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Artful Links!



Since Artella began in the Fall of 2002, we've always shared links in our free newsletters, such as our NEW ARTELLAGRAM newsletter, which brings you the very best creative inspiration and resources in words, art, and spirit.



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Here is a list of the links we've featured, arranged alphabetically by category. Just click on a category to browse through these links at your leisure! Happy traveling!

Art Journaling

Career Enhancement

Inspiring Self Improvement

Just for Fun

Magazines and Zines

Resources for Artists

Resources for Writers

Succulent Shopping

Special Resource Reports from Artella

Spirit-Lifters

The Creative Path

Unique Writers and Artists

Workshops and Conferences

Plus...LinkLatte™, a little newsletter that is a "daily shot of creative Web destiny", is delivered daily to Artella Members.

Click here to read about this and all the other extraordinary Member benefits.

Click here for an index to all of the links that have appeared in LinkLatte™.


Special Resource Reports from Artella:


Art Journaling

1000 Journals Project
This site presents a massive round-robin art journal effort. There are lots and lots of images to stroll through on this inspiring site.

Creative Art Space for Kids
This center, located on Long Island, NY, currently is showing an exhibit on Art Journals, and you can take a virtual visit to see the gorgeous journals by clicking here.

Sisters on Sojourn
You'll have a great time discovering Sisters on Sojourn! This is a wonderful Web site run by Linda and Karen, a pair of wildly fantastic sisters who love to travel and art journal. You'll have a ball at this Web site! Click the "Inspiration" link for enough art journaling ideas to keep you busy for a while!

There's No Place Like Home
This is a sample for a class I recently took from the amazing artist, Michelle Ward. What a spectacular woman she is! The class involved creating an interactive art book in the shape of a house, and adding narrative art to the book, in keeping with the theme of "home". (My "house" ended up being a somewhat bohemian church.) At any rate, it was a wonderfully invigorating experience - it felt like play time! Click this link to see the sample, and be patient for all the pictures to download. You’ll be glad you did, I promise! Then follow the links at the bottom of the page to return to Michelle's personal art Web page, or the page of her own rubber stamp line, Green Pepper Press.

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Career Enhancement

Art Network
This is a fabulous resource where you can create a free online account where you can keep a contact list, and a database of all your artwork, your shows, and other details pertaining to your art career.

Artist Help Network
This Web site is run by Caroll Michels, the author of the classic book, How To Survive and Prosper as an Artist. The network assists artists in locating information, resources, guidance, and advice on a comprehensive range of career-related topics. It's a wonderful resource for fine artists, or anyone who works (or wants to work) in arts-related fields.

EntreMoms.com
This great site, run by Alicia Forest, is for Moms who run businesses from home (or WANT to!). We love her "Weekly Directional" newsletter and great resources for EntreMoms!

MollyGordon.com
Molly Gordon is a coach whose mission is to help artists and other independent professionals and artists reconcile the challenges of building thriving livelihoods and loving their lives. Her free e-zine, The New Leaf, is consistently overflowing with ideas and very do-able techniques for promoting one's work in an authentic, heart-motivated way. Her eBook, "Authentic Promotion" absolutely changed the way I viewed marketing forever, and I continue to put the techniques in her book into practice with Artella every single day. And on top of all that, her Web site has tons of free resources! If you are on a quest to draw a larger audience to your business or your creative work, you will find her Web site invaluable.

SeedFusion.com
is a Web site packed with resources for women entrepreneurs of all kinds. An outgrowth of Lynn Franks' not-so-typical business book, The SEED Handbook, this not-so-typical Web site grabs you from the moment you lay your eyes on its spectacular Flash intro. Please take a visit...you will be so glad you did! (SEED, by the way, stands for "Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics", the Feminine Way to Do Business.)

Womanmade.org
This is the Web site of an organization that supports all women in the arts by providing opportunities, awareness and advocacy. This site is full of opportunities for women artists to promote their art, resources to support artists and their work, and TONS of links to gorgeous artwork, right from the home page.

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Inspiring Self Improvement

A World of Possibilities
This site, sponsored by University of Kentucky College of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service, includes inspiring and dynamic PowerPoint presentations designed to help viewers acquire skills to be calmer, happier, more energetic, and more effective in their lives. And they are FREE! Be sure to spend some time watching the free presentations at this site!

BeStressSmart.com
This is the Web site of Bonnie Snyder, an Educational Psychologist and Personal and Professional Coach whose StressSmart™ Coaching combines a holistic healing approach with practical, result-driven techniques to reduce stress and improve happiness. I had the privilege of receiving a one on one session with Bonnie last Spring and I still get goosebumps when I think of my session with Bonnie and how well she "got" me. Her newsletter is great, and she offers two versions: one for individuals and one for organizations...visit her site to subscribe.

CultivateLife.com
Diane Armstrong is a life coach with a special affinity for artists and writers. Her Web site is a joy to behold, and is full of wonderful "freebie" tools to use as you pursue your dreams...creating more time for your life purpose, strategic and fun goal-setting ideas, and many more resources to help you create the life you deserve to be living. She offers a variety of teleclasses and workshops, as well as individual coaching. The site also has a gift shop in which artists of any kind may feature their work. What a resource!

Original Impulse
This is the Web site of Cynthia Morris, who partners with writers, artists and visionaries to help build confidence and structure to create masterpieces of life and art. This site offers resources, articles, and links, and opportunities to subscribe to Cynthia’s newsletters. I love her energy!

ProjectProsperity.com
A site full of resources for creating prosperity from the inside-out, in a spiritual consciousness context. Lots of free resources, including a potentially life-changing experience, the on-going Prosperity Game, which reshapes how we think about money through daily exercises of "virtual spending" over 21 days. Check it out!

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Just for Fun

Bookcrossing.com
This project offers a lovely mix of serendipity, generosity and playfulness. Even if you don't want to participate in this wild exchange of books, it's still worth a visit to this invigorating site.

Children's artwork inspired by O Magazine
If you read O, the Oprah Magazine, you may be familiar with the peaceful "Breathing Space" photographs that are featured in each issue. A 5th grade teacher used those photos to inspire her students to create collaborative works of original writing and art. Seeing these pages got me even more pumped up about the future plans for publishing collaboration-based Artella issues for teens and children.

dailyzen.com
These beautiful Zen ecards are a wonderful way to express your sentiments without leaving your computer.

ForeignFilms.com
This is the site to visit when you want to tickle your inner Muse with an artistic foreign film or two. Just the very act of reading subtitles while another language swirls in your head is a great exercise for getting your brain into a creative mode...not to mention the fact that foreign films very often have a sensibility and scope beyond that of Hollywood's typical fare. This is the definitive Web site for foreign films. Packed with great search engines, fascinating articles, and tons of reviews and recommendations, the site is a great way to settle on some titles before you head to the video store. Try it out!

Found Art
This is a wonderful idea to make the world a better place through art! Found Art is a scavenger-hunt-like project where 1500 artists are leaving tiny bits of art around their community for unknowing strangers to find...which, in turn, brings them to visit the Found Art Web site and keep the cycle going. What a great concept. It's similar to the Letterboxing project (see link later in this category). What an easy way to spread some delight around!

GirlfriendBooks.com
This is a darling site for spunky book lovers! Take a look!

JAD Project Pencil Carvings
This is a weird and wonderful world, and this site just proves it so! Much of the site is not in English, but if you start on the link I include here, you'll be able to see incredible artworks carved out of pencils and read a bit about them. Quite inspiring!

Letterboxing
If you don't know about Letterboxing, you should! Letterboxing is an outdoor art sport, of sorts....an intriguing mix of treasure hunting, art, navigation, and exploring interesting, scenic, and sometimes remote places. There are locations all over the US, as well as in many other countries in the world. We'll let the Letterboxing Web site explain this fascinating activity to you. Click on the FAQ's for the quickest run-down on the whole process.

MagicalChildhood.com
For all you Moms and Dads out there, this site is a well-spring of fabulous creative things to do with kids. I, myself, don't have children, but I still spent an hour on the site because I found it a sparkling haven for creative ideas and inspiration.

MentalFloss.com
This is a really fun site with trivia, quizzes and seemingly unending "brain foods".

Metaphorical.net
This Web site, called "a collection of interactive studies and strange thoughts", is interesting and odd, and definitely worth a nice long visit.

Mr. Picassohead
This link is a lot of fun! This site allows you to create your own virtual painting, or view a massive gallery of all kinds of Mr. Picassohead creations. A great online creative diversion!

Seussville
Treat the kid in you to a special delight by diving into this Web site for some interactive high-tech, high-fun playtime with some of your old Seuss favorites. I especially like the "Playground"!

The Scribbler
This fun toy is an artsy escape that allows you to create line drawings with your mouse, and then the Scribbler turns them into works of art.

The Snowflake Man
This is a really cool site about the man who was the first to study and photograph snowflakes, and many of his original photos are included on the site. It's awesomely enchanting!

TheToymaker.com
This is Marilyn Scott-Walters' world of paper toys and other delights. She provides free patterns for making all kinds of wonderful things. A real online gem.

Van Gogh-Gauguin
This is a breathtaking interactive journey that explores the relationship between these two artists. When you have some time to just get lost in an enchanting world, visit this site and click "Start the Experience", and then have fun clicking around to see all of the wonderful surprises. It's a dream!

Yasutomo.com
The Projects page at this site has some great free paper craft projects (orgami and paper constructions). There are projects for all ages and skill levels on this site, with detailed instructions and photos. Of special note to all you writers is the fact that it includes projects for making folded and handbound books and book covers.

Back to Index

Magazines and Zines

3 Queen Productions
3 Queens Productions publishes Art Erratica zine, and I've never been as excited about an art zine as I am about this one! This latest issue (issue 5) is called "Theatrica Erratica", and it is in full color and comes with an interactive CD-ROM that has truly enchanted me. Visit the 3 Queen Productions Web site for information about purchasing this issue, ordering subscriptions or back issues. It has an A+ endorsement from Artella!

art-e-zine
This is a UK-based Web site with a seemingly unending collection of links to art projects, results of round-robin art groups and swaps, and more. I was especially interested in the art paper dolls,as they reminded me of the "Art Workshop" paper doll project that was included in Artella issue 2. You'll have a lot of fun visiting this site.

Artitude Zine
If you have never seen a copy of this zine, you are missing out on the best of the best. With an emphasis on dazzling how-to articles, every issues just POPS with eclectic passion and a wealth of information packed in a gorgeous publication. I think the world of Helga and Suz, Artitude's Editors, and I hope you'll go check out their stuff. Also be sure to check out Artitude's sister site, ArtChix Studio, an online store for vintage images and so much more!

Black Purl Magazine
L'Tanya Durante, a graduate of Artella's YOU * U course, is launching this new publication in the Fall of 2004. The magazine will showcase the work of and provide inspiration for needlecraft artists of color and those who have a passion for ethnic art.

Creative Keepsakes.com
I'm not an avid scrapbooker, but a friend told me that this Web site had a lot of great resources for artists, and she was right! I was surprised to find all kinds of good stuff on this site...a huge archive of composition and layout tips, interesting font software, clip art packages, and more. Their extensive resources for creative scrapbook layouts are easily applied to many kinds of artwork. I was delighted to find this unexpected treasure trove, and wanted to pass it along to you.

Found Magazine
This is a quirky site for a magazine that features "found" stuff - letters, homework assignments, strange lists, drafts of speeches, agendas, etc. It's quite fascinating. Take a look and enjoy!

Heron Dance
Heron Dance is a gorgeous journal that is sure to help open your eyes to see in new ways. Be sure to take a look at this beautiful Web site, ezine, and print publication.

IQ Zine
This zine has been around for a while because it's the quintessential art zine. Eliza Badurina publishes five issues of IQ - which stands for "In(nner) Question" - a year, and if you just take a look at her back issues, I promise that you'll be intrigued. Take a visit, explore all of the IQ offerings, and tell Eliza that Artella sent you!

Scrapbooking and Beyond Magazine
The premiere of this brand new magazine was amazing. It is successfully making the crossover from traditional scrapbooking to collage and altered art. So if you're a scrapbooker, or want to try your hand at it, check it out.

The Muse
The Muse is an on-line art zine that is no longer published, but the archives of six packed issues are a lot of fun to explore. Lots of great articles, techniques, interviews, and more fun stuff. It was created by Christine Cox, who now focuses her time on a bookmaking company, Volcano Book Arts.

Resources for Artists

Archives of American Art
If you don't know this Web site, I'm about to blow your mind. This site has online exhibits on all kinds of great topics. Enjoy a stroll through these virtual galleries...I know I did and will continue to do so many times, I'm sure. It seems to be the perfect antidote to a gray or rainy afternoon, somehow. My favorites were Visual Thinking: Sketchbooks from the Archive and Fiber Art: Following the Thread. I also ADORED the very Artella-esque Getting the Picture: The Art of the Illustrated Letter.

Artist Trading Cards
This page at CedarSeed.com includes a wonderful overview and introduction to Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). If you are new to the art form, this is a great place to start!

CraftyChica
This fun site has nifty craft projects, a great blog, and a great page of links. Be sure to take a look!

Creativity-Portal.com
This is a fantastic resource, offering a ton of information, articles, projects, recommendations, and links related to art, crafts, and writing. Give your Muse a natural high and visit this site!

The Ephemera Society
This is an active organization with paid membership, but the Web site offers all kinds of free inspiration. Click on "News and Articles" or "What is Ephemera?" for some great tidbits about odd art and artifacts. And while you're there, be sure to see the current online exhibit, a provocative collection titled, Dolls As Advertising Gimmicks.

Eric Maisel
Eric Maisel is the author of lots of books on creativity, and he is known for striking a precise and effective balance between fearless creating and practicality. His Web site is wonderful, and be sure to sign up for his newsletter, full of tips and advice for creative folks.

Handprint.com
This fabulous site has sections that range from the enneagram to Wittginstein to gene expression. Especially impressive is the iincredible section on watercolor instruction

HeartsArt Radio
This wonderful online radio show, created and hosted by Delona Lang, has produced many insightful interviews with people involved in various aspects of creative and mixed media arts. Click here to hear the archived recording of a 50-minute interview with Artella's Marney Makridakis from 1-28-05.

How to Draw at WannaLearn.com
This is fantastic index for Internet resources for online drawing instruction. Definitely worth a visit!

IllustrationFriday
This is the site of a weekly illustration exchange. This unique artist's challenge looks like lots of fun - be sure to take a look!

The Painter's Keys
This is a twice-weekly free newsletter for artists, created by Robert Genn. The newsletter is filled with the nitty gritty of being an artist, i.e., creating a CV, querying galleries, copyrighting work, etc. It's a great free resource!

QuiltArt.com
This is a fantastic site displaying quilts with a highly artistic bent. Take a look and be prepared to get lost in the world of fabric. Artella contributor Barbara Miller recommends, in particular, the display of provocative journal quilts.

Questia
Questia is the world's largest online library. Search for any book in print using their state-of-the-art database system.

Touch Drawing
I recently heard about the process of Touch Drawing, and I really enjoyed reading about it on the Web site. In this simple yet profound process, paper is placed over a painted surface, and wherever the paper is touched, an imprint is made on the back side. But it's far more than a technique - there's a whole methodology behind it that I found fascinating.

Watercolor Guide at Handprint.com
This is the greatest online guide I've seen for watercolor instruction, and the site also has interesting information on a variety of other topics, from the enneagram to Wittginstein to gene expression.

WetCanvas.com
This is a mecca of resources for visual artists. I've dipped around in the site a bit and was very, very impressed and energized at the resources that are all centralized in one place.

World of Watercolor
This is an amazing online resource for watercolorists - whether you are a pro or just starting out (even if you've never tried this delightful medium before!) There is an online magazine, several links to online watercolor workshops, notes for inspiration to combat "artist's block", inspiring and encouraging statements from artists, lots of great art to look at, and so much more. You'll be glad you visited this site.

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Resources for Writers

Art & Letters Daily
This site is a mecca for learning about history and trends in art, literature, philosphy, criticism, aesthetics, and so much more. Let your inner academic run wild on this great site!

Crones Unlimited
Crones Unlimited Press honors the poetry and prose of extraordinary elders (Wisdom Keepers) who live fully and powerfully. Its founder, Mary Fogarty, seeks to preserve the wisdom of the senior members of our society and facilitate the sharing of their knowledge and insights. A wonderfully inspiring site!

Dictionary.com's Word of the Day
This is our favorite "word of the day" resource, and we highly recommend it as inspiration for writers and word lovers.

NaNoWriMo.org
This site sponsors the National Novel Writing Month that challenges participants to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel between Nov 1 and 30. The site is set up with inspiration, resources, and tips to help you succeed.

Online Visual Thesaurus
All wordsmiths out there will have a fun time with this great tool. To try it out, type a word in the box on the upper left corner, click "look it up", and then start clicking. Great fun!

Prairie Den
This is an online retreat for women writers run by writer Jane Yolen. I was very impressed with the resources on this site.

Soul Food Cafe
I was beyond elated to discover Soul Food Cafe, an unbelievable mecca for writers and other creative folks. I don't know when I've ever been so taken aback by seeing so much juicy, HELPFUL information on a single Web site. Take a look at the Navigation Signposts on the left side of the home page and then go where your intuition steers you...you can't go wrong! One of my favorite sections was the material for journal keepers (which, I'll mention, includes prompts and tools that are equally effective for art journalers).

The Poetry Doctor
I had a lot of fun visiting this very energetic site. Give it a try!

WritersWeekly.com
This site is full of practical advice and assistance for writers via free articles, discussion boards, e-courses, e-books, and a free weekly e-zine (which includes current writing market listings and jobs, as well as topical articles and discussions). You can find how-to's on a bit of everything here: writing queries, enhancing characterization, crossing genres, self-publishing do's and don'ts, even warnings about which markets don't pay up.

Writing Fix.com
Lots of fun stuff here to get you juiced. I especially love the Right-Brained Writing Prompts.

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Succulent Shopping

7 Gypsies
7 Gypsies is a new art supply manufacturer that designs wonderful papers, journals, and all kinds of ephemera for artists. Their site is a lot of fun to visit. You can't order anything from it (they only sell wholesale to retail establishments) but there is a lot of wonderful eye-candy to get lost in. Best part of the site is that every page has a brief "travel story" in the margin, highlighting someplace wonderful in the world. Just those quips alone are worth navigating the site for a little while. Go visit and have fun!

Alteredpages.com
This site offers really cool and affordable vintage collage sheets for altered books, scrapbooking and collage.

CD Baby
Love music but looking for something "different?" If you don't know CD Baby.com, you really must check it out! It's got great search engines so you can search for independent music CDs on all sorts of search criteria. Since all the CDs feature audio clips, browsing through this unique online store is a wonderful "getaway" for the middle of the day. And while you're there, you can even take a peak and listen to Marney's (Artella editor) CD.

Dover Publications
If you're an artist, you probably know about Dover Publications, the publishing house of countless books with copyright-free images. But you may not know that they have a really nifty "Dover Sampler" that they send out every Friday, with links to a select assortment of Dover books...along with free image clips that you can download.

Kloj!
Kloj! (which is what happens what you say "collage" really fast) is a paradise for collage and assemblage artists. This site has a wonderful found objects at very reasonable prices, and the Gallery is simply to die for! (It's pretty impossible not to get inspired watching the beautiful images fade in and out so gracefully!)

Lazar Studiowerx
This is the Web site of a Canadian-based company that offers a fascinating selection of elegant, artistic products. In addition to having a spectacular product catalog, their Altered Books Gallery is NOT to be missed. (While you're there, click "Archived Artwork" for more great art.) It's a wonderfully impressive site and I know you will enjoy it!

Manto Fev
This amazing site is the online page of an art supply store in Nebraska with an awesome online inventory, too! Artella loves Manto Fev!

www.PaperPhernalia.com
This site has fantastic offbeat supplies for collage. Click the "Gallery" link for fantastic samples and project ideas!

The Shoppe at Somerset
Many of you may be familiar with the magazine, Somerset Studio, which is a beautiful magazine for paper arts, art stamping, and letter arts. But did you know about their awesome online store, The Shoppe at Somerset? It's packed with all kinds of wonderful treats for artists and writers alike...everything from unique (and sometimes even a little strange), hard-to-find art supplies to wonderful gifts like fine stationery, unusual artsy books, and unique writing tools. Even if you aren't one to shop online, you MUST take a look at their great stuff.

Tuscan Rose
Tuscan Rose is a great online store for inspiring art supplies: collage sheets, unique ephemera, rubber stamps, and more. It also has a gorgeous Gallery of projects, so be sure to check that out while you are there! Highly recommended!

Spirit-Lifters

A Knock at the Duir
This is a wonderful free FLASH movie that absolutely made my day!!! Check it out -- you will be inspired, comforted, and enchanted!

ArtPlay Calendar
The beautiful ArtPlay 2005 wall calendar by Amber Lotus Publishing features some of Artella's favorite collage artists! An inspiring, artful addition for your home or office.

Benevolent Planet
When I was introduced to Benevolent Planet, my heart felt so full of gratitude for the work that Karen Jones is doing. This Web site is devoted to encouraging all of us to take small, compassionate actions of service in our world, but Benevolent Planet makes it easy. From "The Daily Planet" (a weekly email newsletter containing five easy things that you can do to quickly and easily make a difference), to "The Monthly Mission" (a portion of the Web site focusing on a particular need and what you can do about it), to all of the ways that Benevolent Planet can support non-profit organizations, you will love what this site has to offer. Make a commitment to yourself to explore this wonderful convenient avenue for service this week!

"Empires" Video
I am heartened when art is used to encourage people to vote. This uplifting artistic multimedia video was created by Artella contributors Dan Gremminger and Bradley Harding, and is more about inspiration than politics.

Hello from my Heart
Reading about this special community call is sure to warm your heart. Take a moment's break from your busy life and take a look.

www.eteletours.com
Sheila Finkelstein’s unique Web site, which prompts an inquisitive response to nature and photography, includes an "almost-daily e-zine" called a "Picture to Ponder", that I really love. It offers glimpses of nature that trigger deeply intuitive and provocative responses. Highly recommended.

Gratefulness.org
This inspiring site is full of ideas and resources for cultivating gratitude. Take a moment and light a beautiful virtual candle while you are there.

LifeChallenges
This is a sublime resource for living creatively with life's challenges. From articles that share practical advice and inspiration wisdom about living with adversity and trauma, to support forums, creative outlets, and comprehensive resource lists, this is a really special and much-needed site.

New American Dream Gift IDeasThis link at New American Dream offers many resources for making the holidays simple, creative, and eco-friendly. I was very impressed with this resource and hope you'll take a look.

Religions and Spiritualities Guide At a time of year when it is important to remember a variety of cultural and spiritual traditions, I recommend a visit to the Web site of YOU * U Graduate Lila*. This site is like a treasure hunt for the spirit. There is a wealth of information about many different kinds of spiritual traditions, as well as an array of tools for bringing a greater sense of Spirit into you life.

SpiralMuse
This site is an online community for women with art, activism and more. Very inspiring!

Vocal Awareness -- Power Through Voice
This Flash video is a wonderful meditative experience in diving into the power of the voice to express and expand. It's sponsored by www.ConsciousOne.com, which offers a wide variety of products and services for spiritual and personal growth.

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The Creative Path

AnotherGirlAtPlay
This great site uses the "success stories" of some two dozen creative women as the focal point around which an abundance of links and resources are presented. Great stuff for beginning or continuing on your creative path. Check it out!

Artcyclopedia.com
This is a "fine art search engine" that is an invaluable resource for finding information on just about any fine art topic. I was wonderfully impressed with this site.

ComfortQueen.com
A nurturing, inspiring site for women, run by author and life coach Jennifer Louden. The site contains an abundance of ideas and encouragement for one's inner creative spirit. If you are a writer, there are multiple opportunities to write for the site on multiple themes. And we highly recommend Jennifer's bi-monthly newsletter...it always knocks our socks off!

Creative Success.com
One of my favorite books on creativity is The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: a portable mentorby Gail McMeekin. It's a book I revisit again and again to amp up my energy. I'm delighted to tell you about Gail's wonderful, newly-designed Web site, which offers articles and information on career development, creativity, positive life choices, and setting priorities. Her e-newsletter, Success Strategy, strikes a great balance between being concretely informative as well as delightfully inspiring (and she keeps the Web site well-stocked with Success Strategy archives, too!)

Creativity for Life.com
I was excited to find this creativity site, which is packed with articles, tips, and resources. Take a visit and be prepared to browse a while.

Exploring Creativity.com
This is the Web site of Mary and Gary Holdgrafer, who are devoted to promoting creativity through workshops and newsletters. Mary used quilting as a process to survive and heal breast cancer, and she now presents workshops that encourage creativity as conduit for healing. The Web site is rich with archives of their great monthly email newsletter. Take some time to read Mary and Gary's insights and you'll walk away a happier person.

Home Decorating Made Easy.com
Announcing creative home decorating books, written by Artella Editor Marney K. Makridakis and published by Home-Decorating-Made-Easy.com. Way more than "how-to" books, the content is infused with spiritual, imaginative inspiration for your creative spirit. They are currently offering a great deal, where you can join their ezine mailing list and download a large section of the book, Awaken Your Interior Designer: A Guided Journey Creating the Home Your Spirit Craves. You can preview the first 72 pages of this 328 page book for free, with absolutely no further obligation! Take a look and transform your environment so that it is fully aligned with your style and spirit!

HowMuchJoy.com
This is a site that's packed with resources for your creative dreams. Created by Suzanne Falter-Barns (author of the book, How Much Joy Can You Stand), this site is full of free articles, very fairly priced teleworkshops, and other goodies. The resources are tailor-made for artists and others on alternative career and life paths. On a personal note, Artella was a direct product of Suzanne's e-course, Living Your Joy: How to Find the Time, the Money, and the Energy to Live Your Dreams (and Still Pay the Bills), which is now available as an e-book.

kporterfield.com
This site has an overflowing abundance of articles and musings about the creative life.

Mary Engelbreit
Not only is the Web site the fun portal of this artist's creative empire, it also contains some great resources. If you're an artist interested in licensing your artwork, check out the PowerPoint presentation called "Licensing 101", found on the For Artists page, and enjoy craft projects and more on the Workshop page.

PlanetSark.com
This is the new Web site from SARK, the author and creative Muse, and it's great! Check out this site when you need some creative rejuicing.

Primal Healing and Art
This is the Web site for Marta Luzim, who is a creativity and healing practitioner (and also a frequent Artella contributor). One of her strengths is working with writers in a spiritual mentoring capacity, and her Web site explores other offerings, as well. There is an especially juicy section on women, archetypes, and creativity in the "Wild Woman Room".

Tera's Wish
This is a wonderfully inspiring and resourceful site run by artist Tera Leigh. Her articles on journaling and creativity are just great, and I couldn't stop smiling the whole time I was on her site. While you are there, be sure to check out her charitable project, The Artist Memory Box project.

The Muse Is In
This is the Web site of Jill Badonsky, Creativity Coach and author of the AMAZING book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (And a Bodyguard). There's lots of inspiration waiting for you at this site: articles, groups, a fabulously inspirational newsletter, and the delicious Muse Map.

WomensCreativity.com
This great site is a cyber resource space where creativity is honoured, shared and celebrated, showcasing a visual arts gallery, inspiring articles, and a free email newsletter. I really enjoyed browsing the article archives, and I definitely found myself at home on this site!

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Unique Writers and Artists

Andrea Sher
This is a fun and funky link for an artist who designs really fun and whimsical jewelry, creates fantastic paintings, and also sponsors an intriguing ever-growing collection of photo-booth photos from people all over the world. So very Amelie, and so very FUN! Go take a look at her site!

Anne Marchand
I highly recommend the experience of getting lost in the paintings on Anne Marchand's Web site. I am especially enamored with her magical cityscapes.

Bill Charlebois
Artist and Writer Bill Charlebois made my day when he showed me that he had responded to the "What Wings Are Made Of" mini-zine included in Artella 4 by creating artwork depicting his OWN wings. Click "Artella Inspired" to check it out. Bill also has some interesting digital art and stories on his site, so be prepared to linger!

CollageArt.org
I was really impressed with this resource site for collage artists that is run by artist Jonathan Talbot. The site contains opportunities, information, and art galleries that inform and delight. Check it out!

DannyGregory.com
This is the Web side of writer/artist Danny Gregory, author of the book Everyday Matters. Of special interest is his visual journal blog -- I guarantee, it's a major dose of inspiration.

DeniseMihalik.com
This site contains the artwork of Denise Mihalik, and also announces her spectacular art event in Philadelphia in August 2004. (Even if you can't come to Philly, her site is an art party online, so be sure to take a look!)

Kara Sjoblom
This book and paper artist's Web site contains links to her unique handmade books, photos of a journey-in-progress of a current rebinding project, the opportunity to purchase Zine Queens Redux(a directory of Art Zines created by female artists, including Artella), and a link to her beautiful handmade card business, Karonimo.

KarensWhimsy.com
This fantastic site, from artist Karen Hatzigeorgiou, takes you through her many altered book projects, step by step, so that you can get inside her head and see how she puts her grand ideas together! Highly recommended!

KeriSmith.com
Keri Smith is an amazing spirit who has successfully made the combo of words and art her profession. Visit her Web site when you want a delightful escape from boredom or when your soul could use a little laugh and lift...we promise you won't be disappointed! It's full of interactive surprises and encouraging words of wisdom for artists and writers.

Lynne Perrella
I believe that artist and author Lynne Perrella is the quintessential example of creating art outside the lines. If you've never visited her Web site, you really must take a look.

Monk-artist SongYoon
I enjoyed finding the work of monk-artist SongYoon. These paintings have a beautiful simplicity about them that I found to be both relaxing and invigorating at the same time. Take a look at them when you have a moment, they are quite lovely.

MindyCarpenter.com
I fell in love with this site, and just looking at Mindy's portfolio made me want to get up and make art! I imagine you'll feel the same way!

Night Cat Books
WHOA is all I can say about this Web site of aritst Karen Veni. Her art books, sketches, and paintings are glorious. And turn on your speakers - the music she's got on the site is very cool! There's much to look at on this site, but my favorites are her art dolls.

PeterHReynolds.com
This site for artist/illustrator Peter H Reynolds has a gallery that is really fun, and lots of inspiration about both writing and art sprinkled throughout the site.

Quentin Blake's Illustrated Life Story
This interview of the fine illustrator Quentin Blake is the most Artella-like interview we've ever seen! Fun artwork and an inspiring story about a man who has made a living with his art. Be sure to check it out.

QuiltCollage.com
This is the Web site of fiber artist Janet Ghio, a member of the ArtellaVision group, who has inspired all of us with her gorgeous art quilts. I just know that you will be endlessly moved by her provocative and highly-narrative work. Her site is wonderfully vivid...you really feel like you can just reach out and touch the fabric. Enjoy!

Sarah Fishburn
I've been a fan of Sarah Fishburn for a long time, admiring her work in various magazines and zines, but I only recently discovered her Web site. In addition to showcasing her glorious artwork, there is lots of information about swaps, collaborative projects, interesting links, and more. Check it out!

Storypeople.com
If you have never seen Brian Andreas' work, you will be utterly enchanted by this unique artist and the way he combines words and art. Do your imagination a favor and visit his site soon!

TracyRoos.com
Tracy has galleries upon galleries of stunning work, including altered books, art dolls, collage, assemblage, and art journals. It's a great site to explore!

Wylde Women
I was quite enchanted by this group of women artists who have a communal Web space. In this virtual gallery, you'll see some wonderful artwork in a variety of media that is accompanied by the artists' own words about their work and creative processes.

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Workshops and Conferences

Artiology.com
Artiology is an annual creative art conference held in Atlantic City, NJ. I've attended for two years in a row and have been blown away by the fantastic workshops offered and the amazing community of "artiologists" there. Organizers LiAnne Gabe and Nikki Charles did a fantastic job of creating a streamlined, easy-going event suitable for artists of ANY experience level. Check out the Web site for all the details about Artiology 2003, and keep your eyes peeled for info about Artiology 2004!

NEW! Art Unraveled Arts Retreat
This year, this annual retreat will be held in Phoenix, AZ, August 5-12, 2007, and it will be an amazing event! Artella's Founder, Marney Makridakis, will kick off the event as the keynote speaker on the first night, and will also be presenting a full-day workshop, "The Blissness Art Journal". Click the list of workshops to start drooling over all the classes you can take in addition to Marney's. And as if the workshops and top-notch instructors aren't enough, you can lose yourself in an incredible art shopping extravaganza and participate in other events all weekend.

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