Well, it has been a while since I found time to post anything here...
After a long "dry" spell, I am slowly starting to do some creative work again. So I thought it only fitting that I should also kick a little life back into this blog.
Just finished...
Of course — in the interest of full disclosure — I should also add that a good part of the reason I'm here posting today is that my wife has recently resumed a couple of her blogs here in Hivelandia, and she actively referenced my work in a post on her 
Quarantines and Creativity
Experimenting with stars inside stars
It has been a strange year. Normally we are quite busy during the summer, because there are outdoor art shows and festivals that we go to as vendors, but due to COVID-19 we haven't had any such events this year.
Now I'm looking forward to fall with an eye towards at least the possibility that some of the holiday shows might happen. Not holding my breath, though...
If that fails, getting back into working will at least put me in the position of having a good stock to put in my online stores.
As things stand right now, I have a really good stock of painted stones sitting down in my office and I just need to get to work on putting them onto various online venues.
Art and Marketing and Stuff... Meh...
Sure, art is about a lot more than just selling things. However, if we artists don't sell our work, all we essentially end up with is a giant hoard of artwork living at our house. And frankly, I'd just as well my work gets into somebody else's hands.
I think part of the reason behind my recent dry spell, is it I just haven't felt up to dealing with the level of marketing and social media blitzing I need to engage in to generate awareness and make significant sales from my online venues.
It's not that I'm not good at social media (I probably manage about as many accounts as your average PR professional...), and it's not that I don't know how to maintain a website, but it's somewhat tedious work and not really what I think of as my highest and best use of time. Still, Hive offers sort of blogging/social environment where it feels like there is at least a reward for these words even if I'm not actually selling any of the stuff I am writing about.
Cryptocurrency Peer-to-Peer Marketplace
There was a time when I hoped "they/someone" were actually going to create some kind of peer to peer marketplace here... meaning back when it was Steem, actually. Sadly, that never seems to have quite gotten off the ground.
Sure there were a couple of guys who started up something called 
Part of the reason I always think it would be advantageous to have some kind of viable and functional commercial angle to Hive is that it provides a nice solid use case, as well as a reason for people to join up and start selling their wares here.
But Why Bother?
One might ask "why bother?" particularly given that we already have venues like eBay, Etsy, Artfire, Amazon, Craigslist and others out there... but I think to really answer the question of why have a marketplace here, we have to take it to a level as basic as asking the question "Why would anybody want to get involved in crypto currency?"
My guess is that the people who would choose to sell in a cryptocurrency-based marketplace are the very same people who are looking to become independent of the conventional banking and trade systems by being in crypto... and yes maybe they'd be interested in pursuing ways to market their creativity that's a bit "off grid," if you get my drift.
Anyway, these are my ramblings for today... promise to get back to more "just the ART" posts, in due course!
As always, thanks for reading!
Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.
Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!
My Alchemy Stones Patreon appeal
Alchemy Stones web site and blog
Thank you for supporting independent art!
2020.09.09 AS-TXT-041/007