With this post I thee wed. I mean with this post I am entering a competition, somehow I have managed to get myself onto the kidspot social top 50 bloggers list. If I manage to claw my way to the top of the list I can win a trip to New York later on this year and I wouldn’t mind having a bit of a look at New York.
To kick off the blogger challenges, we would like you to write a post before 13 April titled: ‘Kidspot Ford Territory Top 50: Feel the difference’ about your journey into blogging and what sets you apart from other bloggers. We invite you to put a button on this post to enable your audience to vote for you in the Top 50.
My journey into blogging began on a dark and stormy night when we were rudely woken up by furious banging on the back door. “The Spouse” opened the door wearing only his jocks and a grim expression and you could tell that he was not impressed at all, by the wizened old man who was thumping on the door with his staff. “You have to let me in'” muttered the old man, “My need is dire and our time is short…”
In 2006 I had a sticker on the inside of my fridge door that read: I drink to make other people more interesting. When visitors would see that sticker they would smile at the joke they thought they were sharing with me but in fact that sticker was telling my truth.
I had been an outsider in my community for a long time, my children were picked on at school because they lived in a shed, their mother was a feral, a fucking greenie, a tree hugging hippy, their father was a dole bludger, we ate roadkill, had nits, had wild drug parties, you name it, they said we did it. I think my worst crimes amongst the local women was the fact that I collected cobwebs and neither dusted nor gossiped.
In 2007 my daughter talked me into starting a blog and Frog Ponds Rock was born. I tapped out a few words and received some comments. I took some photos with a hand-me-down point and shoot my mother had given me and I received just enough compliments to keep me going. My world expanded, my confidence with the camera grew and my loneliness receded. I faffed about on the internet, joining in with memes and making friends.
I didn’t realise how lonely I had been until I wasn’t lonely anymore. The isolation that had seemed such a huge barrier vanished, as I was connecting with like minded women and men all over the world. I could talk about politics and my concern for the state of the environment, without getting into an argument. I knew that if I jumped onto a plane to Europe or the United States, I had friends there and that knowledge was very comforting. My world had shrunk.
Whilst I was making friends all over the world my husband’s disapproval grew. The Spouse really, really, disliked me being on the computer and he worried that you, my dear internets were going to steal my identity, lift my credit card from the back pocket of my laptop or shock horror, you were going to entice me into kinky cyber-sex. I had to steal time to blog, or keep my ears peeled for his footsteps so that I could jump up from the computer and pretend I was doing something productive, like housework.
At the same time as my husband was worrying about identity theft, I was studying ceramics and struggling with my own identity. During a group discussion in one of my classes I decided that I really was an artist, not a student and so I started to call myself a ceramic artist on my blog.
You know if you start to tell people that you are an artist, they actually believe you.
This is where my blog differs from a lot of the blogs in this list. I am not a stay at home mum writing to save my sanity and I am also not a work at home mum trying to earn a living from blogging.
I am an Artist and this blog in 2012 is an extension of my visual diary. As a visual artist I do my thinking in public. I am comfortable with that. A nest of ceramic eggs in a public space is the realisation of a series of thoughts, as well as an invitation to you, the public, to join in the discourse; to participate in the public thought processes with me.
A conversation that starts here on the blog as nothing more than a wisp of an idea, often coalesces into something much more tangible than an abstract concept. The simple processes of examining my ideas, combined with feedback from you, is an invaluable tool.
I use this blog to de-clutter my mind. I take ideas out and examine them publicly and see what happens.
I also use this blog to poke at old wounds and see if they still hurt.
Early in 2010 my blog was nominated for Best Australian Blog in the bloggies and within the internet this was a big deal. When I showed my husband the nomination he was totally chuffed. I overheard him telling his mates that his missus blog is the best in Australia. The bloggies nomination removed any perception that my husband might have had that I was a total and complete nutter for writing on the internet.
He still knows that I am just your ordinary every day nutter.
Because of the 2010 bloggies nomination, I stopped having to blog in secret. I structure my time so that I write in the mornings and my blog has become an integral part of who I am. My husband is still deeply suspicious of all things computery but not as suspicious as he would have been if there really was an old man banging on the back door in the middle of a storm.
Today I am sitting here trying to write about my journey into blogging so that I can gather up enough votes to have a chance to jet off to Blogher in New York. I hope that this blog post has given you an idea about part of my journey and I also know that some of you reading this have been here since the beginning.
Thank you for reading and thank you for giving so much of yourselves to me over the years.
Comments on this entry are closed.
And haven’t you come a long way since those early days! Congrats on the nomination. Will go and vote for you.
My spouse is also very suspicious of the whole computer thing but – and this is a very big BUT – when I got the laptop a couple of years ago, younger son and I inveigled the old Luddite onto the old desktop model on the grounds that he could read his newspaper online and use the cash saved to buy books/CDs. It worked. Six months later when the old desktop died we had to rush out to buy a replacement. As well as reading both Aussie and British newspapers online, he now watches TV programmes we can’t get (no digital signal for SBS here as yet) or are at an inconvenient time, watches hours of sport from all over the world, checks book and CD availability on various sites and generally has a lovely time. Sadly I still have to order anything he wants to buy online and he won’t e-mail but baby steps, maybe by his 70th birthday he will be a complete internet fiend. He’s got 6 years to go lol!
Jeff barely tolerates the telephone and wont answer it half the time but I can get him to sit down and read Veronica’s blog from time to time.
OMG The telephone! The telephone is mine apparently and has nothing to do with him. On the rare occasion he has to make a call himself it takes a couple of days to build up the courage (? for want of a better word) and a lie-down for a few hours in a darkened room afterwards!
They ALL seem to be very, very suspicious. I know that my partner dismissed my blog as trivial. Then he wandered past and saw that I had followers and asked how I had blackmailed my family into it. When I was able to convince him that none of my followers were family (thankfully) he became impressed. If other people like to hear/read/see what I was doing perhaps it had some value.
Sometimes I would like to poke that man with a sharp stick.
And of course I will vote for you Kim.
Maybe I should make some ceramic pointy pokers EC ?
I saw your name on the top 50 list when I was there after seeing this button on other sites, so of course I voted for you.
Thank you River
Congratulations on the nomination! I’ve just voted for you as I think your blog is excellent. I know what you mean about suspicious partners and us girls having a keen interest with the Internet. Fortunately my partner now realises that I write on a blog and I don’t simply spend my time on FaceBook chatting to men.
Thank you Beth
I voted already the other day am I allowed to push the button up there and do it again or is that breaking the rules ‘n all. I don’t like rejection so daren’t push the button in case of that hee he. x
go on push the button and see what happens…
I always stop by here in your site. And I like the post you’ve shared. Thank you for the great thoughts.
Thank you Carmen, you are very polite for a spam bot. I had to remove your links though. Sorry about that.
I have my hands high above my head in excitement over this post. I’m not sure I will let them down anytime soon! I am SO happy I voted for you.
I thought it was because we were from overseas… I have felt so lonely in this country.
Now I know why I love your blog. It’s all the conversation I am missing. It is the digging into life as it is, the inner values and the right to self. An attempt at life in a balance that is right for you. There is no pressure of a SUV, 5 bedroom house and kids at Redeemer high. Peaking into this virtual world the past three months has had me cursing that I didn’t find it sooner. But at least I found it. Thank GOD!
Thank you!
Thank you for making me smile Signe. I often wonder what I am doing blogging, I never have a plan I just sit at the computer and blurt out whatever is in my head and then I wander off and get distracted by something in the garden and forget what I was originally doing. Then I read a comment like yours ( and Emily’s below) and your words give me encouragement that people actually are reading me and responding to my words. Thank you.
Oh my goodness- i’m on this little top 50 thing and i’ve gotta say- i’d be voting for you. Seriously. i think i love you.
So thrilled to have found you and read your story. I also am of the art farts persuasion – i think i’ll start to call myself art artist and see what comes of it.
xo em
Hi Emily, that is the good side of these things we get to meet new people. I had a quick look at your blog last night (on my phone) and I will be back for a proper hello later on today. *waves madly*
Hi Kim…when you win I hope you’ll plan a side trip to Cape Cod to visit! You have my vote, and I’ll pass the word along to Fish so he can vote too. Congratulations on doing so well with this so far. I love your blog.
Thanks Janet and thanks for the card as well 🙂 I had a look at where you are on the map in relation to New York City and it is probably quite doable.
I clicked it and it let me but you can only fill in the form once to vote! But hey I am happy as I got to click the button. Just off to do it again. How sad am I but brave eh Kim xx
Woohoo! Next stop world domination da da da dun
What a brilliant storyteller you are! Best of luck to you and all contestants:)
So glad to have discovered you through KidSpot. Yours is ablog I wish I had found long ago! Love your style! Great read x