I began this blog/website format a little over a year ago to keep my images and information current, but also to keep connected to you. I really enjoy maintaining the site myself, and appreciate the features it provides for both of us. Because this site is a hybrid between a blog and website, it’s understandably different and perhaps confusing for new users, with undiscovered elements for past users. So I thought I’d point out some under-utilized features you may enjoy with the screen shots below.
• The most obvious part of the site are the “Pages” in the top right corner that are typical to most websites. They are fairly self-explanatory (Résumé, Workshops, etc), but to be clear, each blue word or phrase can be clicked and leads to a page with that information.
• “Recent Posts” lists the last 15 posts I have written. What you are reading right now is a blog post. You can just keep scrolling down here to see all older posts, or just click to read any title of interest. If you ever want to get back to the “main page,” you can run your cursor underneath the header that says “Kristen Kieffer Ceramics”, and you’ll see all the page headings including “Blog” on the far left.
• The third section in the column on the left is titled “Search Past Posts by Category“. This is where the 16th through the oldest posts are archived. I don’t blog daily, so there aren’t dozens to sift through. I also try to make posts that are timeless, so the past posts will continue to be relevant and of interest in the future. (Though, some are time sensitive events.) There are great posts and images in there, so have a look: “Favorites” are posts about things, objects and images I love. “Happenings” is a catch-all for upcoming events, news and general goings-on. “Influences” are about things, objects and images that influence my work and me as an artist. “New” features new forms, surfaces and ideas. And “Studio” are posts about unfinished work in-progress and what’s going on in my studio. (Some posts overlap two or three categories.) The drop down “Archives” menu is another way peruse old posts by month and year.
• Next is a link for you to click to become a fan of Kieffer Ceramics on FaceBook to read casual studio updates and receive info about upcoming events.
• “Gallery Affiliation” are links to galleries around the country where I sell and usually have work available for sale.
• “Organizations” are links to schools, centers and non-profits that I have been a part of and support.
• “Art/Artists” is a short but growing list of non-ceramics makers who’s work I admire.
• “Artists/Ceramics” is a listing of friends, peers, favorite artists and those who have been particularly supportive and generous.
• “Artists/Design” are my favorite individual industrial designers or collectives.
All of the names are clickable and lead to their websites.
• “Blogroll” is a list of other artists or individuals who also maintain blogs I read or recommend.
• “Good Stuff” is a list of organizations with goals I believe in, primarily to help people.
• Lastly are the “Tags” I use when I create a new post. I choose words to attach to each post that are relevant to its content. This is another way to do searches. So if you are interested in my comments about Art Nouveau, for example, as an influence, you can click that phrase, and all past posts where it is mentioned will be listed.
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