A Different Kind Of Celebration

Three years ago this day, two passionate, excited, naïve bloggers propelled into cyberspace a project they had dreamed of since their most serendipitous first interactions together online.

The bloggers were, of course, yours truly and my partner in crime, Tallulah “Lulu” Stark.  The project was what you see here, A Canvas Of The Minds.

I don’t think either of us had a clue of what it would eventually become, which was key.  We had ideas and hopes and dreams, but I’ll tell you all now that I never expected then to be where we — and I — are now.  I think a little blind naïveté is just what we need sometimes.

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Gathering up the ocean in my arms

When Ruby asked me if I’d like to contribute to Canvas I was excited. As in really excited. As in ‘I’m a bit bouncy and excited’ excited. I bounced around for a bit, being all excited and then it started to dawn on me that if I wanted to write something for Canvas I’d actually have to sit down and write something. If I’m honest I sat down to try and write something quite a few times. I’ve always been a perfectionist. And I’ve always been struck by the irony that when you’re a perfectionist there is no such thing as perfection.

BFMH 2014 – We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Blog

art by Piper Macenzie

Coming in to the launch of Blog For Mental Health 2014, I thought I was prepared.  I’d made some important changes to the way the campaign was set up, and I was sure those changes would remove any confusion, making this year both more inclusive and easier for me to stage.

As it turns out, I was right.  I was also utterly unprepared for the response Blog For Mental Health 2014 has generated.  As of this writing, we already have more than 60 confirmed pledges, and that number grows daily.  That may not stagger you, but in the whole of last year’s campaign, we received a sum total of 116 pledges.  In 11 days, Blog For Mental Health 2014 has received more than half of the total for pledge posts in the entire 2013 campaign!

BFMH 2014 – Much Love & One Request

art by Piper Macenzie

As the weekend approaches, when I will begin sharing out Blog For Mental Health 2014 pledge posts on our social media, I want to say a huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who has participated so far.  It’s only been four days, and holy wow, look at our Blog For Mental Health 2014 Official Blogroll!

So many of you have done more by sharing the post through social media, by cheering me on from behind-the-scenes, and by just inspiring, supporting, and utterly humbling me.

I just have one request to make. . .

Protect Your Words, Your Work, And Yourself

This post is a bit of a deviation from the theme of mental health, but it’s something I like to write about annually, as I feel too few people are aware of how widespread this issue is, what their rights are, and how they can help to keep their work safeguarded.

As you may or may not be know, content theft is one of my hot button issues when it comes to blogging.  Copyrights and licenses are displayed everywhere on this blog, as well as a Copyscape banner (and yes, I actually do use this service). Additionally, each author has a unique copyright for their work on Canvas.  I have personally been to the mat many times with sites that insisted on violating intellectual property rights, and I have won every fight.

To my fellow Artists …

Lately I have been feeling the weight of not contributing to Canvas as much as I had originally planned. Even on my own blog I have barely had the time or energy to sketch, post and read updates from others. But not posting on my own blog burdens me less for some reason.

I keep quiet mostly about my illness, a stupid male pride thing. But on Canvas I found a means to express and share – partly to help myself process some thoughts and feelings and also in the hope I may be able to help others in some small way by sharing.

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” ~Aristotle

Rare Time, Rare People, Rare Earth

Yep, that time of year has come ’round! *the rare time  So. . .

A Very Mini Update From Ruby

Hello to all of you, my very dear friends.  I want to check in, but before there is time for misunderstanding to occur, I want to be very, very clear about one pretty important thing, which is I have not returned to blogging.  Actually, I may need even longer a break than I had anticipated, which is why I’m writing this — that and the very thoughtful and wise words from someone I know who pointed out that my prolonged silence might cause worry.

I am still maintaining our social media, as I said I would do.  And occasionally, when posting a picture or a link to facebook, I’ll get to sharing my thoughts a little bit.