Guest Author - Carol Taller

Artful Blogging is A Stampington & Co. publication that is newly formed. The Summer 2008 issue is, I believe, the second issue. The topic of the publication is online journaling, and the beautiful artwork that is included there.

Buying this magazine is a splurge—it is $14.99 for one issue. That is more than some hardcover books. But don’t linger on the price. It is worth every penny if you enjoy seeing wonderful works of art and reading the artist’s thoughts about their work.

The magazine is not about rubber stamping, so if you are looking for techniques or samples or product information, this is not the right magazine to purchase. However, you will find samples of work that includes rubber stamping. It is subtle. There is stamping on fabric, or in altered books, or hidden in the background of beautiful collage work. Words are stamped on jewelry. Stamping can be seen as part of the process, but it is not what this magazine is about.

Artful Blogging is about a much bigger process here. The blogs highlighted in this magazine are about the artist’s journey to create their art. First, they must create, and finish, the work of art. There is collage work, jewelry, doll making, etc. Then there is the art of capturing the art in a photograph. They must display it and give proper lighting to create the ambiance and correct setting. And finally, they must use words to describe how they felt or what led them to create their work. The blogging combines all of these processes and puts them on the Internet for everyone to see. It is very public display about a very private process.

Since the magazine seems to be in its infancy, it is hard to predict if each issue will be like this one, but the format of the magazine is simple. A Blog site is introduced, and the artist/writer writes a brief introduction as to how they got started blogging and why. Photos of their work are on each page, and a “partial post” is included.

The magazine also hosts a few question and answer columns, suggestions how to start blogging, blogging etiquette, prompts how to develop a great banner for your blog, and how to submit blogs to this magazine. I know that the magazine is effective because after reading these pages; marveling at artists that can express themselves visually and with words, I want more. I plan to visit many of the blog sites and see what other work they have done and read their blogs. If only there was more time to do it all!