Maintaining Creative Friendships...



Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Over the years, I've been able to attend several really incredible art events. At these events, I've learned skills and techniques that I didn't know beforehand and I've also met some of my most favorite people ever. On a few really, REALLY, lucky occasions I've been able to maintain these relationships and branch them into friendships.

Real friendships.

I love that, and I really believe that email helps build those friendships. None of the friendships I've developed are with people who live close to me. The closest one lives at least 40 miles away.

That's a lotta miles, friend!

Fortunately, the big huge world of the 'ole www (that's World Wide Web), provides a way for us to maintain a relationship and communication with each other.

It's called email.

You know what that is, right? :)

(Though, I will be the first to admit, I still tend to be horrible at always responding to emails. Even if they are from some of my most favorite people EVER.)

This past weekend, I participated in and attended The Art of Spring, which was the very last event the wonderful women of A Gilded Life will be hostessing in their Church.

Yes, I said Church.

Doesn't everyone host events in churches? Or better yet, live in them?

Well THEY do! (DID rather....)

I had the absolute BEST time. I was able to hang out with my 'peeps', see some of my absolute most favorite people EVER, and get to know a whole slew of new people too!

People who GET me.

I mean, REALLY get me. (They don't get all huffy when they see that I consider myself a Gilded Girl. 'Cause they KNOW what it means... and I'm not just being a snob!)

(Photo from Jackie Peter's Blog)
They get the need to create. They get the urge to gather (and hoard) vintage art, baubles, and ephemera.  They totally understand why I have separate tools for fine jewelry making rather than using the very same tools to solder or to repair furniture.

I know you know what I mean.

I've got a really great post mostly written with some of the awesomeness that we enjoyed that weekend (I've actually scheduled writing it into my busy calendar!!!), so hold on to your britches... It's a comin'!!

The point I want to get to is this...

Even though I don't live very close to any of these friends, we are able to maintain connections with each other via email.

We email about our lives, about jalepeno's that co-workers left on our desks (Yes, Charlotte... you ARE a hot mamma!), about ridiculous things people say or do, about what we're wearing (and what we should NOT be wearing), about art projects, art inspirations, and even better.... SALES!!

We email about hardships, joyous occasions, challenges, and successes. We talk about the work we're submitting for publication (and getting honest feedback on it), about the opportunities to have our businesses grow, about the thrills of seeing our work in print (and available at a local bookstore for everyone to see), and about the challenges of not getting our work selected.

Many times we email about the things we don't want to have completely public (otherwise we'd be reading about it on each others blogs or on that amazing place called Facebook), and that we want to discuss amongst those we hold close to our heart.

Email is a wonderful thing.

Truely it is.

(Now, if only I could find a way (or even a better system) to read my email AND reply to it on my smart phone. I'm telling you ... though technology is phenomenal, it's also a curse!!)


P.S. For the record... I've used Yahoo! email for over 20 years.
P.P.S. Now I feel old.

3 comments:

jackie said...

I love you Heather Ales!

Charlotte Perez said...

Those jalapeƱos were HOT.....and Jackie, I love her more than you. Just sayin'.

Helena said...

I haven't had email for that long!