As I look ahead to the rest of 2011, some changes are in progress.

I’m phasing out about 80% of my non-art work.

Yes, it’s that 80/20 rule, and I’m removing the 80% that looked promising but hasn’t been productive… not really.  In fact, it’s taken a lot of time & energy away from my art (and my art-related time, online), and that cannot continue.

Okay, I’ve said things like this before.  Invariably, something just too juicy  to resist has always appeared — almost as soon as I announced a scheduled change — but, through extensive trial-and-error, that’s clearly not my path.

Oh, I’m good at the non-art stuff.  In fact, I’m practically a savant at it.  And, I enjoy it the same way I enjoy crossword puzzles and Sudoku.  “Getting it right” is fun, and it makes me feel very good… even smug. (We all need smug moments.)

However, I’m realizing that the non-art work doesn’t give me the lasting and profound satisfaction of significant art.

(The interesting part is: I don’t always realize what’s significant art until much later… sometimes years later.)

So, there will be non-art adjuncts to what I do.  I’ll also continue my academic work in the non-art field, but as a geeky hobby. (If that sounds cryptic, it’s because I use a pen name there, and I like to prevent the slightly-rabid portion of that audience from showing up at events where I teach or speak about art.)

I’ll be blogging about this at my new blog, which is still in the design phase.  With a few hectic months ahead, winding down the non-art stuff, I’m not sure exactly how soon I’ll be here more regularly.

Also, I’m streamlining my art sites. I’m keeping a few favorites and auctioning the rest at Flippa.  (Flippa is one of my guilty pleasures, btw.)

Art Careers – The Business of Art (arts-careers.com) will probably be one of the first of my art-related sites to go.

I’m keeping Aisling.net, ArtistsJournals.com (probably), and WildArtDolls.com.  The rest… I’m not sure.

If you’ve been coveting one of my domain names, let me know.  I’d rather have them in the hands of someone who loves the topic than someone who regards the domain as a get-rich-quick spam opportunity.

Anyway, I have a busy day ahead.  Expect more details, soon-ish.  But, realistically, that’ll probably be after Thanksgiving.  Between here & there, I have a lot of projects to wind down and conclude.

For a variety of reasons — nothing truly terrible, mostly a hodge-podge of schedule conflicts, abrupt priority shifts, and so on — I won’t be speaking at Dragon*Con 2011.

It simply wasn’t going to fit with everything else I’m working on, changing, etc.  (The dust probably won’t settle enough to notice until much later this year, or perhaps the start of 2012.)

I did my best to twist my schedule into a pretzel that would still include Dragon*Con… and it just wasn’t possible.  I am sad about that.

Nevertheless, here’s when and where to find the Dragon*Con panels I usually speak at… and are still happening:

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Title: Dragon*Con Artist Trading Card Workshop
Description: What is an Artist Trading Card? Want to try your hand at creating mini art? Join us for an informative panel & demonstration.
Time: Sat 04:00 pm Location: Hanover G – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

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Title: Dragon*Con Artist Trading Card Swap
Description: Did you make some great ATCs at the Workshop? Maybe you brought some of your original cards? Join us for an hour of swapping cards & sharing ideas.
Time: Sun 04:00 pm Location: Hanover G – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

——————-

Remember, the swap is independent of the workshop.  You can swap cards you create in the workshop, but you can also simply show up for the swap with your pre-made cards, and share the fun with fellow ATC enthusiasts!

Even though I won’t be there this year, I know the panels will be absolutely wonderful! (I’ve always said: It’s not me… it’s everyone who collaborates at these panels!)

Also, huge thanks to Melissa H. for taking charge of these panels. She’s been a wonderful partner-in-crime, leading these panels in this past, and she’s more than qualified to run them on her own!

For me, every aspect of life has an effect on my art… and vice versa.  So, food — and how it makes us feel — is the subject of today’s diary.

For the past month or so, HT and I have been avoiding HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).  When I researched it and saw the receptors that it blocks, and the anecdotal evidence against HFCS… that was startling.

However, what really matters is how we feel, and — as they say — the proof is in the pudding.

My one-line summary is:  We won’t eat anything with HFCS ever again, if we have a choice.

Within 24 hours of cutting out HFCS, we felt lighter and happier.  Our food tasted fresher & better.  We both noticed a reduction in stress.  I was amazed when I recovered a lot of my ability to remember things; I thought that was long gone, since a 1987 car accident.

About ten days later, when I tried a day of “normal” HFCS diet again… I lost ground by mid-day.  It took several days to bounce back from that.

So, I’ll post more info, links, and a running summary of what foods are okay and what aren’t, if you’re avoiding HFCS… later.

Today, HT and I wondered: If subtle amounts of HFCS can make that much difference in how we feel, what else can we improve in our diets?

(Our food consciousness has also increased since watching Blood, Sweat and Takeaways on Planet Green.  Focusing on Fair Trade items will be in our future, as well.)

So, when I went shopping this morning, I continued to read labels to avoid HFCS.  I also chose natural and organic products when I could.

The prices for organic foods were about 10 – 15% higher than everyday foods, but I shopped for sale items, so that probably evened-out the bottom line.

When I came home, I made vanilla pudding (using Wayne Schmidt’s favorite recipe) with good milk and organic eggs.  The pudding tasted richer from the spatula, but I’ll see how it is when it’s chilled & set, later.

What I noticed right away was first, how much easier the eggs whisked, and then how much yellow-er the pudding is with these eggs.  There’s no reason to add food coloring for the classic “yummy vanilla pudding” look.

With the leftover egg whites, I made a cheese omelet.  (Three egg whites plus one whole egg, all of them organic.)  I don’t recall ever using organic eggs for an omelet before, and… it was practically an R-rated experience.  Seriously, it was amazingly hearty, fluffy and delicious.  I’m full, but it’s not a bowling ball in my stomach.  I feel energized, not ready for a nap.

Placebo effect?  I’m not sure.  I’ll see how I feel in about a week.

So, another adventure begins!

Today’s label-reading HFCS results

Here’s what I saw when I was checking labels as I shopped.  (Remember, some products vary from region to region.  Always read your labels.)

Most Pepperidge Farm whole grain breads have no HFCS, the same as most Arnold brand breads.  Both boast their no-HFCS content on the front of their labels.  (However about 95% of other brands of bread seem to contain HFCS.)

[April 2010 update: Every time I go to the grocery store, more breads are HFCS-free, and say so on their labels. Yay!]

The Ragu spaghetti sauces look like they have no HFCS, but I only checked a few.  (They were on sale.)  Hunt’s canned spaghetti sauce did have HFCS.

Freschetta Naturally Rising frozen pizza has no HFCS; some other brands do.

Some Breyer’s ice creams have HFCS, but most don’t.  Generally, the candy-bar-ish flavors have HFCS; it’s often used in caramel-flavored foods.

Cookies: Dark chocolate Piroulines (rolled wafers with chocolate in the middle) don’t have HFCS.  At our local grocery store, they’re now on the bottom shelf in the cookie department; they used to be at eye-level or on the top shelf.  Interesting.

Hi,

I’m in the middle of switching from the old HTML version of this website to the new WordPress one.

Don’t worry, the old website is still here.  You can reach it by clicking on this link:  http://www.aisling.net/index-old.htm

Meanwhile, I apologize for the messiness while I try out some themes to see what works best for this site.  I love the vintage-looking one with the soft colors, so I’m going to try to make that work.

However, while I’m wrestling with code… well, the image sizes are all over the place.  Literally.

The site should be all nice & tidy — and far easier to use than before — by July 17th.  Your patience will be rewarded when you’ll be able to search for exactly what you’re looking for… and find it!

Thanks for understanding!

Cheerfully,

Aisling

Update: I’m testing new themes.  My old favorite isn’t working with this version of WordPress.  So, I appreciate your patience!