I started out reading as an escape, then a chore, then a habit, then a luxury. Only now I’ve realized what a necessity it is.
~Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Jul12
Monday Morning Wisdom #318
Tag Archives: Reading
Nov13
In the Meme Time: Reading All Night
Jun23
5 Years of ARHtistic License
I missed my own blog birthday! On June 3, ARHtistic License turned five years old.
My goal for ARHtistic License is that it would be a place where creative people would come together to celebrate the arts and discuss the creative process. A year ago, AL had 683 subscribers; today it has 941, an increase of almost 38%. I’m happy about that growth. I’m on track to hit 1000 subscribers before the end of 2020. Are you a subscriber yet?
Here are the ten most popular posts on ARHtistic License in the past year, based on the number of “likes” they earned:
- Hiking in the Arboretum
- Tuesday Photo Challenge: Tourism
- Creative Juice #188
- Creative Juice #156
- Creative Juice #159
- Wordless Wednesday/ Flower of the Day: Lavender Daisies
- Creative Juice #171
- Sunday Trees/ Flower of the Day: Palo Verde Blossom
- Flower of the Day: Palo Verde Blossoms
- Wordless Wednesday/ Flower of the Day: Flowering Cactus
Nine of these posts fall in one of two categories: photo challenges and curated articles (Creative Juice). The outlier, “Hiking in the Arboretum,” is a photography-heavy post, more of a photo essay. So, should I focus on photography and reading recommendations, since these are the kinds of things that my readers apparently like? It would certainly free up a lot of my time, since those kinds of posts can be generated fairly quickly.
In contrast, here are what I consider to be some of my very best posts this year, in no particular order, which received very few likes:
- Franz Schubert
- Interview with Author Paul Mosier
- The Red Priest
- Quiz: Are You 65+ Years Old and Cool?
- Mathew Brady, the Father of Photojournalism
- An Interview with Vesna Taneva-Miller
- Why Writers Should Review Books
- I’d Rather Be Dancing Greek Folk Dances
- Common Misconceptions About Creativity
- Fra Angelico, the Angelic Friar
- Review of Crazy Brave: A Memoir, by Joy Harjo
- NaPoWriMo Day Eight: Starting with a Line from Sylvia
Are these articles dull? Should I avoid spending time on posts like these?
Please help me. What would you like to see more of on ARHtistic License? What would you like less of? If you read a blog post you like and there’s a “Like” button, do you click it? If not, why not? I’d love feedback on all the questions that appear in bold throughout this article. Please comment below.
May1
Creative Juice #188
Three poems this week, some funny stuff, and some useful information, as well as beauty.
- Do you love horses?
- Do you miss cameras with film?
- A self-quarantine poem.
- A man lived in a shack for five years and did nothing but read. You will probably recognize his name if not his story.
- Beautiful Arizona quilts.
- More art-recreation.
- A whimsical NaPoWriMo poem.
- Dyeing with stuff you probably have in your kitchen.
- Do you take care of little kids all day? You’re going to love these tips.
- I found this marketing article very interesting.
- Warning: some of these are very sad. But most are LOL funny.
- Frances is the queen of organizing fabrics. Her sewing room sparks joy in my life.
May1
In the Meme Time: Outside
Mar27
In the Meme Time: What to Do While Self-Quarantined
Nov22
Creative Juice #165
A dozen neat things to enjoy this weekend.
- When plein air painting in the Arctic, you may want to fill your water brush with vodka or gin to lower their freezing points, and other hints.
- Did you get to the International Quilt Festival? No? The photos in this article are almost as good as being there in person.
- Good qualities for creative people to cultivate.
- Your childhood memories ruined forever.
- A poet tells the story behind her poem.
- Although other people may look better the more you have to drink, you look better to other people after you commit to sobriety. Need proof?
- An infographic on how the world reads.
- Master of caricature.
- How a boy’s comfort zone was squashed. And how long it took to get over it.
- Look at these great pictures this wildlife photographer captured.
- Why, if you want to draw people, a life drawing class is a good investment.
- Books that will make you the life of the party this Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey Day! Don’t forget to give thanks to God.
Aug16
Creative Juice #151
Inspiring stuff:
- Beautiful fungi.
- You become more skillful as a result of practice. One watercolorist’s story.
- Kinetic art made out of paper.
- Advice you can take even if you’re older than 21. You’re never too late to grow wise.
- How to write 12 books in 12 months.
- Helpful resources for the journey called Life.
- Wish your exercise routine could make you more creative? Think color.
- Crumpled art.
- I’ve only seen a few of these, and some of them were hard to watch, but this list of classic movies is noteworthy.
- I wish I’d seen this article before we remodeled our home. . .
- This article is from a few years ago, but the reasons to read and suggested books are still compelling.
- Some sketches from Amsterdam (and links to lots more).
Nov29
Video of the Week #177: Why to Read Aloud to Children
Nov2
Creative Juice #113
Articles curated especially to enhance your creativity.
- Amazing sand sculpture.
- Fabulous graffiti festival.
- Beautiful photographs of birds.
- Try out these reading nooks with me.
- A different kind of tutu.
- I still reread/rewatch Hunger Games every chance I get.
- What books were in the running for the Great American Read?
- What do you have to do to be an Instagram star? Apparently be full of fluff.
- I participated in Inktober2018 along with thousands of other artists. Here are some offerings from Rohvannyn Shaw.
- Ever want to hand-make a special little card for someone?
- Embroidered portraits featuring long, flowing hair.
- Lovely (?) miniatures.
