About the Sitemaking - an Artist's Process feb 19th
Both parents and children are Sci-Arts folk - with very nice and occasionally world class honors in it. It was not so unusual for me to find solutions to my issues with technology. I had done my first data processing before our daughter was born.
So when an accident disabled me suddenly, it just "happened" - my son flew in and tossed me the renowned Apple G3 PowerBook - non-bronze. And a world-class IT fellow, he was one of the best teachers a girl could want for basic code. Not long ago his Dad and I attached and then removed training wheels on his first bicycle. And now he showed me Angelfire free templates to use and then remove the templates, like training wheels of another sort - and do my own code when I was ready. And soon ellefagan.com was purchased and on February 2nd 2018 ellefagan.com celebrated its 16th birthday !
My sorrow about my out of work and injured status disappeared - new focus kept me from obsessing on my injuries.
Annnnd…I was hooked on code!
I was doing new things and meeting the international art world and receiving tons of get well and don't give up wishes from all over the world!
A few weeks before, I was looking at a wall, my life stopped and shocked that I could accept my injuries and their demands of me.
Life online restored a lot of “normal” to my life and wildly so - others similarly injured were truly invalid-ed and without a life and on heavy meds.
Not me - Therapy and a better approach to my care happened offline and a new world of art promotion happened online and virtual fun with friends during the home a lot part of the disability.
There were lots of prayers and the old literary term, "Deus ex machina" , we learned in school , described a literary action, invented by a writer to rescue his hero in a bad moment.
took on a whole new meaning for me...and for millions of others at Y2K
"God from a machine" indeed!
The site work healed the complications of the injury - burnout, and the confusion from the hotflashes that arrived at the same time...each day there was plenty to keep me focused and achieving things online. Organizing my site, restored my mind and spirit and brought new insights and inspiration for new art works.
New venues for the art appeared locally offline, as well. Yes - I rescued me “ with a little help from my friends”.
Ten years later, I have a following, my art at the White House and though I could no longer do the on site response work, I could help still and maybe better, donating the artwork for fundraising for "the kidz behind me" in the good work.
I cannot say "thank you" enough! Instead of a wheelchair, the roadrace and a dance and world wide awards. And best of all, healing and power to regain financial health in progress now.
And so down to work at the website left me laughing at its lessons :
BACKUP - do it
CODE TRUTH if it does the wrong thing, it means that YOU TOLD IT to do the wrong thing.
MENTAL HEALTH workout - data loss happens
EMPOWERING - your site is yours and you charm - visitors find you as they wish, unpressured.
LEGAL fixes - intellectual property online - do it and update it.
Thanks to ellefagan.com I am, every day -
Sharing the art and stories in a purely aesthetic sense
Making the art available for purchase, online and off.
Doing "Art with Heart" and helping the world with it
Sharing related arts services.
These early lessons served, when some years later, just as I was upgrading to "UNdisabled status" my webhost sold to new owners who fried my site and my rescue fried my iMac!
So all was lost for some months as the entire thing had to be redone with new happy host Squarespace. And now after delays and setbacks I am able to restart the site promotion and sales. What an adventure!
I am not an IT expert like my son, or graphics art genius like my daughter, but I am lifelong apt and honored and available to counsel you for your own growth in it, per the site contact links. It is great good fun!
Thanksomuch
Ellep.s. To take you into the moment, some random notes from those days in 2003...fun
