saving time with technology

Not often do I speak of technology, because it loves to break on me. However, my aunt introduced me to Twitter and how it can simultaneously update my status on Facebook, Myspace, my blog, my web site and LinkedIn. Now I'm saving time by posting on just Twitter, while it magically changes my status on the other sites.

What you want is a Twitter badge, which is html code for the twitter updates. Here's the link. (I found it under help on Twitter.) It walks you through it, but basically you insert a text widget in your blog and paste the twitter badge. I'm a bit muddled on the steps, because each website does it differently and I just finished putting the twitter badge on all of them.

Random Tid Bits

Besides taking ginkgo biloba, I leave tabs open in Firefox to remind myself for to blog about them. After a day spent outside making a fort near the river with 2 kiddos in grade school, I am exhausted. Plus the pilates class this morning wiped me out.



Here's a super brief list of things to check out:

1. How Christmas tree lights work (in particular the ones with 3 wires).

2. Oregon Country Fair official site. The dates this year are July 11-13.

3. Home Depot's site that has a calculator for figuring out exactly how much paint you should buy.

4. Tree Leaf Silhouette Guide. I love these kinds of things!! It's like a matching game.

5. The Oakland museum that curates shows in public buildings around Oakland. When my next series of art is done, I am considering applying. The 555 building has 40'+ ceilings, which would be ideal for tipis.

Resolving Clutter Issues using Folders in Gmail

Over the weekend I used Ian's laptop, where everything is organized and clutter free. This morning I opened my laptop and felt instant anxiety from the 50 plus files on the desktop. (FYI having files on the desktop slows down the computer.) Then opening gmail another heart attack from the 800 emails in the inbox. I hate to delete things in case I need them for some unforeseen reason (or I need to refer back to a conversation for some reason).

Incidentally this morning mom proclaimed that she wanted folders in gmail. I told her Gmail does have folders, except they are called Labels. I showed her how to create labels then how to auto send incoming messages to those labels using a filter. It is amazingly helpful!! Here's the gmail tutorial (written out and accompanied with a short video) on the super easy set up of filters.

I gave a whoot!!! and danced around then the inbox went from 800 to 50 emails. They now fit on one page! That hasn't happened since I set up the account. Later today when I feel like more sorting, there won't be any in the "holding tank", for they will be either deleted or filed. One folder is called "mom", "Ian" and another is "from ME", since I get lots of emails for these categories. Another label is "photos" since I have a hard time keeping track of Picasa photo album invites.

My mom also did a "27 Fling Boogie" and went from 457 emails in the inbox to ZERO!





















BEFORE (except mine were not in neat columns)
















AFTER

wordpress vs. microsoft word

It's a battle every time I update my resume or add a statement on my other website: elizabethsymington.com. Wordpress won't let me paste a Word file. I don't want to retype it, because that takes up a lot of time and I'd have to reformat the layout. I even tried the "paste from Word" button. No luck. What I figured out, if is I cut and paste the Word file and email it to myself, I can then cut and paste it into Wordpress.

Is anyone else having this problem? How are you solving the issue?

Something to think about

"Don't confuse efforts with results"

I heard this at school over the past year. I don't recall who told it to me, but they where talking about new sculptors that spend lots of time on their art and it ends up looking bad. Instead of the student working on the sculpture a little longer to make it better, they use the excuse that they spent a lot of time on it. Just because you spend a bunch of time on something doesn't meant it will look good. It doesn't matter how long it took, it matters how it turns out.

I remind myself of this when I am burnt out on a sculpture that is 99% done. I ask myself if I would be embarrassed to have my name on it at this stage. Would I be uncomfortable presenting it to a potential customer? For me the rewarding part of making the art is finishing out what I set to do. Some times I take a few days break before I tackle the finishing touches.

what to do for a sore throat

Here's the recipe for a pain-free throat:
1 TBS Bragg raw-unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar
1 TBS of organic honey

Mix in a glass of warm water. Gargle until your throat doesn't hurt any more. It took me 2 large glasses. You'll spit out small, brown worm like things. That's normal. They are snot that are colored from the cider. I gargle any time my throat hurts, which is so far just at night.

Yah for the dentist!

Do you look forward going to the Dentist? I do. The way I figure it, the dentist takes away my pain. For a one hour appointment to fill cavities I won't have pain every time I eat, drink or brush my teeth. I am also fortunate to have a wonderful and humorous dentist. Her name is Dr. Mary Puno.

She was referred to me by a co-worker of my boyfriend. I absolutely agree that she is great! Dr. Puno has a great female staff. Stephanie is always warm and friendly when she greats me at the reception desk. When Dr. Puno's assistant, Rachael, works on my fillings, it's like a synchronized dance. Rachael knows which tools Dr. Puno needs before asking. It makes for a quick visit.

Dr. Puno said to avoid pain, go to the dentist before it gets bad. A shallow filling is a quick fill but a root canal will take longer. She was explaining to me that a root canal done properly shouldn't hurt. She explained the process, which put me at ease. Having a dentist with good eyesight is also an important thing to think about.

I also learned that you shouldn't use a toothbrush stiffer than a soft! Go with extra soft or soft. The reason for this, is because you can brush off your enamel. The last two visits where to patch the teeth that I brushed away. Can't say that I am surprised that I did that. So now, to save a money, protect my teeth and save time from going to the dentist, I use a soft toothbrush.

My dentist is also very funny. A few weeks ago when Rachael and her where making a mold of my teeth, they used a goo that had a berry flavor. They tried to figure out the flavor, which was narrowed down to "an unidentified berry".

On my first visit, when the xrays where taken, Dr. Puno put a camera in my mouth. She showed me on the computer monitor where I have divots in my molars from grinding my teeth. It was so cool seeing that on the screen. My second thought was, "ah! This is going to cost way more than I can afford!" Thankfully my bf's coworker introduced me to CIGNA, which is a discount program for dental visits. You buy the year long membership for about $100 and can go to a list of dentists. The bill is basically cut in half! It has been more than worth it. I wouldn't of been able to go otherwise.

Mary Pauline Tanedo Puno, DDS - General Dentist
450 Sutter St
San Francisco, CA 94108
Ph: (415) 862-3202

CIGNA- dental plans

Building your career as an artist

Building your career as an artist

1. Free Art Supplies
Businesses are constantly throwing away materials that artists go out and buy. What do the bicycle repair shops do with the flat inner tubes? What do the dry cleaners do with the extra metal coat hangers? How about the fishing stores that replace the customers fly fishing lines every year? Call up businesses and ask if they would save them for you. They will most likely love you for recycling for them.

2. Play with Friends at Sculpture Gardens
My new favorite gallery is the New Leaf gallery in Sonoma. It has a sculpture garden where you are encouraged to touch and play. There are things to sit on, giant balls to toss and knit hills to jump on. My recommendation is on a hot day, with a couple friends, rent a convertible and go play at this gallery. It is a beautiful and inspiring place to visit.

3. Artist residencies
A residency is an artist colony hosted by an organization giving space and time to create. Some places have free room and board and others cost money. Check it out; they are all over the world. The retreat varies from two weeks to one year. You can look for residencies at Alliance of artist communities.

4. Amazing Resource

The Foundation Center has free classes and a library for finding grants. Some of the classes are on “how to write a proposal,” and “how to write a budget”. They also have a free database listing grants for individuals, making it much easier to locate grants you are eligible for. The staff is super helpful and knowledgeable.

5. Game Plan
I was unsure how to approach sculpting as a career, until I read “Taking the Leap” by Cay Lang. Cay relieved my fear, that if I am not an amazing sales person, I won’t succeed as a free-lancer. Her book is full of useful templates for staying organized and practical information for getting your name out there. It was an encouraging read and exciting to use her resource list.

6. Recycled art supplies

Do you like garage sale hunting or antique shopping? How about taking that same passion for the hunt and applying it to your art? Go out and search for art supplies at creative reuse stores. In Berkeley there is a warehouse called Urban Ore and in San Francisco there is Scrap. Sometimes discovering something so awesome forces you to think of a way you can use it in a sculpture. Scrap is also a good place to look for brand-new slide page protectors.

7. 1st Thursdays and Fridays
In San Francisco, most galleries have new exhibitions on the first Thursdays of the month. Oakland has the same thing on the 1^st Friday called Art Murmur. Sometimes there is free wine. In the evening, tons of people attend, making it great for networking. This is also a great way to scope out potential galleries for your art.

8. Personal Web Page
There are lots of options setting up your own web site to show your art portfolio. You can pay someone to do it for you, or you can figure it out (even if you are not a computer wiz). Check out “Taking the Leap” for more elaborate options.

With the guidance of my Aunt, I used godaddy.com to buy the domain and hosting. Then she used Wordpress, which is a free program with templates, to design the site. To bring in more traffic link your Twitter, facebook and blog to your web page.

The standard for artists is to use your first and last name for your site, like elizabethsymington.com. You will have to get creative if your name is taken. I could have used symingtonsculpture.com. It describes my profession and yet doesn’t limit me to any specific material, so I can change in the future.

9. The Page that has it all...

For the best deals for slides and tips on creating your artist's packet check out this site: http://www.artinsight.org/ It has artist resources, portfolios, websites, templates and classes.

10. Great discounts at massage schools
If I hurt, it impedes on me focusing on my art. Having tension headaches, being stressed and achy doesn't help either. For me it is so difficult to take a break because I feel like I should be doing something more productive. I trick myself by making weekly appointments for a massage. I go to the National Holistic Institute. For a 50 minute massage it's $35. I always leave feeling relaxed and more focused.

Network Blogging Tips is sponsoring a List Blogging Challenge. The deadline is April 20th, 2009. The prize is a“One Touch 4 Mini 250 GB external hard drive, worth $129.00.” Go here for all the details.

Art residencies

Art residencies. Say what? It's a place for artist's to temporarily live so they can have uninterrupted time to create art. Some residencies offer free room and board and materials plus equipment to borrow. They're not just for visual artists but dancers, writers, composers... And there are residencies all over the world!!

I am starting to apply. The requirements are all different: number of images of resent art work, artist's statement, bio, letters of reference, proposal for what Iwant to create while there.

Check out residencies at:

Alliance of Artist's communities

NYFA Source

International Association of Residential Arts Centres

Res Artis

Cheap nuts and sun tea

Adding to my list of handy, random tips:

1. Cheap place to buy nuts and dried fruit- Trader Joes! While you're there grab a bag of semisweet chocolate chips (by the sorbet which is also divine). The chocolate is about $1.50 a bag and they're dairy free!! Throw them in with hole cashews, dried cranberries, walnut halves.

2. Need wire? What about skewers for a camping trip? Go to the dry cleaners and ask if they have any coat hangers. They will most likely love you for taking them off their hands.

3. What about used bike inner tubes? That rubber tube is great for tie downs. They have so many uses. Just think. Ask for old ones from bike repair shops or REI. They will be grateful that they are being reused instead of being put in the landfill.

4. R U a painter? Find the cheapest, good quality canvas at a theatre supply company.

5. Don't have a glass pitcher but u want to make sun tea? Use your bender instead. Put the entire thing out side in the sun. It looks delightfully bizzar.

Car Rental

I have a friend that hunts for the absolute best deals, like I did with finding prescription safety glasses. She swears by Dollar Car Rental. I think Enterprise is good too.




VS


I've rented from Dollar and Enterprise.
With Dollar, if you are under 24 they add $25 to rent a car. Now I am actually looking forward to my next birthday.
In SF, their store is open 7-7pm, which is a pretty early closing time.
I has the hardest time trying to talk to an actual person on the phone.
I never did find the # for the SF location, just the national 800 #. So frustrating!
My bf reserved the car online the night before. I picked it up and they were out of compacts, so they gave me a convertible with no extra charge! It was so much fun driving it in Napa!

With Enterprise, at the San Francisco International Airport, they're open 24 hours.
There is also a 20% tax renting from the airport!!!
When I returned the car, I was asked what I thought of Enterprise. I told them I couldn't get through to the SFO location when I called on Saturday and Sunday. They took off $25 from my bill.
They didn't clearly explain the charges when pre-paying for gas from them.
No extra fee for being under 24!
If you call a branch and they can't answer the phone, it redirects you to the national #. If you want to borrow the car for an extra day, like I did, you have to talk to someone on the phone or in person from the location your rented from. For your reference the SFO enterprise direct # is 1-650-697-9200 ext 8.

Both car rental companies were super polite in person and when I could get a hold of someone one the phone! The cars I drove were practically new and handled great. I can't wait to be driving again!!!!!

Start a blog

What do u do with all the random bits of knowledge that you acquire? Do what I did- start a blog!!! Afraid you don't have anything interesting to say? Just start typing. I have an ongoing list of things to post; one topic leads to another. I am pretty sure I won't ever catch up. I don't think I want to either.

Blogging is super easy. It's just like sending an email. You can use a standard layout (like mine) or you can customize it.

It's fun having a counter on your page to see how many people visit your site. You can get on for free by signing up with bravenet.com. Bring traffic to your site by participating in Works-for-me-Wednesday, where you post a tip that works for you.

Another option when setting up your blog is to have new comments emailed to you. That way you don't have to search through all your posts looking for comments.

You can change the name of your blog after you have set it up. I didn't like my first blog name, so I changed it. I then sent an email out to me address book notifying friends of the change.

Lastly, pretend that you are a visitor to your site. Is it easy to leave a comment? Do they need a user name or can they post anonymous?

Beware, blogging is addicting. I have to limit myself so I can focus on my art. But I need to blog to keep my readers happy. Happy blogging!

Weather Stone

Extra points 4 effort

You need to check out http://extrapoints4effort.blogspot.com/.

She's a friend of mine through fencing. She has a great sense of humour. She was worried she wouldnt have anything interesting to say and that her blog would go neglected after the initial set-up. She convinced herself to do it anyways!!! Yah!!! That's extra points 4 effort.

It's a mixture of very funny and random youtube videos and photos of her latest crafts. She is learning how to crochet using kid's art kits, which I love that idea! Keeping it simple. Cake decorating is another skill she is working on.

She loves getting comments so make her day! Her site is defiantly worth checking out. http://extrapoints4effort.blogspot.com/.

Living like a queen on a paupers budget

I've learned that if I go to a school and have the students practice on me, it's a fraction of the price. Often the flip side is that it takes more time.

In San Francisco, there are 2 hair saloon schools that I am familiar with. One is Vidal Sassoon and the other is Paul Mitchell. I go to Vidal because it's location works better for me. The hair cut is $20. Every time I've left stunned at how amazing I looked! It seems like the students know so much more than a person at cost cutters. The flip side is that you have to wait for their teacher to come around and approve the students work before moving on. You also have to make 2 separate appointment for a cut and color, but the price break is worth it. Since the stylist is learning it often takes 2 hours for a hair cut, so allow lots of time.

Vidal Sassoon
(415) 397-5105
359 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA

Paul Mitchell Partner School
1067 Folsom, Suite 200
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 355-1734


The Pacific School of Dentistry is also an amazing place. I actually looked forward to going to the dentist. I think the students are in their last year. For me it was half the price than going to a licensed dentist. My student dentist, who was licensed in Peru, was very knowledgeable. It was like he wasn't a student. My biggest complaint is the amount of time it takes. Just like at the hair saloons before mentioned, the teacher's have to approve each step. On average it took 2 hours to fill a cavity. I had my wisdom teeth pulled by them. For legal reasons a licensed dentist yanked my teeth out (while I was asleep). The price was still half price from any other private practice dentist.

As of last week I've been going to the National Holistic Institute. It's a massage school. For a 50 minute massage it's $35. And you are not aloud to tip. They have specials, if you sign up at specific times it costs $20! There are also other locations in the bay area. You can make appointments online too. I figured since I'm no longer going to the Chiropractor (my new health insurance doesn't cover it) I have a weekly massage.

There's the Foundation Center that has free classes and a library on finding grants. They're also in a few other major cities. I've been to several of their classes and there was tons of resources. I haven't had time to research grants and residencies, but I figured taking the class is the first step for me.

Also check out schools for cosmetology and student therapists. Get creative and look around!

No more important paper pile!!!

One of my new years resolutions was to be more organized and stay that way. I have a bigger problem with the latter. I mentioned before that I bought a filing cabinet used for $16. It was rusted and a boring beige. Last spring, I made about a 100 miniture, magnetic sheep. They tend to migrate from surface to surface around the apartment. The sheep told me they wanted to live on the filing cabinet. So I let them.

Right after buying the filing cabinet I purchased file folders. They are 1/2 the price at Walgreens compared to Longs. I bought a bunch of extras so I can't use the excuse that I'm not using the cabinet because I don't have any folders. I was going to label the tabs in pencil so I could change them in the future, but that's just silly: 1) they are super cheap to replace, 2) pencil is hard to read and it smudges, 3) why would I want to rename a file folder named "taxes" or "receipts"??? You can see in the close up shot of the filing cabinet I opted for colored markers because they are fun, easy to read and easier to remember since I recall things by their color.

Today I spray painted my filing cabinet black and green. I ran out of paint to so I had to use regular house paint for one side. Then I sealed the whole thing with Krylon crystal clear, so it wouldn't scratch off. I guess I should of used 2 coats, because when I moved it to my bedroom I scratched it. Thank goodness I picked colors that Sharpie makes! I touched it up with a black sharpie.
It has been wonderful not having a stack of papers on my desk, bedside table and on drafting table. Now they all have a file! Because I made the system colorful and fun, I've enjoyed using my filing cabinet.

I use to have a pile of notes on small pieces of paper. Now I can throw those notes in their folder. I even have one for blogging. I get ideas of what I want to post, but I don't always have time to write the post at that moment. Now I can reference the blog folder when I have time!

How to remove permanent marker

How to remove permanent marker and other seemingly permanent marks

Have you ever used a permanent marker on a white board before? Someone I don't know did that to a white board. So they took it to a creative re-use store. I bought it for $2. All that it takes is Baking Soda and water. Put the baking soda and water on the stain and rub it off with a cloth! When it's all off, just wash off all the white grime from the baking soda.

This trick also works great getting kool-aid and wine stains on counters and tables.

This tip was brought to you by Works-for-me-Wednesday hosted by rocks-in-my-dryer. Click the link to read more tips!

The best place to buy size A bras

The best place to buy size A bras

I was shopping with my mom for bras in the ladies department at Walmart. I was having a hard time finding my size, which is an A. I was being silly and suggested that I look in the girls department. We went over there and looked. I hit the jackpot!!! Not only were the bras regular price of $7 but they were fun colors too! There's flowers and bright colors and pastels. It is much more fun to wear a bra that has color. Coming from an artist, color is my lifeforce. ;-) To make the experience even better, the bras where on sale for $2.50! I have never owned so many bras. I am definitely set for the next several years.

There's my tip for my fellow Works-for-me-Wednesday bloggers, where we each share a tip of what works for us. I just had to post a picture to shock my mother.

The Ultimate Thrift Stores

Talk about the ultimate thrift store! Over the last year I've been introduced to creative reuse stores. Depending on the store, the items are new or used. Some carry furniture and others cater to artists.

In the bay area there is Scrap. They carry new and used items that are aimed towards artists.
For example: several balls of yarn for $1, bolts of fabric, boxes of tempura paints, page protectors for black, portfolio books. I bought $80 worth of polymer clay (aka sculpey), a plastic binder, 2 scrap bundles of cord for $16!

In the east bay, there is the art depot. I haven't visited them yet, but I am told that teachers go there to buy supplies for their classes. It sounds like they have similar art supplies to Scrap.

Also in the east bay is Urban Ore. It's in a huge warehouse full of stuff. There's a used lumber yard, aisles of doors and used windows. I bought a 2 drawer filing cabinet for $14. There's a kitchen, tools, books, furniture, sporting goods and electronic section.

It is so easy to just buy everything because it is so cheap. My rule is to buy what I am going to use this week.

To look for a creative reuse store near you, look up "creative reuse+your city".

Lots of random tips

Random Tip List (Because I love tips, randomness but mostly I adore lists!)

1. The Best photo shop in the East bay is the Looking Glass.
2. If you are going to archive your slides don't use an Epson consumer level scanner. Consider buying, borrowing or renting one. The Looking Glass has a $600 scanner for rent at $99. If you check it out by 2pm Friday you dont have to return it until 1pm on Monday.
3. Rent a wet vac, AKA carpet cleaner, from Safeway. They have 24 and 48 hour rentals. Go to the customer service desk to rent one.
4. How to roast your own "roasted red pepper".
On a gas stove put a whole bell pepper directly on the burner. Leave it there until it gets black then turn it over. It's about 2 minutes a side. When it's black all over take it off and let it cool. Cut pepper in half, clean out seeds. Then scrape off black. It should come right off. Viola.
5. If you have a splayed paintbrush that has bristles going every which way get it wet. Then using masking tape, tape the bristles so that they hold the shape that you want. When it dries it will be under control again.
6. Are you running out of room for your scarves? I was hanging them on hooks, but inevitably I always needed the scarf on the bottom. I'd have to take them all off to get the one I wanted. And often the scarves just fell off anyways. So I fixed this buy hanging a curtain rod on my bed room door. You could use a towel rack too. The scarves are easy to get off and they look pretty. Now I just need to figure out where to put my knit hats.
7. I haven't read this trilogy yet, but I hear it is very good. It's required reading for graduate sculpture students. It's "Art Theory" by Robert Williams.
8. A building of galleries in downtown San Francisco is at 49 Geary at Market street. I really need to go there.
9. You can design your own rubber stamps. Look for it online. It should be pretty cheap. It's great for a ceramic sculptor or potter who needs to initial and date their work. I've been carving my own initial stamp, but when I need something more complicated, I will look into it. I was reading that you can make professional business cards and letter head by having a custom rubber stamp of your logo or name. It's the fraction of the price then having a printer do it for you.

That's all for now.