What Would You Do Differently?

When you look back on your life, what one thing would you do differently? What comes to mind? I recently saw this question posed somewhere and when I pondered my response, I had my art career in mind. I immediately thought of the time, many years ago, when I bought way TOO MANY frames. And spent a ridiculous amount of money. 

It was sometime around the early 1990’s. I was producing quite a lot of art and it seemed like a good idea to begin buying frames. At the time, I lived on Long Island, New York, and there was a wholesale frame manufacturer that I could drive to in Queens. It wasn’t a terrible trek but something of a schlep.

So I began buying frames and attaching them to my completed work. I felt so very professional as I took those journeys to Queens. At some point, I decided to buy a quantity of frames in a variety of painting sizes so I wouldn’t have to make as many trips. It was not a feasible financial decision. Not at all. I spent way too much money and then had less need for the sizes and style I had purchased. In fact, all these years later, I still have too many of those metal frames hanging around the studio.

For years, I felt a sting when remembering that purchase. It’s probably one of the reasons I shy away from any real framing. I love the gallery wrapped canvases because I can paint the sides and avoid the framing. And if I really feel the need to frame a painting, I usually resort to the simple method I learned in High School… cutting wooden slats, sanding the ends, and nailing them to the stretched canvas.

It’s easy to look at a decision like that from my current vantage point and want to have chosen differently. But honestly, if I had it to do over again, I might end up doing the same exact thing (at that time). I remember my thought process back then and it seemed to be such a good decision.

What comes to mind when you think of one thing you would want to do differently?

Changes

Establishing a new website, blog, and newsletter can be very positive. It feels like everything has a fresh new look and feel which can be quite energizing. But, there's another side to this.

Last night I spent some time at my old blog. I have been posting articles and artwork there for almost ten years. Although my experience with Blogger has had it's frustrations recently, it has been home to the Shared Easel blog and newsletter.

Finding a new home through Squarespace means letting go of the past and moving on. Even when change is good, it still has it's moments of needing to embrace the new and release the tendency to hold onto the old. This is true whether we are talking about a website or a life experience.

Life is a series of changes... changing times, changing relationships and experiences, changes in mood, beliefs, thoughts, and dreams. We are constantly faced with new opportunities, challenges, and obstacles. 

So, as I travel the path of my fresh start, I am reflecting fondly on the past and the steps of the journey to this point. I am very excited to be where I am now. 

What changes are you making in your life?

Squarespace Tips

I've just recently spent a couple of months researching Web builders and then setting up my new Website through Squarespace. It can be a daunting challenge to face the 14 day trial period if you are totally new to creating a website with a web builder. So, I wanted to share some tips I've learned from my experience in working with Squarespace. Here's some of what I have learned:

To save time, plan out your website and know what you are looking for in a template.

1. You can extend your 14 day trial period. Once your trial period is up, you will receive an email asking you to pay for one of their plans. At the bottom of that email, they allow you to request an extra 7 days if you are not ready to commit or not finished with designing your site.

2. Before you begin the trial period, have a clear idea of what your priorities are for your site, the pages you will want to put in place, and how you want the site to flow. The more time you spend in advance, the better your use of time during the 14 days.

3. Choose a template based on what you are looking for and your priorities in building a new site. Review the templates based on it's overall design, whether it has a blog option, a sidebar, gallery pages, etc. The templates have different features. Which features are most important to you?

4. There is a lot of flexibility for adding pages and content with the Squarespace template... although some aspects are fixed to the design of the template with little possibility to altering it much. The blog design is one of those fixed elements.

5. The Squarespace help page offers periodic webinars for getting started, lots of videos and informational pages to answer most of your questions, and an online chat with a representative. The chat process works very well, with someone available quite quickly to help you with your questions. (They cannot help you with adding code to customize your site.) They do not have a phone line.

6. Webinar participants are given a discount code at the beginning of the webinar. It can be used when you pay for hosting. So you might as well sign up and save.

7. Putting text in the Banner descriptions will increase the height of that Banner. Originally, I had both a title and a subtitle for several of the Banners on my site. I have since removed the text description on a number of them to create a sleeker look. (I am using the Bryant Template.)

8. As I write this blog post now, I realize that the blog does not automatically save my work, as I've been used to in Blogger. I now have to save the draft, which closes it, and then I have to reopen it to continue writing. Awkward process!

9. There is easy access to view the site on a mobile device. But it was so easy to miss. There's a tiny little horizontal line at the top center of your trial site. Once you hover over it, the straight line becomes a slight downward arrow. Click to reveal the icons for phone view, tablet view, and desktop view.

I chose Squarespace primarily for the clean template designs and their professional look. Here are some other things I like about using Squarespace:

1. I love the ability to create custom URLs for every page and any image. As far as I could see, Wix created those URLs for you. I appreciate having control over the web addresses so I can keep them short and simple.

2. You can change templates at any time. I don't know what that entails but I'm happy to be able to have that option in the future.

3. The templates are wonderfully mobile friendly. You don't have to design for mobile devices. It is all done for you. But you could design in phone or tablet mode if you prefer.

4. I like having the option to add code to further customize a page. I was able to find code recommendations posted by other Squarespace users. But many people will find it is easy to rely on what the template and the Squarespace tools have to offer.

I did have some frustrations in setting up my website with Squarespace. I was not thrilled with the blog design and I really didn't like the constraints of the gallery and store pages. But with a bit of code, some tech help from my husband, and some tweaks I was able to accomplish on my own, I was able to make the website exactly what I wanted it to be. 

Please let me know if you have found this helpful... and good luck setting up your new website. You may also be interested in the prior blog post on Choosing a Web Builder.

Choosing a Web Builder

Ten years ago I immersed myself in working with a purchased template to create a website. I wowed myself every day as I altered the code to set up galleries, links, and pages. Over the years, that site has become a dinosaur. It didn't work on mobile devices, it was clunky for adding content, and it was looking tired and old compared to the new sites out there.

So, I finally took the plunge into the world of web builders. I checked out comparison reviews of the various options. I viewed the templates offered by a wide variety of platforms. After spending much time exploring my options, I decided to simultaneously play around with a trial experience at both Squarespace and Wix.

The Squarespace Design Style Editor

Initially, I felt frustrated and stuck during my use of the Squarespace interface. I just didn't get it. I had journeyed into unfamiliar territory. So, I moved over to Wix and it seemed to hold my hand and show me the way. But, as I began to add images into the template and try to tweak what I wanted, it got clunky and I found myself getting frustrated.

That's when I gave Squarespace another try. I immediately felt more at home with the clean and neat design that had originally attracted me. Ten minutes with a loved one had me beginning to understand the way it worked. It didn't feel as foreign anymore. 

I chose Squarespace because of their beautifully designed templates and their polished professional interface. I had an uncomfortable learning curve but finally got my footing on this new platform.