Yo

We went to see our friend Emily, one of the most gifted artists I know, at her book in the Bennington Farmer’s Market today. I love Emily’s work and am eager to let people know about her.

She is a talent for many forms- collage, baking, writing,  paper books. You can find her blog, PapercakeScissors.com, here.

Some good news today from her. She is getting ready to start her fall college classes, and one of her ideas is to start with cat collage classes for cat lovers and owners that anybody can do easily and creatively.

(She has a cat named Callie)

Blog readers started taking her classes last winter, and people loved them. They are virtual, only online, and great for artists, wannabe artists, people looking for something fun to do at home, people eager to work with their daughters, sisters, or granddaughters.

Emily is the real deal, as you can see for yourself from her blog.

Emily gives people collage kits and helps them get started on this relatively new and fun art medium.

For her, collage is an ancient art form that almost anybody can learn to do in one form or another. Her classes get people started.

(Emily Good with her new “toast book.”)

Emily and I have been having this good-natured and, for me, fascinating talk about the best way to sell art or raise money online, a precious subject for me and something Maria and I have been talking about for years.

I believe artists and writers spent too much time racing to different websites, hoping to catch on. It’s easy to draw hundreds or thousands of curious people to a blog, but to keep them there requires hard work, discipline, and content worthy of seeing and reading.

(Emily is one of Maria’s closest friends, they are sisters in creativity.)

I’m blown away by Emily’s creativity and talent, and I love the idea of her focusing her collage and on her increasingly popular (and inexpensive) virtual classes. Emily does a dozen things at once, from her art to baking her cakes, pastries, and scones.

She has a huge and loyal following at the Farmer’s Market and other places. So this is one of the things my blog tries to do: focus the light on the gifted coming up next. Emily is one of those.

Collage is a versatile and especially accessible art form,  and Emily uses it brilliantly.

It opens the door to creativity to anybody with some elementary materials willing to spend an hour online and have things to say. This is the best use of the Internet , not the nasty carping of trolls, but the creative spark lighting up people’s souls.

We talked about focusing her classes on subjects – like cats or dogs or kids or goats and sheep or life, all things that matter to Emily and could draw more people to her website. She’s going to think about it.

So this is an experiment. Do your cate a favor. Make a collage out of him or her. You can send Emily a message on her blog, right here.

Emily has noticed that I begin my e-mails with a “yo,” rather than a more formal hello. So she made me a “yo” collage which is hanging on my study. I laugh every time I see it.

I’d strongly suggest that anyone who has a creative spark check out, and she made me a special collage in honor of that habit. The wonderful thing about creative people like Emily and Maria is that they see art almost everywhere and in everything.

I am definitely a “yo” kind of guy. I rarely see Emily, and this is not about making money. It’s about this new, friendly, easy, and profoundly creative way of making and art and being creative.

The internet and blogs like mine and Emily’s make it possible for artists to do and survive. I think Emily’s collage class is a brilliant idea, and judging from the early response, effective and inspiring. Light the creative spark within.

Check it out. For gifted and willing artists to make good stuff, this is the path to the future. Bite the bullet and take the plunge.

My “Yo card.”