Upgraded Website

In October last year I cancelled my professional website which I considered to be quite expensive for my then needs. It was a left-over from my business. I had been able to manage the content of this website for quite sometime so had quietly accumulated some skills in website management. I then decided to build my own website using one of those free online website building programmes, and commenced what was nothing short of a major learning curve.

I have always thoroughly enjoyed twiddling on the computer and making new discoveries. In building my own website however, I had heaps to discover and manage. I did my best, and was relatively happy when I got everything on line. I left it at that point and occasionally returned to add/delete stuff etc.

As with most things, time moves on and we learn more and our skills improve until there comes a point when we look back and decide that things need an upgrade. It has been much easier this time as the original website structure is there, and just needed to be enhanced further. And when things don't work as planned I knew where to look, and hopefully correct an error I had overlooked... well, to be honest, it may have taken a couple of attempts!

I am feeling quite pleased with my efforts, I hope to add more after my exhibition opening this coming week. In the meantime you might like to have a peek www.dianaparkes.co.nz. Perhaps in another year I will be ready to upgrade again!

My new home page.

The older I get I find that most things need to be upgraded, or at least revisited, on a fairly regular basis. We are all on a journey of self-discovery and one can only hope that it is all positive. It would be a shame to ignore this and stay in a comfort zone. Our creative work needs the same approach as we get fresh ideas, new confidence in our own abilities, and the guts to give something new a go. It doesn't matter if it is not altogether successful, but it should spur us on to do our best. A success may not be entirely as we originally intended; the outcome may be even better, opening up new thoughts and opportunities. So, go for it everyone!

This is all very deep for a mild and overcast Saturday afternoon in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, but hey, why not.

Final Deliveries

Today I delivered the final pieces for my exhibition to the gallery. I suppose I should be feeling a sense of relief that I have got to this point, and probably I am. However, there is still more to come. By that I mean that I have yet to see my work hung in the gallery and we all know how this can make or break an exhibition. However, I have total faith in the curator. I have given her very few criteria as I would like her to interpret the presentation with her own artistic abilities. From what I have seen so far of previous exhibitions, she is very capable! It pays not to be too precious about these things. It is, of course, a joint venture between artist and gallery.

The major part of my exhibition! It doesn't look much but there are 14 wall pieces in the car ready for their journey to the gallery. They are rolled around cardboard yardage rolls covered in wadding, two or three on a roll, then wrapped in a covering cloth. The gallery already has other pieces pertaining to the exhibition.

Single figures now - nine days to go to the opening!