It Is Only Natural

It is only natural that a writer uses a blog to broadcast the publishing of her new book. Actually a two-part mystery series named Until Proven: A Mystery in Two Parts. It is written by a long time associate and friend of mine, Nora Gaskin. We have known each other for some thirty years. Nora's dad was a Literature Professor at UNC Chapel Hill, and my father-in-law was also and one of his best friends. So as one might expect -- after many lively discussions at dinner parties --Nora and become acquainted. And have had a blast sharing many yearly festive activities at my home and hers.

Until Proven is a mystery, a family saga, and an examination of how a community changes--or doesn't. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. So I immediately ordered an ebook version and read straight through parts one and two in two days. The two different eras described in the story provide perceptive insight into the tenor of both times in a small southern town-- in particular race relations as they evolved. The mysteries that unfolded kept me at the edge of the page!

So check out Nora's recent blog that describes the many ways you can order this new intriquing series.   Online, or in book stores.

PS, I helped Nora set up the blog and she caught on immediately. She got busy changing font sizes, colors, added new embellishments. Hard to keep up with her willingness to lay it all out there in print -- even the kind to expect online!

So, check her blog. It will definitely satisfy.

Barbi Dalton Painter on Orange County Artists Tour

Coming up, the Orange County Artists Guild Tour, Nov 3 & 4, 10 & 11 in  Chapel Hill. Check out this short movie created  by Trudy Thomson on her website that shows the lovely work of Barbi Dalton, who is located at 2 Crow Hollow, Chapel Hill, 27514.

See: http://www.trudythomson.com/barbi.html

Metaphorically Speaking

Coming up, the Orange County Artist Tour. Check out the following video that shows the detailed elegance of art pots created by Judith Ernst. Her work is a wonder. She is part of the tour that is held the first two weekends in November. (I am also on the tour offering fused glass and fiber arts) -- Trudy Thomson

Video Captures the Cosmos And Chaos

This article introduces you to a  recent video I produced for a new artist friend of mine who creates abstract art she describes as Cosmos And Chaos. She slaps paint on to the canvas, scrapes, whips and whips brushes around to add pigment, sand, earth, and grit to her canvas. The layers are built up and destroyed. The results? Stimulating!

Shelley lives in Chapel Hill and she will be participating in the upcoming Orange County Artists Guild Tour the first two weekends in November. So stop her designated site to see her work as well as many other worthy artists in the group.

Here is her story in a video format.



In this video, Shelly Hehenberger describes how nature in the inspiration for her artwork, what her painting process and techniques are like, and shares with us a recent exhibition of her work at the NC Museum of Life Sciences, in Raleigh. This video was shot and edited by Trudy Thomson of Chapel Hill.

See my website for other video examples as well as this vimeo site for my art videos. 

The Psychology of Social Media

Just got a great newsletter from MOZ about the latest in Social Media and Content Management. Ah, yes, so boring. And who has the time. But this group has some very serious breadth and depth about how to handle everything from Facebook posting to the psychology of the words you use when you are blogging. I am always interested in research about how we interact, why we do what we do, and how our images influence our lives. So this is in alignment with my current interests.

I particularly liked this link about how one uses a Facebook page to promote a service or product -- or how one avoids common mistakes about the words you use to entice others to come on along with what you are promoting or offering.

To see the full list of there offerings for this month take a look at this site. The author is SEOmoz. I am impressed, and hope you will find a few articles of interest to your particular needs. We are each different. Yes indeed.

For more info about website design...particularly if you are a small enterprise that would like the benefits of a large idea, see http://www.trudythomson.com. Love shaping the message so that each and everyone gets a chance to reach the ring!

Transform a Theme using Wordpress Wisely

Recently I decided to recreate my art website using Wordpress, and spent quite a while closely examining a number of themes to find a presentation of photos that would compliment my art, which represents a number of different mediums. That makes it a bit tough to find a cohesive look and feel. And because I have background in graphic design, I am particular about creating something that not only works well, but looks appropriate for the subject matter.

Original Web Site Designed by Trudy using HTML and Javascript

Quite a while back, when I build my first art website, I had adopted a gallery title of Ferns & Fancy with a tag line: Amidst the Ferns, we create our Fancy -- decorative crafts in various media. Follow different paths of our woodside trail to see our latest twists and turns. Originally I had created a website with a black background and clustered images together in tightly bound tables to represent different categories of my art, including silk, glass, weaving. A bonus was an area where there were many images of my garden and landscaped surrounds.

For my new site, I decided to revamp the entire look and go for a white background with a more minimalistic look and selected a Wordpress theme to use as the container -- so to speak -- for this new vamp or view of the many images I have of my art work. Again, I decided to work with the theme of a garden environment replete with ferns and lovely wild flowers. My home page selection is now called Stroll, because that page let's you stroll through different images of my work -- each photographed within the context of the woodland trails of my garden.

New Web Site Designed by Trudy using Wordpress

So if you are curious, take a look at my latest presentation to view the most recent version, and compare it to my earlier prior introduction to my work .

By the way, for those that are interested in the particulars about web site design, this second link is now housed in a folder under my major hosting site. I purchased a premium account from goddady.com which now enables me to have any number of sites hosted at the same location. By the way, goddaddy representatives were most helpful in making sure that my hosting using Wordpress would also be successful. I have used godaddy for years for my web site clients who needed to purchase domain names as well as hosting services, and I highly recommend them.

For Artists: Marketing Your Art with Manta

Trudy Thomson 

Found a great site that explains way more than anyone wants to know but is very valuable. Everything from how to take the best pictures, how to describe your art, to what steps to take to get more "hits" or "hearts".  So, kudos to the folks that figured it out. 

Here it is: http://meylah.com/meylah/search?terms0=shop

It appears that meylah can also host your creations, let you create a website fast, and get great advice. Now, I did not get into the details about websites because I am a website designer and I do my own thing. If you want your very own personal website, you can find me at http://www.trudythomson.com/web.html.

If you already have a website but you want to revamp and create a fresh new look, contact me. I love visual design and working with artists is my pleasure. My website is: http://www.trudythomson.com 

Also, you can see my art videos at http://vimeo.com/trudythomson/videos

Bimini Viewed through the Eye of Trudy's Phone

Amazing.  Carried a small consumer camera and fancy mono-pod to the bahamas. Got there after hitting many folks in the shins on the narrow airline aisles. Then the battery was drained to nothing and I happened to bring the wrong charger. Woe was me. But I remembered that my iPhone had video capabilities. And did it ever. I shot scads of scenes. Brought them home and uploaded to my Final Cut Pro editing systems and ALL SYSTEMS GO. Created a small fun and very sharp video --

Posted via email from trudythomson's Space

Enjoy! And see more of my videos made for fun and professionally produced for various subjects at my youtube channel. 

Judith Ernst, Ceramic Art

With pleasure I present my latest video concoction. More than that, it is about how one imbues beauty with meaning. This was created by me for one of my favorite artist friends...Judith Ernst. You should see her process; this should not be missed. Here is the link to the video.

Judith Ernst of Chapel Hill - Ceramic Artist at work in her studio

Why Have a Blog?

I received an email from a site named Manta that had some excellent ideas about blogging with success. So I have excerpted it and included it here:


"Blogs are a great promotional tool. But, like anything, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. If all you are doing is posting information online, what good is that? The real value to a blog is not your words so much as it is the words of your audience. That means you need feedback...conversation....interaction between you and your audience. I recommend you actually explain to friends that you need for them to comment on your blog and help generate "buzz" for it. When people respond to a blog that is on a web server that is highly ranked by Google, wonderful things can happen. For one, not only can your blog become more visible, but the comments to your blog become more visible and therefore become an asset to the person that made the comment.

Many online newspapers function a lot like a blog. Many you will see even included "share buttons" for numerous social networks. Why? So the visibility of your blog can be enhanced. If there was ever a reason to start commenting on blogs, better SEO and visibility through the online world is the reason.


I cordially invite you to put this idea to the test. Visit http://budurl.com/SmallBizExaminer and start commenting on articles. When you conclude your comment, be sure to include your name, business and business website in your signature. Next, go to Google.com and type into the big text (search) box a keyword you placed in your comment. See if the keyword ends up with a link to the article you just now commented on. This has actually happened to me numerous times. Therefore, I know the process can work. 


Commenting on blogs is a great way to life up a businesses and give them enhanced visibility in the marketplace.


If you have any questions about any of this, simply contact me via http://tungle.me/lamarmorgan."

-- excerpted from manta.com

Digital Effect Slide Showcase

Check out these new slide shows I produced about my art work as well as the wonderful gardens around my house.
The first: click here to see the scenes of my hand-dyed shibori scarves.


And for the second example: click here for a flurry through a series of my fused glass pieces.

And for a third show: click here which is a stroll through my garden in the spring.


And contact me if you would like me to make one for you. I can offer a variety of effects as slides come into view. Simple and Reflective or Up Beat and Very

First Video Tone Poem

Of the creek by my house.

I shot and edited this with complete meditative concentration.

The surround brings me joy...

https://vimeo.com/39005821

Video Exposure to the Arts

My latest intrigues have been creating video for artists. Selecting music that compliments a particular style can be a challenge, but putting the presentation together is a delight. I just initiated a Vimeo channel, which is where I will start to post recent work about artists. 

My latest piece is about one of the artists -- Susan McClaurin -- who makes collages using handmade paper, photographs and other ephemera. I really enjoy her techniques and the "narrative" implied by her imagery. Here is an image of one of her pieces that is part of her series named A Year of Magical Thinking, and here is a link to Susan McLaurin's website. 

Another artist that I created movies for is named Eduardo Lapetina. He is a member of the Orange County Artists Guild,  which I am also pleased to be a part of. Eduardo paints very colorful large abstract paintings that display lots of color and texture. Eduardo uses symbolic shapes and colors to express his deepest emotions and passion for life. He applies paint to the canvas in unusual ways - by pouring, splashing, dripping and scratching. Layers and layers of paint create a sensuous and turbulent surface texture that is as vital and as complicated as life itself.  
Here is a link to my new vimeo channel that includes recent clips showcasing the art of Susan as well as Eduardo. I hope you enjoy and plan to keep your eyes and ears out for more postings!