My website is designed with Weebly.  It is easy to use for the beginner and flexible enough for the professional.  Just dive in and it's intuitive nature will guide you.  I am continuously fine-tuning with new ideas.

This method is an absolute winner for me.  Set up your website goals as an outline that represents the best way to present your work.
Then start working on content... quality first, quantity will follow.  This may look very different for every creative venture you may be pursuing.  You need not 'publish' until you are ready but your website in any form will be saved.

Eventually you will see a pattern emerging as you upload your work.  Perhaps a style is becoming apparent, color palette or subjects are repeating.  Notice what works and what does not.  You now have the opportunity to manipulate your online presence in a way that reflects you as an individual from that very first piece you have finished. 

Try it!  If you are a beginner, it will give you direction.  If you are a lifer like me, and have   the inevitable bumps in the road, it gets you focused and back on tract.  The template and  title outline is the key!  Witness it  up on your monitor.  Fire and chill... knowing you have the freedom to create your heart out works best when you know where you are going... the structure keeps your goal right in front of you.

Let me know how this method works for you!

I'm back to work!!

Part 5
Resolve
July 2, 2014 

       "The War Of Art" by Steven Pressfield...
                 Rule of thumb,  page 11

         "The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we feel towards pursuing it."

I slept on this thought.  I woke up a day older but a century wiser.  My work is at that level of importance in my life that defines me.  I am afraid that even with all the time in the world, I am not worthy.  Fear and self-doubt is what Resistance feeds on.  And the closer you are to the finish line, the stronger the Resistance. 

So here I am on the longest work retreat I have ever had!  I am here for the soul purpose of preparing for the conference.  I have a ton of new work, a new dummy to shop, and an opportunity for a thousand people to see my portfolio.  That's enough pressure to sabotage any one of us.  What to do?  That's the second half of Mr. Pressfield's book, Turning Pro!  I will "apply self-knowledge, self-discipline, delayed gratification and hard work."  I must stay mindful of that demon called Resistance.
It is always lurking....

I am determined to battle this The War of Art, I will out-smart Resistance with courage and conviction.  This Hero's Journey will not defeat me. I have the focus to access the Power of Now.  I will surrender to the Law of Intention and Desire. I breathe deeply and invoke my muse. Oh, Universe , conspire to assist me... for I am ready to rumble!

Part 4
Oh, Drat!  Oh, Drat!
July 1, 2014   

One week has passed... and I am freaking out!
This is turning into a retreat from hell! 

I cannot get a handle on my work. I am working day and night, but  my direction feels askew and noncommittal... My 'to do' list is huge and I am not moving forward. Thought time was my friend.  Now it is my enemy.
Only one month to go.  I cannot breathe.

I have a sudden need to wash the kitchen floor and vacuum.  The vacuum  catches on the laptop wire, dumping the entire contents of my paint water on my work table, drenching my work and  keyboard.  The rest of the day is spent rescuing my laptop, and drying papers in the sun.  No more cleaning.

I have been back and forth to the library, frantically checking out picture books. I have surrounded myself with my personal masters of inspiration, hoping this will do the trick.  The work of Patricia Polacco, David Shannon, Mark Buehner and Michael Paraskevas all seem to give me that warm and fuzzy creative feeling.  They are so masterful, brilliant, unique and sublime!  And suddenly I am intimidated in their presence.... diminished by their genius...

When I am befuddled creatively... I also become an amnesiac.  I must remind myself that creativity is a complicated  'affliction' that works in mysterious ways.  But there are answers. Creatives are known for their 'blocks'... sometimes it's called procrastination, self sabotage, immobilization, etc... Steven Pressfield, in his book, "The War of Art" (the bible for the creative) calls it 'Resistance.'  I know I must be facing some form of resistance even though I am working furiously.  So I go through the ritual of exploring random pages of "The War of Art" to search for answers.  ALAS!  It is as if the universe empathizes with my plight, and almost immediately, these words pop off the page...

         'The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we feel towards pursuing it."

                            I will sleep on this.


My pup Gracie, and grand-pup Monty, are sitting quietly scrutinizing my frantic antics in and out of the house.  OMG! They need to fit in the car as well!  I might as well stay home... BUT I have the grand-kitties, Ursa and Wally, anxiously awaiting my arrival at the town-house in Claremont, Ca .

I will leave the boxes of my precious inspirational picture books and go to a library there.  And I will forgo some food and go to a supermarket there.  I am not off to the amazon jungle.  And who needs clothes anyway?

Hugs and kisses to Hubby and Schmuley the Wonder Cat,  and I am on my way!
On the freeway with radio blasting...
wind blowing in my hair (from the A/C),
sipping coffee,
giggling...
I am footloose and fancy-free!!!!!!