from May 9th, 2008:
I am very happy to announce the start of a series of Friday interviews I'll be doing called "artists who blog." My first featured artist is none other than the incredibly talented and friendly Kelly Lynn Jones! Kelly has her BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco and is now a MFA candidate. In addition to making her own beautiful paintings and drawings, she runs the very successful little paper planes online shop and little paper planes blog.
In her blog, Kelly shares information about top artists and upcoming art shows, and she has a great link list of galleries, artists, designers, and other inspirational blogs - a wonderful resource. I was interested in how Kelly got started blogging and how it has effected her work as an artist.
How long have you been blogging?
It has been a little over a year now.
How did you come up with the name for your blog?
I wish there was some crazy cool story about the name...
Basically, one morning my boyfriend and I were lying in bed talking about how an online store would be really cool to have, so I could sell all the shirts and bags I was making...We both started thinking of names and I believe Matt was the one who said he liked the idea of it being called "paper planes" and then I was like, how cute would it be if it was "little paper planes." We went online right after that and bought the domain! It didn't actually become a shop about 6 months later, but yeah that was how it happened!
Why did you decide to start a blog?
I run an online store, www.littlepaperplanes.com, and I thought it would be a nice addition to compliment the store. After doing a few posts, I realized it was fun searching out artists to feature.
How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?
It has made me really research a bunch of artists who I might not have known otherwise. I have discovered some artists who are really inspiring for me and my work.
What are your favorite artist/designer blogs? Why?
I tend to personally gravitate towards art related blogs since that is where I often find new artists, art shows and just random art stuff, but I like all kinds...
My favorites are lisa congdon , allnsundry , painternyc , dear ada , bloesem , poppytalk , shannonlovessabbath , the flog , the post family , design for mankind , design*sponge , my love for you is like a stampede of horses , jeana sohn
oh god, the list could go forever!!!
Why do you think blogs have now become so popular with artists and designers?
I think it's the natural progression of the internet and networking. The internet has allowed us as creative types to expose ourselves to a much larger audience. The internet has also allowed artists to become more accessible which makes the audience want to know more about these people and their daily lives. It also is a place to post about the latest of the latest...this is information that you can access as soon as the artist/designer makes something, whereas if they were to be published in a print magazine their items would be months old by the time the magazine came out. I think that its also just fun sharing.
Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?
I would just say, stay true to what you know and what your passion is. Having a blog is about talking about things that are important to you, that inspire you and make you want to tell the whole world!
What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?
Like I said earlier, finding new artists is personally inspiring for me and my work, but also having people email me saying they read my blog daily, and that they are so happy I post the people I post about - I never even thought anyone would even read my blog, so those emails are so flattering for me and make me want to keep the blog up.
Thanks so much Kelly!!