 
Reg and I arrived in Tom Price today after having spent a couple of days relaxing in bush camp site overlooking a spectacular gorge in the Karijini National Park in the Pilbara of Western Australia. 

I have decided have to return to that same peaceful and private camping site and paint and I hope to work on some watercolours of Mt Nameless while here at my Tom Price exhibition at the base of Mt Nameless.

Art cards are a big feature of my exhibitions these days and I am always looking for ideas to interpret in my own way.  I know many of my friends use mantras, and motivational quotes to inspire them to fulfil their goals in life, if you have a quote you would like to share with me, or even see used with my art image, in a card, I would love to hear it.  I get many of my good quotes through web searching, like this one I love, “Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” Henry Van Dyke, quote.

I found some lovely cards and an interesting blog about creative work, at birth announcements  

Why am I talking about my card making on a slimming blog?

 My attitude to slimming is one of self nurture.  My plan for self care, includes, healthy eating and exercise but this is not a complete plan, without creative fulfilment.  Also as I am at a mature age with osteoporosis, I am not seeking rapid weight loss, in fact keeping my weight toward the high side of what is normal for me, will be my weight goal, as strong bones and good health mean more to me now than a very slim body.  I am not sure what will be the right size for me yet, but I know there is no rush to get to my slimmest size, there is time to enjoy bird song and self fulfilment that I get through creativity and if I am leading a healthy life style, my body to find its own weight set point, rather than my needing to set a goal weight for my body.  I am happy with this plan.

What talents do you have, that you can use today to help yourself feel more fulfilled?

What are your favourite motivational or humorous quotes that would be fantastic to use on cards?

Is self nurture a large part of your, healthy and natural slimming, plan?

I would love to hear your comments.