Wondering what the art blogging scene looks like outside of the United States? Some of the loveliest art and design blogs make their bricks and mortar homes in faraway places I'd love to visit someday. Here's a virtual tour of the very blogs you'll want to add to the art and design tab on your reader before the next post comes around.

Maybe you were there the summer of 2006 in San Jose, chatting up t-shirts with Mrs. Kennedy, trying on SuperHero necklaces with Andrea, wondering where you could get the oh-so-brand new design from Baby Brewing.

Well, I was there, sisters, and I want that Swap Meet back. How about you?

"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still."

--Dorothea Lange, American photographer, (1895-1965)

A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, but some photographs can be worth just one heavy handful of potent words - words pregnant with meaning, set in bold with exclamation points and a severe emotional font, like Toxica.

Last year I met Julie Sulik, the development director for Friends Association for Children, a non-profit working to safeguard and nurture the dreams of underprivileged youth in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia.

There is one sad thing about working in my studio at home: the isolation. While the proximity means my work is always available, too often I am pulled away by other demands (hello internet!). While the quiet encourages introspection, too often I end up having conversations with myself. I miss the concentration of knowing I have THIS time and THIS time only. I miss the community of spirit that broadens my perspectives. Often I yearn for a spot where I can discuss the meat of hand work: design, repetition, color, scale, form. Where I can gain another's perspective.

Friday Night at the Moma
Photo by Eggman

I recently lead a workshop called Social Media for Arts People. I've covered arts organizations and social media here and there over the past three years and last winter co-wrote a cover story article with Rebecca Krause-Hardie for ArtsReach. So, thought I'd take an opportunity to query my network viaTwitter and Facebook and see what's new and share it with you.