General info
Most
active groups
Overview of types
...mailing lists & e-mail settings
........Yahoogroups (also non-USA
yahoogroups)
...message boards/forums
.......PolymerClay Central, Polymer Clay Jewelry, and a few others ...at
delphiforums
.......Polymer Clay boards ...at Craftster & at Bead &
Button
.......crafts boards at HGTV & DIY
.......(making avatars
for message boards)
...newsgroup +
now Googlegroups
......Googlegroups
......newsgroup (rec.crafts.polymerclay,
Usenet)... no longer very active
........subscribing and/or reading
(in various ways)
........searching archives
of newsgroup
Online guilds + Groups (also
non-USA)
Other websites with lots of info
Blogs
....gen. info, definitions/options
...blog communities....blog services...
more info
...polymer clay blogs
Chats
...general
info
......suggestions & opinions re all chats
...delphiforums
chats
...yahoogroups chats
...IRC
network chats
...instant messaging (chats,
and regular I.M.)
...webcam demos
Science polymer groups
Automatic
signatures
Misc.
for
Swaps page, click here:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/groups--swaps.htm
ONLINE
GROUPS + Chats +
Blogs
"Discussion Groups + Chats"
(for
info about local and national
guilds --just a fancy name
for clubs-- go here:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/info_letter.htm#groups
)
General Info
(for groups created in countries outside the U.S., look below in Mailing Lists, Online Guilds, etc.)
. . . as polymer clay grows, more and more groups are being formed to talk about it and exchange ideas. Too much polymer clay?--what a great problem to have! Many times the members of one group know nothing about the others (I just heard of another small one on Yahoo the other day myself). I'd like to know about all of them because I want to let everyone know about what's available out there and where to find it. I read at least 4 of the groups on a pretty regular basis, though I always read rec.crafts.polymer-clay because I feel being a newsgroup, it's probably the most permanent, searchable, and neutral. Diane B.
(from Debbi) ...I have really enjoyed the internet for one more reason. I can look around and try different (online groups)... until I find the ones that give me what I am looking for. For example, I like to rubber stamp and tried out a rubber stamp group list that is very social and emotionally support (lots of warm fuzzies and all that) which I think is a great thing for those who are wanting that type of list, but for me that's not necessary so I unsubbed. I like a group that is generally into sharing tips, their work, etc. . . Everyone is so different. . . I think you should be aware of what YOU are after in a group... and what is important to you. Good luck and have fun on the internet!
(Google
Groups') excellent advice on posting in groups, beginning with "never
forget the person on the other side is human. . . "
http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/posting_style.html
As far as I can tell, the strictly-polymer groups currently with the most posts are:
--Polymer
Clay People (a yahoogroup mailing list)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PolymerClayPeople
--clay-polymer
(a yahoogroup mailing list)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clay-polymer
....(listing of all yahoogroups with polymer in their descriptions...
.........http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Hobbies___Crafts/Crafts/Polymer_Clay?show_groups=1
)
--PCC (Polymer Clay Central) ...their message board at
delphiforums:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/polymerclay/start
--also
CITY-o-Clay ...which focuses on polymer miniatures,
sculpting, and some gen. polymer techniques
.... used to be MSATClayArt, but
left the MSAT-List family in Jan 2005
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CITY-o-Clay
Each group is slightly different in tone, content, orientation, amount & type of chatter, existence of chat groups, etc., and the first three are accessed differently.
(see below under the appropriate category for many
more details on each of these)
Please
understand there may be mistakes in this page!
.... I've done
a lot of research, but it's difficult to get all the distinctions straight, some
of this was done a year or more ago, and there is some overlap; so try to use
all this info simply as helpful getting-started explanations!
Here's the gist of online polymer groups (as far as I understand it):
1. (one)
"newsgroup" (rec.crafts.polymer-clay)... not very active now,
used to the biggest
2. (several) "mailing lists" (on
polymer clay --and on specific polymer areas of interest --at yahoogroups.com,
and now a few beginning at googlegroups)
3. (several) "message boards"
(offered by services like delphiforums or AOL ...individual websites like PolymerClayCentral.com
can use their service for the message board part of their offerings... or some
websites may host their boards at their own sites, like HGTV.com)
4. (several)
"online guilds" (like the one for NewZealand & Australia;
there are also regional ones in the U.S.)
5. (there
are also quite a number of "chats" --talking about clay in real
time; see info on those in Groups-chats
(not yet uploaded) ...
or look here for general chat info: http://www.jabora.com/chatting/historyofchat.asp).
All these groups allow the reading of messages, and/or posting
of messages or responding to posted
messages
...BUT the way
of receiving messages is
different for each
type of group.
You can simply read a polymer newsgroup
or a message board without subscribing or joining (may
not be true for all now though?).
.... however, you will
often need to "join" before you can post responses
or create new messages.
(don't think it's any longer possible to read "mailing
lists" without joining.)
please....always
snip your replies (in any
group) ...i.e. trim your "quote backs"
...whenever you respond to a previous message, it's curteous (and much
easier for others to read), if you include only a
sentence or two from the original message which actually relates to your
answer! ... of course, no quote backs are usually needed
...some
set-ups will quote back only the area you've highlighted
in the original message (before clicking on "Reply")
...for others,
you'll need to highlight all the stuff you don't want to
quote back, then delete it (before clicking on "Reply"
(by the way, spam is seldom a problem in any of the polymer groups ... also, there are rare disagreements, but these tend to fade rather quickly and are much less frequent than in many groups on other topics!)
MAILING LISTS ....(e-mail lists)
There
used to be many providers of these lists, but the main provider is now Yahoo
Groups (which is used by a wide range of groups, including organisations who
might at first glance be considered 'rivals' to Yahoo)
....MSN
Groups (very little polymer clay at present)
....Google Groups??
..just getting started (little or no polymer clay yet?) ...don't be confused...
Googlegroups lists the "newsgroups" right along with its own mailing
list or newsgroup groups!
... to find groups related to your interests (polymer
clay), go to the Google Groups homepage http://groups-beta.google.com and
click on any category. You can use the search box within any specific
category to keep refining the list of groups until you find what you're looking
for. (Home > Arts & Entertainment > Crafts) ..or try here: http://tinyurl.com/btbtx
??
(popular examples of mailing list software include GNU Mailman, Listserv,
and Majordomo).
Messages from mailing lists come to you as regular e-mail, in the In Box of your regular e-mail (or you can read and respond to them online from the webpage for your yahoogroup if you want).
When you subscribe to a mail list and
choose to get your messages as e-mail, you have a choice of receiving each message
as a separate e-mail, or receiving it in the "digest"
form. The digest will put one day's worth of messages, or 25 messages
(whichever is fewer), into one e-mail. This can be really handy if the messages
exceed a few a day! (any other messages of that day will come in subsequent
digests on that day, fairly promptly)
To get the digest form for Yahoogroups,
go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PolymerClayPeople
(or fill in the name of the group you belong to) > Edit my membership
> Digest
...one of my yahoogroups also has said it's possible to get
the digest version by sending an e-mail (no message inside necessary) to:
nameofgroup-digest@yahoogroups.com
... don't know if that works for all yahoogroups though
Replying in a mailing list (special considerations)
Responding in a mail list is a little different (than in a newsgroup). . . .a couple of important things to know are couple of things about responding to them.
1... (this
one's important in any group though).
You should always "trim" your replies . . . that is, "quoteback"
only the portion of the e-mail you're responding to so that everyone
doesn't have to read the whole preceding e-mail with every person's response.
The way to do that is to highlight only the relevant words in
the original message by running over them with your clicked cursor, then click
"Reply" or whatever the equivalent is in your e-mail program; that should
cause a new blank e-mail to pop up with the words you've highlighted "quoted back."
(see below for Outlook and Outlook Express info)
(If for some
reason it doesn't work right, you can create a quoteback yourself
for any text by simply adding >
and a
space in front of the text,
and a space and
<
after it.)
2....The other important thing is being aware of what
the defaults are set to in your particular e-mail program
for the Reply function. (see below for Outlook and Outlook Express
info)
--If you're receiving any mailing list by individual e-mail,
each one coming in separately, then hitting Reply will usually mean that you'll
be replying only to the author of that e-mail and not to the whole group. To reply
to the whole group, click on Reply to All instead.
--If you're receiving the
"digest" version of the list (that's up to 25 of the messages sent altogether
in one e-mail), then when you hit the Reply function, you'll be responding to
the whole group; if you want to reply only to one person, you'll have to copy
out that person's e-mail address and paste it into a new message blank form in
your e-mail program (you'll also have to copy in the Subject line).
(Digests
come at the rate of one per day unless there are more than 25 messages, then you'll
get more than one digest.)
To avoid sending the whole digest back to the whole list every time you respond:
For
OUTLOOK, you may need to change the default on your system to "Do
Not Include Original Message". . . to get to where you can choose that option,
from your toolbar select: --Tools > Options --underneath? "On Replies & Forwards,"
there should be a bunch of checked boxes and one of them, I believe, should be
your default for how to handle quote-back material (in your case it probably says
something like "Include Whole Message When Replying"). That should actually be
a drop down window-menu though, so you should choose the one in it that says "Don't
Include Original Message" or one of the others you might want.
OUTLOOK EXPRESS
may or may not have a default you can change. If not, one way to avoid sending
back the whole digest or message is just to click Reply as usual, then hit Ctrl
+ A on the keyboard (to select all text in the window) and then the Delete key.
That should erase all text in the new Reply window before you compose your response.
If you do want to include a part of the original message in your response, you'll
have to delete the before and after text in two passes. Or it may be possible
to Copy the text you want in the original digest, before hitting reply then doing
the Ctrl + A and Delete step; then you can hit Ctrl + V to paste in just the part
that you wanted (strangely, it seems that what's selected to Delete doesn't seem
to erase what's on the clipboard for copying and pasting!).
....Or, you
could hit "reply" and then cut + paste the person's
email address over the list email address in the "To"
box. Their email address is highlight-able in your reply. And
that way you have the pertinent parts of their message to reply to already included
in your message.
...but if I hit that... that address will be automatically
addedto my address book! Kathy
If you are using Outlook Express,
go to Tools / Options / Send. Make sure the box that says "automatically
put people I reply to in my address book" is *not* checked.
Irene NC
Misc re mailing lists (mostly yahoogroups)
For archives of the mailing lists, go to yahoogroups.com (and click on one of the lists you're subscribed to), if you are a member of that group (and if you've actually "joined" yahoo as well), you can see all the old messages and any shared photos, though I'm not sure if they have searches.
~Here's
what you do (to upload photos to any yahoogroup's shared files and
have Yahoo automatically send a notification to the group).
--Log onto the
group (thru Yahoogroups.com) and go to the Photos link.
--As soon as you are
there, click the Create an Album link and name your new album.... something that
will identify you ie, the screen name you use.
--Once you have the album
created, upload your image to that album.
--There is a check box on the page
somewhere (can't remember just where) that asks if you want the group notified.
If so, check the box and hit submit. DixiePixie
...... if you upload a picture
into the "FILES" section, you have the option to send a message to the
group, notifying everyone that you've added the file. You don't have that option
when you upload to "PHOTOS". That's what I was doing
wrong. Marti
(I get the e-mails separately, not in the digest form, so) I set my email (software) so that all messages with the same subject are grouped together. That way I can delete the entire group if it is not a subject I am interested in or have time for. Marlene
When I reply online and I use the upper left-hand blue "Reply" link, I have experienced the same problem.... so whenever that particular "Reply" link seems to ignore your clicks (or it seems to let you reply but the person written never gets your email, or your e-mail doesn't post to the group), try the blue "Reply" link at the LOWER left side of the screen.... tt seems to be a software bug in Yahoo that comes and goes... Cathi
I was wondering why I can't reply to messages
from the alternate email address I provided. Doris
....Getting
an alternate email address to stick is sometimes a little tricky. Is the
alternate email address associated with your yahoo ID? Is it confirmed? Has it
been more than three days since you added the alternate? If the answer is yes
to all three, try removing the address, confirming its removal, waiting three
days and then submitting it, again. Three days gives all of the databases a chance
to get caught up and running - that applies to subscribing, changing from individual
emails to digest or unsubscribing. Elizabeth
Why
does list mail sometimes come out of
order or hours/days late or never appear at all?
...Why
does it take hours or days for list mail to get to Hotmail
or Yahoo email boxes?
...Why
do AOL members not get all the list mail or digests?
This is the response that was received by a query from another
list I'm on (Adrienne):
> A. Because AOL, MSN, Yahoo email, Hotmail,
Earthlink, et al, are large email providers.
They
get literally tons of email and they have to watch their servers carefully because
they can get overloaded. So they prioritize. They give private email priority
over group or list mail.
Yahoogroups is the largest email list provider
(pay or free) and they send out literally tons of mail. ...Since those large email
providers give priority to private email, when their servers are busy, they will
refuse connections with Yahoogroups. In other words, Yahoogroups tries to connect
to them but their incoming mail servers say no, try again later.
So Yahoogroups
holds the mail and waits, tries again later until the email provider (AOL, MSN,
Yahoo email, etc) will accept the connection and receive the mail from Yahoogroups.
So that's why things come late and out of order.
.....In addition, AOL
has admitted that they trash some email from Yahoogroups when their servers are
busy, so some Yahoogroups mail is lost and never delivered to AOL members.
If you really want to check things out, you can review the full headers of
delayed messages.. . the Received: lines at the top of the headers are the
most recent, the top one will be when your ISP or mail provider received it from
Yahoogroups. The Received: lines before that one are transfers between internal
Yahoogroups servers. So look at the time on the topmost Received line and compare
it to the time on the Received line just below that. Adjust for time differences
if necessary and if there's a big gap, it means Yahoogroups was trying to contact
your ISP or mail provider and couldn't get thru, so they waited and tried again
and again until they got thru.
.... In the case of AOL, it's also possible
there's a delay after AOL received it and before they delivered it to the AOLer's
mail box (as above).
Sometimes an ISP or mail provider isn't reachable
after hours or days or trying to send mail and then Yahoogroups considers it a
soft bounce. Some Yahoogroups list owners that use Yahoo email have reported
seeing a message in their bounce history (go to My Preferences and click on Bounce
History) that says "Yahoo mail servers unreachable for too long". This means Yahoogroups
tried to send mail to them for a long period and finally gave up. This may happen
with any of the large ISPs or mail providers if they experience temporary server
problems and have to severely curtail their incoming mail for a period of time
until the servers are fixed and list mail like Yahoogroups is always the first
thing they restrict. (author from another
list)
As a list owner myself, I've found that AOL drops the mail all the
time to my members. I don't know if that's the problem or not, but there's
a way around it, which might seem inconvenient, but doesn't fail very often. Go
to the website (aol.com?) and click on "messages," and you'll see
all of them. Elliott
I solved my problem with the mail. I switched to
a Hotmail account and it appears to be coming through. This is not such
a bad situation since I can access the Hotmail account on our general cable modem
without having to sign into AOL. Jean/PA
....On the other side of the coin,
I use one of the biggest service providers, AT&T Worldnet, and I
always get everything, and get it quickly. I was a long time happy Sprint customer
and before that Earthlink, because they were much better than the small, very
unreliable, providers that many had problems with, but AT&T has been even better.
To my knowledge, I've never yet missed a message. Adrienne
YAHOO!
Groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/
(general info)
(please confirm individual groups at the addresses
below; some of the following groups info may be out of date)
(used
to be "e-Groups" and "ONElist" before that)
Beginning
in Jan. 2001, those who are subscribed to e-groups (or onelists) who want to
be able to be able to use the archives or to access shared photos will
have to re-register each group they belong to with Yahoo (though a single
ID can be used for up to 5 groups).This will involve linking their current account(s)
to a Yahoo ID.
(However, it's not necessary to "join"
Yahoo for simply receiving and responding in the Yahoo groups...some people
have been concerned about Yahoo's possible sharing of their e-mail addresses with
other companies, and therefore do not "re-register." --though any new
members must “register with Yahoo,” “get a Yahoo ID”???) (now there is another
option for the largest group, at least--see below)**
However for alternative
ways to go to their chats or see the members-only shared photos, see Groups-Chats
(not yet uploaded) for some work-arounds!)
But . . ."those who do
(reregister with Yahoo) will have available to them:
* Chat with other group
members using our improved Yahoo! Chat.
* See when group members are online
and communicate with group members in real time using Yahoo! Messenger. And much,
much more to come!"
Get Info & Join mailing Yahoo mailing lists
http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Hobbies___Crafts/Crafts/Polymer_Clay?show_groups=1
this link shows all the polymer, and polymer-plus-another-craft,
groups in order of the number of members (which usually but not always
shows how active it is)
http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=polymer%20clay
(diff. order)
(From the first link above, you'll see the status
of the "archives" of each group; if it says Public, you
can read the messages without joining the group--though you can't reply; if it
says Members Only, you can't access anything but the group description)
(also ...when first signing up with Yahoo)
SPAM
Yahoo
has marketing settings on each person's account which enables them to send you
SPAM from marketing companies. When yahoo made the switchover, everyone's
settings were changed to "YES"
(for receiving stuff from over the web, home, and telephone :-(
...Personally, I am really bothered by this. But thankfully it can be fixed.
Here is how to fix it so you won't get spammed:
1.
Log into your yahoogroups account.
2. Go to "Account info" (found at the
top of the screen)
3. Go to "edit your marketing preferences"
4. You
will see they are all marked "yes". Change them all to "NO".
5. Make sure
you check the bottom of the screen as they have the ones to send to your home
via mail and phone checked yes as well.
6. Be sure to click "save
changes". Linda
....One
more thing re "opting out" of spam at Yahoo. . .
When
you click on the "opt out" button, just below the "cancel opt out" button
there is a link to "return to Yahoo Privacy Statement".. . . If
you click on that return link, the "cancel" button lights up,
which means you've then cancelled your opt out.
. . I fooled around going back and forth
several times before I got my opt out for sure (at least in MY mind). . .so use
the "back" button on your browser to return to the Privacy Statement,
not the link... author?
I also heard that any time you change any other settings in Yahoo, those marketing preference settings will again return to "Yes". I'm not sure if this goes for joining or leaving mail lists. Eleny
I
tired to change my address for Yahoo and now I can't find most of my groups, can't
change the Polymer Clay address, etc. I get as far as 'please check your mail
at the new address and confirm'. No mail. Help??? Madlyn
.......The best way
to CHANGE your e-mail address at Yahoo and avoid problems
is....
--subscribe to everything by email from your NEW address.
(--make
sure your new address is working with Yahoo --and ISP spam filters aren't killing
your email from Yahoo-- by monitoring your email.)
--then add your new address
to your current Yahoo profile.
(--make sure the new address is still working
before
--deleting your old address from your profile.
--THEN unsubscribe
from everything that is going to your old address VIA THE WEBSITE (so you don't
have to send back confirmation email to get OFF the lists)
.....If you try
to change the email address for your profile,
you will run into trouble. . .
... An easier way may be to just ADD a new
email address to your profile, and after it is confirmed start adding the
new address to all your groups as your default, or as an "additional
address to post from".
...Really there are a lot of options here, but
whatever you do, don't try to CHANGE the address on your profile. Just ADD the
new one, then later, delete the old one. Hope this helps anyone who may need to
do this in the future. Sunny
IF YOU SAVE MESSAGES or DIGESTS (in your e-mail software)
If you save whole messages
or digests in your e-mail program anywhere, you'll probably want to "disallow"
HTML in them because all the stuff that comes with the HTML option will
take up loads of space in your system! .... the only
thing that's very useful with the HTML option is having the any URL's appear as
live links (rather than as plain text), so if you needed to use one, you'll simply
need to copy it out and paste it into your browser instead)
....here's how
to disallow HTML in all yahoogroups:
......go to My Preferences page: http://groups.yahoo.com/myprefs
(sign in if prompted)
......(next to the e-mail address you want to use) click
Edit (under "Options" on right side)
......under "Message Format" .... click
in circle beside "Do not convert to HTML"
......click Save Changes
(there is supposed to be a way to do this also for individual yahoogroups,
but not working just now... check later to see if there now is a Message Format
option (from My Groups > name of group > Edit Membership)
reading messages at the Yahoogroups website
You
can read all the messages from the Yahoogroup site for any of its groups, rather
than receiving them in your e-mail.
...From the home page of each group,
click on View All Messages (or on the blue-highlighted message number for
the current month).
........this will bring up one page of listed message
titles ordered by date.
...To view a list of the messages by
thread rather than by the time they were received, click on Thread
(lower right of screen) .... then:
...If you want to view all messages opened
up for reading, click on Expand Messages (lower left).
.......(clicking
on Collapse Messages will make the opened messges into a list again)
posting Photos on yahoogroups (for members)
for PolymerClayPeople.
. . go to http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/PolymerClayPeople/lst
. . . Click on "CREATE FOLDER" At this point you may need to log in with your
Yahoo ID. Then click "ADD PHOTO" You will be able to upload 5 pictures at once
I believe. Before you hit the download button check the bottom options. You may
check or un check the box to allow others to order photos. And you have the option
of sizing the photo too. Cindy
...Just a little clarification for those truly
new at adding photos. When you click add photo it allows you to browse your files
for the photos you have stored. And it helps to have them already edited and resized
(if you have a hi res camera) to somewhere between 200 and 400 pixels square (the
higher resolution pictures take forever to load and are harder to view) Trina
Yahoogroups ... problems & stopping mail temporarily
Easiest way to stop your e-mails while
away on vacation, etc.:
...send a mail from the subscribed account
to nameoyourflist-nomail@yahoogroups.com
.......(e.g.,
that might be clay-polymer-nomail@yahoogroups.com ...or Polymer_Clay_People-nomail@yahoogroups.com)
...when
you want to resume, send an e-mail to nameofyourlist-normal@yahoogroups.com
(Use the same protocol for ANY yahoogroup.) Laurel
Or
to stop mail from the website: go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clay-polymer
(or to your particular yahoogroup)
...look to the right towards the
top...click where it says "Edit My Membership"
...on the new screen,
go to the section called 'Message Delivery' ...click on the circle next
to 'No email' ...then click where it says Save Changes.
...when
you are available again, just go back and set it back where you had before.
Mary K
Here is a trick someone on another list mentioned to
me that sometimes works when you get into problems with Yahoo. Fortunately, I
haven't had much trouble with bouncing, but I did find it impossible to persuade
Yahoo to change my settings for one group from NO mail, while I was away, back
to Individual Mails... it said the setttings were correct but refused to
send me mail.
.... Anyway, the tip I got was to create a new
public profile in Yahoo...just think up a new username...go to the group site
and select 'edit my membership' (right at the top is an option to 'add
new profile'... click that)...you'll go to a page that has a bar at the top
saying 'Create new Public profile' ...click that..... put in your new
user name and fill out whatever you wish to in the rest of profile...
and then submit it.
....You'll end up with your main, or first
profile, under your original username, and a new profile
underneath it, with the new username. ...Select the new profile
as 'make default', and then you're done.
....Once I completed this
process, I began receiving mail from the problem group instantly ...it is a bit
of a nuisance, but it sure seemed to fix the problem
....... the only change
anyone might see is your username, or maybe your 'from' email name if you made
it different than the first one. Karen H.
bouncing, or not receiving any mails from yahoogroups
...I did
try that --changing my name and/or password-- to
no avail. ....it would have been a very simple matter if "Edit my Membership"
would have cooperated, but it didn't. . .
.....Finally I just got completely
out of yahoo and subscribed anew using the present name. Voila!
success. tolebyjane
I experienced a similar dilemma at one
time and the cause was the old version of Netscape I was using as my browser.
If you haven't updated your browser in a couple of years, you might try
going to their website and downloading the newest version.
....Another alternate
is to change from your present browser to another browser, such as Internet
Explorer. Granny Patty
Download Spybot and run it to
get rid of the spyware, malware and virus stuff that is messing
with your programs.
......then get Ad-aware and do the same.... then
restart your pc. Ilene
POLYMER-only mailing lists, at yahoogroups
To browse
all 100 polymer groups at Yahoo, go to:
http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Hobbies___Crafts/Crafts/Polymer_Clay?show_groups=1
Here
the groups are listed in order by their current number of members and you'll
see a description for each.
Click on the group name to see the number
of messages per month, whether the archives and photos are open to
non-members (so you can take a look), and the e-mail address for subscribing.
Here are some of the more active ones:
Polymer_Clay_People
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Polymer_Clay_People
...has
its own website too http://www.polymerclaypeople.com
.......(used to be called PolymerClayPeople (no underscores),
and before that Polymerclayinterest)
"This is a list where
we can share ideas, ask questions, and learn new techniques with polymer clay.
People helping people with the same interests. I think one can learn so much from
their peers. Joins us for some good 'poly-talk'." (1000 members now,
members' archives) now hosted by Cindy Pack --usually 25-50 messages
(e-mails) per day.
OR (to avoid having to "join"
Yahoo, and give personal info which they may "share with others"):**
Join by the e-mail route. Send a blank email
to this addy to suscribe...
PolymerClayPeople-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Eventually you'll get a letter of confirmation, then you can just send an email
to the group at PolymerClayPeople@yahoogroups.com and that'll get you started.
It took most of a day for the confirmation letter to arrive...Joanie
clay-polymer
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clay-polymer
"This is a list for serious PC users. Active participation is requested.
You can be a newbie or a seasoned artist. You can lurk for a bit to get the feel
of the group but are asked to jump right in with tips, techniques and questions
about this versatile medium. Our hope is to promote the broader use of polymer
clay as a craft medium." (265 members now, members' archives, currently
around 3-25 messages per day) hosted by Carolyn, Jersey Girl
....clay-polymerscans
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clay-polymerscans/?yguid=6354010....clay-polymer
has recently started a new "group" but it's for photos only
...was created because the photo files at clay-polymer are filled up; to view
the photos stored at clay-polymerscans, you must also "join" that group
as well
Clayplaypals: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Clayplaypals
....this is a continuation of the now-closed new_to_polymer_clay yahoogroup
... the new group just began, March 2004
..."It doesn't
matter if you are a newbie or a seasoned artist in polymer clay
.........this
is a "Lurk and Learn, Friendly atmosphere" (we would like all members to
actively post but we understand that there will be some that want to lurk for
awhile until they are comfortable. That is because our members are as unique as
their pc creations are. Some may need to find their comfort zone before they participate.
With that said we hope you will join in on the fun).
...we will have alot
of fun activities to join in on and we hope that you do!
...this is
a group where we can all learn at times, teach at times, share our
accomplishments and also our, we will call them mmm, "learning
experiences":)
....we are forming friendships and having
a good time while we all learn and grow in the medium of polymer clay
....(older
group) new_to_polymer_clay:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new_to_polymer_clay
"Our main focus is to learn the craft of polymer
clay art from each other (and from several experienced members who are part of
the group).. " you are in a place where a helping hand, a listening ear,
and a word or two of enCOURAGEment will surely be here for you ...there is "someone"
here who has done whatever it is you want to do, or knows how to point you in
the right direction." Please Note: Absolutly NO flaming will be tolerated..."
(450 members, 20-100 msg. per day)
ClayinAround
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClayinAround
A list for discussion of anything to do with with working, shaping, baking and
finishing of Polymer Clays. Members may post Q+A's and carry on discussions, use
the chat room to talk CLAY! Helping one another achieve the best results in PC
work. With a shared file open to members consisting of pix and patterns, hints
and tips. Links to great PC websites for list members. Notices of upcoming online
classes. (214 members, 3-10 messages per day)
PolymerClayStuff
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/polymerclaystuff/
Welcome to all new members -- jump right in! Please post pictures of your work
-- we'd love to see 'em (286 members, 1-5 messages per day)
( Non-U.S.) general polymer mailing lists, at yahoogroups
clayamies (Canada) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clayamies
(Canadian Polymer Clay Friends/Amies) "A mailing list to promote communication
among Canadian polymer clay enthusiasts. "
UKPolyClay (United
Kingdom) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKPolyClay
"Polyclayers from outside the US, come join us! Whether your interests
are beads, jewellery, dolls, miniatures, sculpture, or multimedia pieces, we'll
talk about them all. Can't find a particular tool or clay? Have a question regarding
how to do something? Maybe someone else on the list can help…"
(there are also a number of local groups in the U.S. from various states....check the general listing to see if your state or area has a group)
CREATION
FIMO (France)
http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/CREATIONFIMO
Fimo
(for German speakers)
http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/fimo/
Hier sind Leute gesucht, die wie ich gerne mit Fimo basteln. (Alle diese Sachen
auf dem Foto sind aus Fimo gemacht.) Zum Austausch über Techniken, zum sich gegenseitig
was zeigen oder auch mal nur so plaudern.
...open to anyone, anywhere, who
is interested in polymer clay and who can read German (writing German is good
too, but not essential).
italyclay (Italy) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/italyclay
Tutte le persone interessate a condividere le proprie conoscenze sulle paste
sintetiche sono benvenute. In Italia sono conosciuti i prodotti Fimo, Cernit,
Creall therm e Gemcolor. Noi lavoriamo tutti i prodotti e il nostro interesse
sara' quello di promuovere questo bellissimo hobby manuale. (34 members)
http://www.italyclay.com/Default.asp
Milanoclay ...http://it.geocities.com/milanoclay
(Spain, Spanish-speakers... for a Spanish language online message board, see below in Message Boards)
PolyLerDanmark (Denmark/Scandanavia)
http://dk.groups.yahoo.com/group/PolyLerDanmark
http://www.geocities.com/pcdenmark/PLDanmarkDK.htm
List primarily for Scandinavians who want to chat about Polymer Clay.
Liste
primært for skandinavere, som ønsker at chatte om polymert ler.
aussiepolyclayers
(Australia) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aussiepolyclayers
The
Australian Polymer Clay Artists Guild has been formed to bring together the widespread
and diverse population of Polymer Clay Artists in Australia. Whether you work
with Millefiori, Jewellery, Sculpture, Dolls, or Miniatures this group offers
members a chance to contact each other and to exchange or share what you are doing,
new ideas, techniques, and to develop this exciting art-form in Australia. Please
join us!
AnzacPolyclayers (Australia & New Zealand) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnzacPolyclayers
This group is designed for Australian and New Zealand Polymer clay artists of
all types to meet and discuss techniques, styles, technical questions, supply
problems and general "what have you created lately" discussions. We
welcome anyone from Australia and New Zealand who works with polymer clay from
jewellery makers, miniaturists, doll-makers, teddy bear makers, garage kit sculptors,
puppeters and sculptors. Because of the unique needs and challenges faced by Polymer
clayers in Australia and New Zealand, this group is restricted to residents of
these two countries, at least for the near future
Arabian Desert Polymer
Clay Guild (not a mailing list, but thought I should list it here for
now)
For now, we have 5 members, including Evalie (EVLOCK) and myself. Hopefully,
we'll grow quickly. Our first scheduled meeting will be in September, 2002. Sally
Haskell <sb_haskell@yahoo.com>
....for non-USA online
guilds , see below in Non-USA guilds online
....for non-USA
guilds, see Guilds
....for
non-USA suppliers, see Supply
Sources > Clay Suppliers
(for regional or specific guild mailing list groups, see below under Online Guilds)
SPECIALIZED polymer mailing lists at yahoogroups
PolyWannaClay
...swaps group (& discussion) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PolyWannaClay/
For polymer clay artists and soon to be artists who would like to participate
in clay swaps and clay discussions. There will be 6 - 8 swaps per year!
Join the ones you want. ....And by participating you will meet people, learn new
polymer clay techniques, and become a better clayer.
... Plus, polymer clay
swaps from other groups will be posted here as well.
CITY-o-Clay
...polymer miniatures, sculpting and gen. polymer techniques
.... used to be MSATClayArt
(but left the MSAT List family in Jan 2005)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CITY-o-Clay
(part of the "CITY" list family now... "Creative
Indulgence Totally Yours" or "CITY" for short)
....polymer
clay artists from beginners to skilled professionals... all polymer clay techniques
are discussed: color mixes, raising cane, sculpting figures, replicating things
from nature, for jewelry and household accessories, in flat designs or 3D.
....the moderator Nora-Jean Gatine takes a very
active role in posting, teaching, etc ......she likes to encourage beginners (and
others)
....Nora Jean also gives twice
weekly, online, polymer clay webcam demos (free, accessible
by Yahoo members with YahooMessenger), where miniature polymer clay techniques
are reviewed and new techniques of all kinds are attempted as live experiments
........ instructions for how to access the demos and for downloading Yahoo
Messenger are on one of Nora Jean's websites:
http://www.norajean.com/MSAT/ClayArt/WebCam/How-To.htm
...We also have hundreds of tutorials online, and when you're active on the
list for three months (or Donate) you can access our Lending Libraries of Books
and Videos, qualify for a Newbie Box, and get help with your supplies.
...We
are chatty.
....(now over 1000 members,
26-100 messages per day)
...article in Polyzine about Nora Jean and
the "MSATClayArt" (old name) group and her demos http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2004sept/msat.html
...also has a separate yahoogroup just for their pictures CITY-oClayPictures
...http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CITY-o-ClayPictures
Pcbj
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pcbj/
(Polymer Clay - Beads & Jewelry)
"This is a group for those
people interested in the bead and jewelry aspects of polymer clay.
We will discuss everything from techniques to construction to findings. This is
a place where we can all learn from each other and share our jewelry making and
bead making experiences. My hope is that this will be a place for people to find
links to methods and a place for those of us who create pc jewelry to discuss
what we design. All polymer clay jewelry artists and those interested in learning
the craft are welcome!!" (260 members, 1-2 msg. per day, but
may grow with new moderator PoRRo)
.....Precious_Metal_Clay_IL-WI
is one ... there are couple of others as well
.....also ISMCA
(International Society of Metal Clay). Lori http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ISMCA/
.....(may be more at Yahoogroups...
go to http://www.yahoogroups.com, then
enter Precious Metal Clay in the Search window..)
clayquilters http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clayquilters
...Artisans interested in quilting with Polymer Clay (1 msg, 77
mem's)
Online Clay Quilters
(at Diana Crick's website) (gone?) http://home.istar.ca/%7eladydian/onlineclayquilters/index.html
Beginners_Polymer_Clay_Art_Guild (fairly active) ... mostly
sculpting
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Beginners_Polymer_Clay_Art_Guild
...
90% of the members are beginners... but very talented artist members offer
their help to newbies
...very active group... but note that they
do now allow lurkers more than 30 days (keeps the group smaller, but very relaxed
and chatty)
MEMBERS: anyone playing with
polymer clay is accepted as a member, but:
...most members
are polymer clay fairy & fantasy figurine makers
...also some baby makers,
and some more-abstract statue makers
...also a few who make something else
(like beads, ornaments, etc.)
novice_sculptors
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/novice_sculptors
"This group is for novice small-scale sculptors and experienced sculptors
who are interested in mentoring. The goal is to create an atmosphere in which
beginners feel comfortable asking questions and showing their work to others.
Mentors will be there to give advice, share techniques, and offer constructive
criticism. ...Mediums include, but are not limited to: polymer clay, paper
clay, wax, plaster, plasticine, epoxy resin, and so on. Genres include, but
are not limited to: small figures (human, animal, other), models/kits (horror,
sci-fi, comics, fantasy, military, etc.), dolls/art dolls (mixed-media figures),
action figures, decorative figurines, and so on." (286 members, 4-6 messages/day)
AfricanDollArtist
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanDollArtist
" All mediums, cloth, polymer and air-dried clay doll artist. To exchange
ideas, share tips on doll making including cloth doll costume designing."
(18 members, not very active now in early 2001)
claydollartists http://groups.yahoo.com/group/claydollartists
"polymer and air-dried clay doll artists. doll swaps, shows, tips on dollmaking
and doll sculpting classes" (200 members, but not very active now in early
2001)
polymerclayfigurines http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=polymerclayfigurines&ss=1 "... Ive been a polymer clay artist for 8 years now and Im so excited to be able to teach kids as well as adults my techniques (whimsical characters & critters) . Im always willing to share ideas and help promote this wonderful addicting thing we call polymer clay. I originally started this list to promote my website and business...but soon that changed …" (62 members)
MiniDolls
(MSATMiniDolls) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MSATMiniDolls
. . .not polymer but many lessons! and photos which can be applied
to polymer and to miniatures in many ways...
The MiniDolls List
is a site where everyone from professional to beginner can share ideas, tips,
sources and resources on making, dressing, wigging, accessorizing, displaying
and selling miniature dolls, both porcelain and sculpted. We encourage sharing
and provide a forum for questions, creativity, innovation and adaptation.. . .
Projects, Suppliers, Contests, and Winners. Also included is an ongoing Archive
of Tips from our members, including helpful books and other resources. ( 600+
members ...very active group)
CITY-MiniScenery http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CITY-MiniScenery
...partly polymer?
... focuses on all areas of mini
scenery and landscaping for dollhouses or mini scenes.
...discuss things like water features such as fountains, ponds and waterfalls
etc., flower making, using paper, dried real flowers, clay and we'll also include
the discussion of using live plants in miniature settings. Tree making, grass
and bushes too.
Julie Wise of "Razberi Kids" fame and I, are starting a Kato Polyclay user ...group on Yahoo very soon. You'll be able to get all your answers about Kato Polyclay answered there as well as your general clay questions. Lisa Pavelka (Oct.02)
Clayers With Disabilities:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clayerswithdisabilities
(new July 2002)
Many polymer clay artists have disabilities,
and others would like to better accommodate clayers with disabilities in
their classes and guilds.. . . Many disability professionals would like to incorporate
polymer clay into therapeutic activities, but are not quite sure how to
do so. This group is for such people.. . . on a professional or hobbyist level.
. . and discuss how our disabilities positively and negatively affect clay-related
activities.
For more information on why I'm starting this list, please visit
http://artistcrafts.com/cwd/background.htm.
To subscribe, send an e-mail to: clayerswithdisabilities-subscribe@yahoogroups.com,
or join from the list's yahoogroups homepage (above).
Jewelry Makers
in Pain http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JewelryMakersinpain
(not just polymer clayers)
...a fairly new (e-mail) list for those
of us who have varying illnesses, pain, etc. I guess it's at Yahoo now, not egroups.
It's nice to talk to people who understand that we're not just complaining and
making it all up. FYI. Krista
"The focus of this group is to provide
a forum for discussion, support and information sources for beaders, jewelers
and wire wrappers who have autoimmune diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome,
rheumatoid and fibromyalgia.
ArtfulClayCreations (for selling,
advertising, or announcing clay items events, sites, etc.) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArtfulClayCreations
I created this group as a service group for all crafters working with any types
of clay. Here, you can advertise your website, yahoo album or ebay
business. If you have any tips, techniques or links you would like to share with
the group, please feel free. Also, please feel free to announce any educational
events and arts/craft festivals in your area. ...You can sell supplies
to other crafters as well and also sell your finished products. This is a good
way to expand your business network and increase your exposure. . Please set up
a photo album with your creations for everyone to see. . . . Carolyn P.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
books_and_boxes
http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=books_and_boxes&ss=1
This topic-only list is for people interested in creating and/or decorating
small (no dimension greater than 6") books and boxes. All related topics
up for discussion, such as rubber stamping, embellishing, collage, calligraphy,
journaling, polymer clay, the list goes on. Anything that can be used to make
or decorate a book or box is fair game but, please, no chitchat. Swaps are encouraged
and there will be a ongoing virtual swap.
AssemblageArtists http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=AssemblageArtists&ss=1
An exciting forum for artists interested in exploring assemblage. Assemblage
is a three-dimensional art form using a collection of diverse objects, such as
found objects, collage elements, papers, paints, polymer clay, old letters, postage
stamps, etc. Assemblage can be housed in boxes, antique drawers, frames, cigar
boxes, Altoid tins, fruit crates, etc. or mounted on various supports. (600 members)
001StampArtists
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/001StampArtists
"A rubber stamping and related applied arts community. Geared toward the
advanced stamper, this list provides a forum for the exchange of information and
fellowship related primarily to the art of rubber stamping...Topics will also
include book arts, paper arts, polymer clay, print gocco, and much more.
We will discuss newly discovered techniques or shortcuts, and share information
on new products and vendors." (1500 members, 20-22 messages/day)
001StampArtistsswaps
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/001StampArtistsswaps
A rubber stamping swap listing. Here's the place to get connected to all the CREATIVE
and COOL swaps that are currently being hosted by 001StampArtists members. These
swaps follow the same style of NON-CUTE stamping like the main 001StampArtists
list does. (1 msg/day)
Show-Me-Mo-Rubber http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Show-Me-Mo-Rubber
A community for artists living in or near Missouri and other artists interested
in rubber stamping and related arts. Join this list to share and exchange information
about rubberstamping art, collage, book making, altered books, polymer clay, paper-making
and other related arts. Members share information about workshops and conferences
and maintain a database of sources for purchasing art supplies in and near Missouri.
Art-related retreats are sponsered by the list, also. Off-topic messages are not
permitted. (206 members, 10-14 messages/day)
OrientalStampart
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrientalStampart
A rubber stamping and related applied arts community with special emphasis on
Oriental Stamp Art themes. Our community exists to meet the needs of its world-wide
members and provide a forum for learning new techniques including rubber stamping,
polymer clay, collage, Origami, book making and other paper arts. Join the list
to share and exchange information with world-wide members from Australia, United
States, Canada, Alaska, South America, Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore,
Netherlands. . . (600 members)
Air-DryClay (NOT
POLYMER) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Air-DryClay/
...list for talking about the nuances of Air-dry clay, Paperclay, dough
clay, salt clay, and any air-dried clay that is not baked in an oven
or kiln fired. Tinting, painting, recipes, etc...whatever you need!
Emulsion
Polymers (NOT CLAY, scientific uses of polymers) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/emulsionpolymers/
. . . "we have a group about emulsion polymer . i have created this group
because water based polymers is better than solvent born and without damage
to environment. please join for conversation...
MESSAGE
BOARDS (aka "FORUMS")
some
message boards
(in order of size:)
PolymerClayCentral
...at delphiforums (very active board... often off-topic and chatty)
http://forums.delphiforums.com/polymerclay/start
(information, swaps, chats, etc.).
(Re their archives, PCC
has its own system for searching them; I've heard complaints that it's hard to
use and people can't find things they want, but you could try now --maybe they've
improved it.)
...... If the above link doesn't work, you can
also get to PCC's message board from the home page of the regular Polymer Clay
Central website: http://www.polymerclaycentral.com
(then click on "Message Board" in the pink bars on the left).
...Either
way, the resulting screen will probably prompt you to "join"
delphiforums and also that particular message board. You can do that for free
(beware their trying to get you to pay for a more advanced version, Delphi
Plus, if you don't want it though), or you can enter as a "Guest" (even every
time, if you want, as long as you don't want to post any messages of your own).
The pay version has some perq's like being able to post photos, change the color
and font of your text, etc.
Craftster
has two new polymer clay boards...(members of Craftster tend to be younger and/or
"hipper" than members of most other boards)
Polymer Clay Discussions
& Questions
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?board=239.0
Polymer Clay Completed Projects/Lessons
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?board=238.0
(all
boards at Craftster: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php
)
ArtJewelry (has a Polymer Clay board) ... jewelry-oriented
..July
2007... looks like this will replace the BeadandButton forum, for most
polymer clayers)
http://cs.artjewelrymag.com/artcs/forums/31.aspx
...also
has a board for metal clays
http://cs.artjewelrymag.com/artcs/forums/32.aspx
...plus
boards on related topics for jewelry makers like marketing one's work,
wire work, creativity, how do you...?, locating suppliers)
http://cs.artjewelrymag.com/artcs/forums
Bead
and Button (jewelry-oriented)
has a polymer clay board:
http://www.beadandbutton.com/bnb/community/forum/default.asp
...also a board for metal clays (see just below), and boards
on related topics for jewelry makers like marketing one's work, wire
work, creativity, how do you...?, locating suppliers, beads, seed beads, etc):
http://www.beadandbutton.com/bnb/community/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=20
Polymer
Clay Jewelry ...at delphiforums (jewelry-oriented, and esp. for those
with more experience)
http://forums.delphiforums.com/PCJewelry/start
("meeting place for polymer clay artists and crafters who make polymer
clay jewelry, and experienced jewelry makers interested in expanding their art
to include polymer clay. A background in the basics of polymer clay is recommended.
Though new clayers are welcome, we will graciously provide them links to other
quality sites for basic information. Our focus is specifically on jewelry making,
and all aspects of its construction, including polymer clay components, findings,
wirework, and mixed media...")
SMALLER BOARDS at delphiforums:
Bottles
of Hope ...at delphiforums
http://forums.delphiforums.com/boh1/start
This
project was started in 1999 by a Rhode Island cancer survivor and has spread internationally.
Bottles are made by artists, students, survivors, seniors and many more who volunteer
their time and love ...polymer clayers usually cover or embellish small bottles
for giving, but any kind of small vessel, etc., is good too). This forum was created
as a place to get information and to share your experiences with the Bottles of
Hope project.
http://www.bottlesofhope.org
Artist
Doll ...at delphiforums
Site Crafters http://forums.delphiforums.com/sitecrafters/start
message board...at delphiforums (for help with creating web pages)
Gentle
Critique http://forums.delphiforums.com/gentlecritique/start
message board...at delphiforums
Custom Action Figures http://forums.delphiforums.com/customize/messages
(may not be young-kid friendly though)
Alaskan
Polymer Art Guild (APAG)...at delphiforums
http://forums.delphiforums.com/apag/start
.... http://kelliesklay.homestead.com/apag.html
. . .the city is Anchorage, but we want all Alaskan clayers. . . will
be setting up a message board for the ones who aren't in Anchorage). Kellie Robinson
more
info on using delphiforums:
to Read Only (at Delphi forums)
click on Message Board above, then on “View as Guest,” located underneath
Enter Password
to Read-and-Join (at Delphi forums)
click on URL
above & follow instructions for joining
...(check out http://forums.delphiforums.com/dir-app/search/forumBrowse.asp
for more delphiforums by browsing through the categories on that page,
or doing a search for keywords there (the search feature seems to bring up only
messages relating to that word(s) in ALL delphi groups though, so you may have
to pick through them)
NON-USA message boards
Spain,
Spanish-speaking... Asociación de Arcillas Polimericas de España (currently
at fimoland.com)
http://www.fimoland.com/foro
METAL
CLAYS message boards
...PMC
Guild http://www.pmclay.com/ or http://pmcguild.com/
...Bead
and Button http://www.beadandbutton.com/bnb/community/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=21
GENERAL CRAFTS message boards
....HGTV's
Message Board (Home and Garden Television, home of Carol Duvall show)
Polymer
clay is usually discussed there only at the General Crafts board... occasionally
at the Holiday Crafts board
http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/advice/0,1191,,FF.html
(click on Crafts and Collectibles)
...DIY has a very small General
Crafts board
http://boards.diynetwork.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/2021916776
creating avatars for message boards
Avatars (in computer-land)
are small images (photos, drawings, whatever) which are placed beside a message
board member's screen name as a quick and fun visual representation of the member.
...many
avatars can be found online... and message boards may offer a range of their own
to choose from
...or a personal photo or drawing from one's own computer or
from a photosharing site where it's been placed can be used (in the first case,
the image would be chosen by browsing on'es computer... in the second case, the
url of the small image would be used)
...all avatars must be a small pixel
size, but the largest size allowed may be different for each msg bd (for example,
72x72 pixels or 128x128 pixels)
......look in the Help section or the
Profile of a site for maximum size allowed... adding the avatar will usually
be on the page for creating a Profile
Any photoediting software
will allow one to shrink an image (then Save As to someplace in your computer,
or put online at your photosharing site, etc.), and there are even sites online
which will resize an image for free... for example:
Shrinkpictures.com...
http://www.Shrinkpictures.com/create-avatar
their page for shrinking images down to avatar size
(for
more online photoediting and resizing links, as well as more
on photoediting, see Photography > Photoediting
> Where to Find Photoediting)
NEWSGROUPs (Usenet) + GOOGLE Groups
Google Groups
http://www.google.com/googlegroups/about.html and http://groups-beta.google.com
Google
is now sponsoring their own groups (which can be set up as mailing
lists, or newsgroups?)
....this is a
new feature (Jan
05) which is being added to their existing googlegroups function of middle-man
service for reading and/or responding in Usenet "newsgroups"
like rec.crafts.polymer-clay
... various options can be selected for
viewing or using their groups.
... unfortunately, it also seems that they're
lumping together their new
mailing list groups with real
newsgroups on some of their pages, which can make figuring out which
are which confusing... maybe this will change soon.
NEWSGROUP
(also called "USENET" groups)
now longer very
active... used to be the biggest
There is only one true
"newsgroup" (group which is part of "Usenet") for polymer
clay... though you may hear many people loosely refer to all online groups as
"newsgroups":
rec.crafts.polymer-clay
(through Google) http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.crafts.polymer-clay
(will this name change when no longer "beta"
version?)
......or news:rec.crafts.polymer-clay
... http://www.faqs.org/faqs/crafts/polymer-clay/welcome/
...this group is no longer as active as it was when it was the granddaddy of them
all . ..
There are a few other newsgroups which may
occcasionally address polymer clay
as well, but the only ones I know of might be:
....rec.crafts.beads
.....rec.crafts.jewelry .....rec.crafts.rubberstamps
.....rec.crafts.scrapbooks
....rec.crafts.dollhouses
.....one of the textiles groups: rec.crafts.textiles-xxxx
(quilting, sewing, fiber, etc.)
... rec.crafts (general
crafts?) ......rec.crafts.misc (misc.crafts) .... ....(in
the U.K.) uk.rec.crafts
Or you can
browse all groups at via Google (or browse particular categories),
to find a group you're interested in:
to search for names of all crafts.
newsgroups, start here:
http://groups-beta.google.com/groups/dir?q=crafts&sel=16823835&qt_d=Directory+Search
to search for names of all rec. newsgroups,
start here:
http://groups-beta.google.com/groups/dir?sel=33609734&expand=1
to search for names of all
newsgroups, start here:
http://groups-beta.google.com/groups/dir?sel=33554433?
(in alphabetical order)
http://groups-beta.google.com
(by categories)
Or you can use the search box at top of most
Googlegroups pages http://groups-beta.google.com
.....in the results, the groups will be shown as green
links (...and any posting in any group containing
your search word as blue links).
Newsgroups must be accessed
in one of several ways
1....through special "news readers"
...(freeware, shareware, or pay-for)
2....through some e-mail
programs (if they support newsgroups)... or Outlook Express
3....on
the internet, through a middle-man
........GoogleGroups
http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
........Mailgate --- http://www.mailgate.org/rec/rec.crafts.polymer-clay/index.html
(--and others?)
(options 3 and 2? also allow you to keep up with a newsgroup
when out of town or away from your computer)
what are "Newsgroups," in general?
....Google's
explanation of what Usenet newsgroups are ...http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/basics.html
....There are more than
5000 "newsgroups" on the internet, and they
comprise a huge network called USENET ("user networks"). They
were the orignal "groups" on the net.
Each newsgroup is a "collection
of messages with a related theme.
This network of groups was created
by the internet itself (or something like that) to give everyone forums in which
to talk about virtually anything.
...(on other "networks," these
groups would be called forums, boards, conferences, or special-interest
groups)
The newsgroup for polymer clay is called rec.crafts.polymer-clay,
and it has been online since at least 1995.
.... An
advantage to newsgroups is that they will never go away; all other groups
can fold if the person(s) in charge moves on. (Most?) newsgroups also have no
leader, moderator or hosting service, so there are no influences, preferences
or rules. The previous disadvantage to newsgroups (they don't have any place within
them to post photos) has been largely eliminated because many of us are now using
one of the photo-sharing services or have out own websites; we can then directly
reference one particular photo, or all of them, in our posts using a clickable
link.
..... If you're interested,
the names of the (major?) newsgroup categories are
divided into 10 or more
basic categories (...many more now?):
(rec=recreation, bus=
business, comp=computer, sci=science, gov=government,
news=news, humanities=humanities, talk=talk,
misc=miscelleneous, alt=anything at all).
...the categories get more specific as more words (categories) are added to their
ends ...so, rec.crafts.polymer-clay is in the "crafts" category
of the "recreation" category.
Reading newsgroup only
Without actually joining a newsgroup
or activating a newsgroup reader, the only way to read-only newsgroup messages
is to use a middle-man?
...for middleman possibilities other than Google,
see below in "Subscribing Through
an Internet Middle-Man"
Google
Groups: http://groups.google.com
--enter rec.crafts.polymer-clay (don't forget the hyphen) in the
Search Groups window; this will bring up the "threads" of all discussions
beginning with the most recent ones... IMO, clicking on "Viewing
Titles Only" gives the clearest way to view messages.
--click on
a thread subject, and you'll be taken to the post of that thread which
corresponds to the latest date (...to see the other posts in that thread,
scroll up or down the page).
......OR just to read any dates or span
of dates you wish
http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
--enter rec.crafts.polymer-clay (don't forget the hyphen) in the Newsgroup
bar window, & fill in the dates you want.
Some
years ago, Google (a middle-man type news reader) took over the
archive of all newsgroup messages which used to be housed at deja.com
(prev. named Dejanews).
...one current disadvantage
to reading through Google Groups (still true?) is that messages may not appear
there for 3-9 hrs after someone posts them.
Subscribing
to newsgroups (read and post)
(general
info)
There are some specific instructions for AOL, Netscape, & Internet Explorer, etc., below, but the best idea may be to call *your* ISP and ask how they handle "newsgroups."
SUBSCRIBING
via different "services"
1. news readers will
each have their own set of steps to follow
2. (info on subscribing through
a middle-man on the internet, like googlegroups, is below.)
3. most
e-mail programs (such as Netscape Communicator, Microsoft's Outlook or
Outlook Express, etc.) come with newsreader software.
4.
most Internet Service Providers (ISP's) give you access to a news server
with your internet account as well? (or
WebTV?)
The first step (except when subscribing through a middle man?) is usually to download the entire list of all newsgroups. This can be a very large list depending on the News Host. When this is done, you can select rec.crafts.polymer-clay. This will then be the newsgroup downloaded to you by default. Some systems may offer an "Advanced Add" or something like that so that you can avoid downloading the whole list, and just enter the one you want.
OR ...clicking on one of these links may
automatically bring up a newsgroup
reader already be on your system (not sure though):
news:rec.crafts.polymer-clay
http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/index.html
(on Jeanne's page)
subscribing through an online "middle-man"
(this may be the easiest way to deal with newsgroups if you're not very familiar with technical computer & web stuff? )
GoogleGroups (you must register in order to be able to post
new topics or respond to posts, as opposed to simply reading them as
above);
.... Google states that individually identifying info will not be
"shared, sold, etc." to any 3rd parties except in situations where they
are required to do so by law.
To get to the registration page,
go to http://groups.google.com/
....then
you'll see: "You are not a member of any groups. You can locate a group by
searching or browsing the directory below.
You can then join groups that interest
you by clicking the "Join this Group" link."
...so enter rec.crafts.polymer-clay
in the search window... then click on "Join this Group"...
Fill
in your e-mail address, name, and create a password, then Send; you'll receive
a confirmation e-mail shortly.
.....GoogleGroups is
a bit confusing these days because they're creating their own groups
as well (mailing lists, and newsgroups?), in addition to acting as an archive
and reader for Usenet newsgroups... so in some places "their groups"
will be grouped with newsgroups, but in some places newsgroups are grouped
together alone
OTHER middle-man possibilities:
....Mailgate
--- http://www.mailgate.org/rec/rec.crafts.polymer-clay/index.html
...a "gateway" service that allows you to read, search, and post messages
to the newsgroups within a web browser.
....DFN-CIS ---
http://news.cis.dfn.de/en/register.html ...a free news service...your
posts will show up (on their servers, anyway) promptly, and seem
to propagate to most reasonable servers pretty quickly as well.
....XNews.
---http://xnews.newsguy.com/ ....also
free, very featureful, and not susceptible to the vast array of viruses and
exploits that Outlook falls victim to so regularly. Karen C.
....Mozilla
Thunderbird?? --- http://www.mozilla.org/projects/thunderbird
....NewsOne.Net ??---http://newsone.net/
... free Usenet News via the Web ...free reading and anonymous posting
to 60,000+ groups.
subscribing through your E-Mail software, or browser
--any browser can use the Outlook
Express e-mail software http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q171/1/90.asp?FR=0
....it's usually bundled with along with other Windows software when
a computer is purchased
.......to see if you already have Outlook
Express, use your Windows Explorer to search for a file or folder called
Outlook Express on your C drive
......if you don't have it, you can pay for
it then install it on your system (...online at microsoft.com?, or in a retail
store) ...(no cost after that)
....if you have Outlook Express, click on
the "Tools" menu then select "Accounts" then you want to "Add" then select "news".
Popup will ask for your name and email address, then one will ask for the NNPT
server which is normally "news.(your ISP)" for example "news.cox.net" would probably
be your server. finish out and you should be set up. kathmandu
Outlook Express
(Mac) http://www.washington.edu/computing/newsgroups/oe-mac.html
Outlook Express (Earthlink) http://www.earthlink.net/internet/newsgroups/reading/microsoft.html
--Netscape browser, click on Communicator, then on Subscribe
(wait for all groups to load);
type in rec.crafts.polymer-clay
in the window, or scroll down to it; Subscribe,OK
http://help.netscape.com/products/client/communicator/IntroComm/chap04.html
(more info)
--Internet Explorer browser uses Internet
Mail --which I didn't think too much of when I tried it long ago): click
onTools, Newsgroups
http://www.wave.ca/HelpNewIESet.html
(more info)
--AOL: KEYWORD newsgroups,
Expert Add (to save a lot of time!), type in rec.crafts.polymer-clay, click on
Subscribe, Enable Offline Reading for this Group, Save. (Don't forget to set your
"Preferences" too from the first screen)
....the first time
you do Automatic AOL (Flash Session in older versions), you'll probably get sev.
wks of posts; after that you'll get only the latest ones
......AOL's
Newsgroup service was discontinued in
early 2005.
...... For our members
using AOL over a dial-up connection, you will no longer be able to access Newsgroups.
...... If you have a separate high-speed connection, you can contact your
broadband provider to see if they offer Newsgroups.
...... Newsgroup services
can often be accessed through a third party reader, such as Mozilla Thunderbird
(http://www.mozilla.org/projects/thunderbird/)
Alternatively, you can access
Newsgroups via Google at http://groups.google.com
subscribing through an Internet Service Provider
...WebTV ... an
ISP?
......... type in: news:rec.crafts.polymer-clay
(after deleting any http:// ) --you will go right to it; no other steps are involved....this
works for all webtv newsgroups. HPH
... (for AOL,
see just above)
Subscribing through a Newsreader
...Free
Agent newsreader -- select Get News Group, from Online in the
menu
...Microplanet Gravity --
...others? ... must be many more
(...for more info re any of these news readers, do an
internet search for any of the names or do a seach with the word
newsreaders )
Searching the ARCHIVES of the newsgroup
Some years ago, Google.com
took over the archive containing all newsgroup messages (for many
thousands of newsgroups) which used to be housed at deja.com, prev. named Dejanews.
...so now GoogleGroups
can be searched for all newsgroup messages back to 1981.
TO
SEARCH :
go to: http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
then fill in these fields:
...FIND MESSAGES ...use one
of the 4 options
...NEWSGROUP ...rec.crafts.polymer-clay (don't forget
the hyphen)
...MESSAGE DATES ....Anytime
(the default) ...OR set your own FROM & TO dates
(
-------go back up, and click Google Search)
once
on the "results" page:
--clicking
on the blue link for each Subject will bring up one post ("article")
--clicking on the View Thread link will bring up all the posts in
that subject thread
more links for using any Google searches
If you're interested in setting your
preferences so that Google will always return up-to-100
"results" at a time (rather than the default
of just 10), go to this page:
http://www.google.com/help/customize.html#customize
--Customizing Your Google Display: click here
--set the default for Number of Messages to 100
--Save Preferences
More instructions on how to search
http://www.google.com/help/
especially on refining your search
http://www.google.com/help/refinesearch.html
searching for images at Google
http://www.google.com/help/features.html
http://www.google.com/advanced_search
(scroll down for Image Search)
(mostly a duplicate of Groups-Guilds > Non-USA , but may be more things there over time?)
This info has gotten complicated as so many more guilds and groups are creating blogs, mailing lists, and other groups... so just take what you can from it:
(...some of these are official guilds, some are not...)
Alaskan
Polymer Art Guild: http://kelliesklay.homestead.com/apag.html
..Anchorage, but we want all Alaskan clayers
....message board for the clayers
not in Anchorage http://forums.delphiforums.com/apag
Kellie Robinson
Hawaii:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hawaiipolymerclayers
Puerto
Rico ...Puertorican Polymer Clay Guild (Spanish-speaking)
...Fajardo, Puerto Rico
http://www.geocities.com/ebaydilan
Canada:
Montreal
Polymer Clay Guild http://www.claycave.com/mpcg.html
Southern Ontario Polymer Clay Guild
http://www.geocities.com/SOPCG...monthly,
usually in Mississauga
.........Canadian
suppliers: http://www.geocities.com/SOPCG
Vancouver
Island Polymer Clay Guild http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VanIslePolyClayers
also Vancouver Polymer Clayers http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vancouverpolyclayers/?yguid=263723744
...not a guild, affiliated with
Clayamies, the online Canadian guild
http://www.clayamies.com and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clayamies)
Kingston
(Ontario) Polymer Clay Guild ... second friday of every month at 2:30 -5 at 99
York Street, Kingston..... Georgia at 613-374-3582 or email georgia@beekslanestudio.com
Lindsay Ontario .. first Monday evening of every month at The Crafty
Stamper located in the Cambridge Mall (705)324-4655 or e-mail to craftystamper@bellnet.ca
British Polymer Clay Guild
http://www.bpcg.org.uk
Spain +
Spanish-speaking (see also Puerto Rico above for Spanish-speaking)
...a
message board for the Asociación de Arcillas Polimericas de España
(currently at fimoland.com)
http://www.fimoland.com/foro
...also see Puerto Rico just above
...Monica Resta, from
Italy, also has a number of lessons in Spanish on her pages: http://guide.dada.net/hobby_femminili/progetti
Finland...
PoRRo’s site :
http://www.dlc.fi/~markkujt/index.html
France...
PoRRo’s site :
http://www.dlc.fi/~markkujt/index.html
French-speaking
...a blog for the French guild that has just stated
recently
http://lefilalapate.canalblog.com
(...+ blog with a lot of information in French, Parole de Pâte:
http://paroledepate.canalblog.com
)
Italy
...Milan http://it.geocities.com/milanoclay
--Milanoclay
http://www.italyclay.com/Default.asp
....http://groups.yahoo.com/group/italyclay
some
websites from Italy:
(Marie I Draghi's site) http://www.marieidraghi.it
(Monica's projects)
http://guide.supereva.it/hobby_femminili/progetti
....
http://bussola.supereva.it/italyclay/eng/home.html?p
(click on Gallery for various)
Israel
..(not a guild or a group) ...Naamaza's site has
basic info about using polymer clay, as well as some projects
http://www.naamaza.com/site/detail/detail/detail.asp?detail_id=39109
Australia....Australian
Polymer Clay Artists Guild
http://www.polymerclay.com.au/Aussiepolyclayersguild.htm
New Zealand Guild
http://www.zigzag.co.nz/
...http://www.polymerclay.co.nz/nzpcg/index.html
Japan
....group (supplies?)
http://www.polymerclayart-japan.com/
(in Japanese)
http://www.polymerclayart-japan.com/english.html
(in English)
Japan or Italy?
Kazuo
(Yamashita) Kono kykaz@aol.com (e-mail contact)
Brazil... Polymer
Clay Brasil
http://www.polymerclaybrasil.com.br
We
meet monthly (Saturdays) at Casa do Restaurador (art store). Our website is in
portuguese and english. Contact: Vera Pessoa - faleconosco@polymerclaybrasil.com.br
Online-Only guilds
European Polymer Clay People (mostly in English)
http://europeanpolymerclaypeople.forumup.org
Polymer
Clay Artists Guild of Etsy (PCAGOE)
....blog now at http://pcagoe.com
(photos
still at their 2 previous pages: http://etsypca.blogspot.com
and http://pcagoe.wordpress.com)
"Carol
Duvall Polymer Clay Guild" (a virtual guild) --still
available?
Membership: General Member status is
open to anyone who loves Polymer Clay and doesn’t have a local or regional guild
within one hour’s driving distance of their home, OR who is a consummate fan of
the Carol Duvall Show. Member Emeritus status is available to anyone who demonstrates
PC on the Carol Duvall Show ... At this time, membership is free. As the group
grows, dues will be added as necessary.
Contact info: Mags Bonham <mags@vtcrafts.net>,
or Sharon David <sdavid06@swbell.net>
Short-Term Goals
• To provide members with a weekly update of PC
episodes on the Carol Duvall Show
• To provide a PhotoPoint Album for Member
Creations inspired by a particular episode and/or instructor.
• To build
a library of Carol Duvall Show episodes for sharing with the membership
•
To honor Carol Duvall and past and future instructors for their promotion of polymer
clay as a craft and art medium with a Membership Pin designed by the guild members.
more International Contacts?
See also this directory
of Non-USA polymer clay teachers located in many countries.
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/teacherindex_international.html
(these
teachers may also know more about others who are interested in polymer clay, groups,
etc., in their specific areas):
...Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan
...England, Ireland, Denmark,
Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, France, Germany, Croatia, Russia
...Greece,
Turkey, Israel
...India....Nigeria...Brazil
...Canada
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
...check
for more possible online guild mailing lists at this address
http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=polymer%20clay
...for
non-USA online message groups, see above in
Non-USA mailing lists
...for
non-USA suppliers, see Supply Sources
> Clay Suppliers
(...for possibly more on non-USA
guilds, see Guilds)
BLOGS
(many
are be somewhat interactive)
General Info re blogs
"blog" (short for "weblog"....
web+log)
... a relatively new type of (free) individual online presence, which
functions a little like a personal website, but requires no knowledge of html
or special software so much easier for the average person to use... sometimes
called a journal or diary
(for lots more info about blogs, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog)
BOOKS
about "art" blogging:
Artful Blogging (144 pgs) ...gives
info on blogging "Etiquette, Must-Haves, and How to Get Started on your own
blog spot" for those interested in doing art-related blogs ... also "spotlights
41exceptional artists’ blogs currently online"
http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/detail_scblog01.html
definitions + options
the visual appearance and organization of one's blog can be chosen at each site by selecting a templates or style (...these can often be even further modified if one knows a bit of html)
there
can be text and photos in each entry
entries by the blogger
may be made daily, or whenever they want (the latest entry will be on the main
page
... previous entires will be in the "archives" possibly
accesssible with a calendar... or there may be a list of specific entries
"permalinks"
(permanent links) ...a link that bloggers can give to others as a bookmark
to a specific blog entry (or readers can use to bookmark a particular
entry)
...this allows an individual entry to be more easily found later since
the default entry will always be the most current one
...permalinks
can be found in various ways (often somewhere at the beginning or
end of a blog entry):
.......when on a page (entry), copy out
the URL showing in your browser window
.......for some blogsites,
click on the name of the blog entry... a new page will come up with
that entry (then copy out the URL from the browser window)
.......for Blogger,
click the time "link" at the bottom of a
post (then copy the url from the broswer window)...or left-click,
then click Properties and copy the url given in that window
.......or
look for a a pound-sign (#) or permalink at the end of a post
on
the main page of a blog, one may also see:
...a blogroll (list
of links to other sites or blogs which the blogger wants to feature) --aka "link
lists" or "bookmarks"
...and sometime lists of interests,
favorite types of music/songs, "friends", etc., especially
on the social networking blog sites
there's generally some type
of User Profile at each blog
the main blog hosts for
individuals at this time seem to be hosted by LiveJournal (by Six Apart),
Blogger (by Google), MySpace, and Xanga
....one must
sign up for an account, but most or all are free
(.. some may also
have paid versions with more perks and no ads --ads not usually intrusive tho')
bloggers
...in addition to individuals, many businesses are coming
to realize the value (and necessity) of having a blog nowadays, so the pupose
of some blogs is self-promotion, and giving content which will attract and keep
customers and keep them connected
...age: most blogs seem to be by youngish
people (teens and up), though more and more older people are aware of them and
participating
.......blogs by younger people especially may be quite personal,
and function like a (sometimes very busy) virtual community
http://www.meidia.ca/archives/2005/06/10_reasons_to_b.php?l=en
(10 reasons why blogging is psychologically/socially important)
...many journalists,
those who like to write, and many with strong opinions about a topic also seem
to have blogs
...many "group" blogs function as restricted
(private) groups for a family, or for a particular project, etc.
"comments"
...in general, "comments" or responses may be posted to any particular
entry in a blog... they usually relate to the subject of the entry, but may wander
off course too
...comments can be read by anyone (unless restricted by blog
owner)
restrictions
....the ability to view a
whole blog can be restricted to only certain people if the blogger
desires --but usually unrestricted
....the ability to view comments
can be restricted, but usually isn't
....the ability to post comments
is usually restricted to those who have accounts with that particular blog
host
(see more just below in "more about blogs in general" )
blog "communities"
Some blog hosts also seem to have "interest" groups, each of which has its own individual blog.
The
LiveJournal blog host has a "community" blog (group blog) for
polymer clay (as opposed to an individual blogger who might
be showing or discussing their own polymer clay)
...a community functions more
or less like a regular "message board." and involves various people
participating (group now deleted??)
http://www.livejournal.com/community/polymerclay
...could presumably set one up at any of the blog sites though
blog services for individuals ....(& some businesses)
Some blogs are intended
primarily for "social networking" and "community" creation
--i.e., having "friends" and communicating to them... many of these
are oriented toward younger people (Xanga, My Space, etc.)
...Where some blogs
are intended more for just personal individual expression (Blogger, WordPress,
etc.).
Some common (free) blog hosts:
Blogger
(Google, at BlogSpot) https://www.blogger.com/start
... Help: http://help.blogger.com
lesson
on creating a blog at Blogger http://weblogs.about.com/od/bloggingtips/ss/howtoblogger.htm
Blogger
"limits" http://tricks-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com/2007/09/limits-for-blogger-blogs.html
(middle of page)
....unlimited text and no. of posts (though size limit
for any individual page, as you define it = I MB)
....total
photo storage = 300 MB (can buy 6 GB more for $20, or use workarounds below)
....unlimited
videos and durations, though may eventually be limited to 10 min each)
....can
create categories-tags ("labels") for sidebar but can order only alphabetically
or by frequency of use
....any photos you upload using
Blogger automatically appear in an unlisted album under “My Photos”
with a small Blogger icon in the corner of the album cover (you can make it public
later if you want)
....(definitely
not deleted if inactive) ...can't direct link?? (at least if hosted at
Blogspot))
.....NOTE: ...Blogger-PicasaWebAlbums
connection:
...........When you use Blogger, a web album of
any photos is also created in Google's Picasa WebAlbums (which you have whether
you know it or not) so will counted against your 1 GB
free storage at Picasa WebAlbums (see more about
this connection above in Misc > Putting
Your Photos Online > Picasa)
WordPress
http://wordpress.com
....total photos ("and
other files"?) = currently limited to 50
MB ...can buy more space -1GB ($18/yr) -5GB ($50) -10GB
...can create
categories & sub-categories and put in any order... photos & video...
group blogs
TypePad (costs?)
MySpace
LiveJournal
Xanga ("Classic"?)
more
info & ideas
more
about blogs in general:
...one can have (many) more than one
blog --even at the same blog host site as long as each is set up separately
...blogs
can be used for various polymer reasons ...or they can have any focus or reason
at all (e.g., political blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs) .......or
they can be "mixed" topic blogs (covering many different topics in one
blog)
...... also some blogs are run by businesses/newspapers/etc of all kinds
for self-promotion or to give added info, reach out to customers, have a "web
presence", etc.
...both text and photos can be inserted into one's blogs
(..some also allow videos, or videos "embedded" from YouTube,
etc.)
......text space is often limited, as is bandwidth
..... photo
space is sometimes limited, but usually ample (if your space begins to be
used you, you can start a "part 2" blog, or upload your images onto
third party hosts and show these images in your Blog page using Image Links--"direct
linking", or simply buy more storage space for pretty cheap.)
...one can
link to a particular blog "entry" as
a url (a "permalink")...figuring out the exact permalink url seems
to be different at each site (see permalinks just above for how-to's)
......otherwise,
a blog is entered from it's front door, and one can browse the blog entries by
date (or search?)
......but can also add word "tags" to "search"
for at blog?
...many have a paid version as well, which
usually gives more options (e.g., more storage, selecting more "styles,"
etc.)
...most allow a blog to be either private or public
...can
often have "team" blogs for groups, etc.
...(generally cannot
use a blog for any commercial purposes
--selling things, putting a link to photo, etc., at e-Bay)
(see
more just above, in "Definitions & Options")
MISC.
interesting blogs
Today's Creative Blog... blog that features other
good blogs (one per day?) which involve all kinds of creative things
...
good way to peruse blogs in general, and to see how they use photographs,
text, humor, etc...as well as just reading some good blogs
http://todayscreativeblog.blogspot.com
some
polymer possibilities for blogs:
...blogging about things one
is creating with clay, problems, etc.... like a journal
...blogging lessons
about polymer clay
...blogging examples of polymer clay
...blogging about
things going on in the polymer world ...e.g., other polymer sites, activities,
etc.
...blogging about a guild or other group
...some blogs also have videos
or video lessons (these are usually "embedded"
links from YouTube, etc, but could be others.)
some
polymer clay blogs:
Cynthia Tinapple (mostly highlights other
clay "artists'" work) http://polymerclaydaily.com
Jeanne
Rhea http://artfortheheart.blogspot.com
Garie
Sim http://www.gariesim.blogspot.com
MossyOwls http://mossyowls.blogspot.com
+ links to many other polymer clay (or mostly clay)
blogs on right side of page
Skygrazer's
domain (uses Google's Blogger software) deals with polymer clay
http://www.skygrazer.com
PCPolyzine
(e-zine for polymer clay) http://pcpolyzine.blogs.com/flash
The
Clay Store (listed as a "forum" but must use blogging software)
http://forums.theclaystore.com
polymer
blogs in other languages ...(great to look at pics, or can get
translations of any page from http://babelfish.altavista.com
or google's translator)
French-speaking:
"Polymer
clay is getting more and more popular in France , Belgium and other places in
Europe and America that speak French. They call themselves fimoteuses because
their clay used to be mostly Fimo. There are several blogs too." Louise
...
a blog that gives a lot of information called Parole de Pâte http://paroledepate.canalblog.com
....a blog for the French guild that has just stated recently
http://lefilalapate.canalblog.com
Spanish-speaking:
...Polymermania
http://polymermania.blogspot.com
Doing
a Google "blog search" turns up lots of individual blogs
in which the blogger has indicated an interest in polymer clay... these
can vary a lot in how much they deal with polymer clay (and the many links from
LiveJournal are no longer valid?):
http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&q=polymer+clay&btnG=Search+Blogs
(for a list of video lessons on polymer clay (embedded in blogs, at YouTube, etc., and from TV shows like Carol Duvall Show, see Books-Videos > Online Video Lessons )
INDIVIDUAL'S WEBSITES, with lots of INFO re polymer clay
1. Sarajane's PC Gallery (lots of info & techniques) http://www.polyclay.com/index.html
2. Polymer Clay FAQ--clayspot,6-99 (Jeanne DeVoto) http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/index.html
3. Polymer Clay Central FAQs (re clay, also FAQ's on powders, & Liquid Sculpey) http://www.delphi.com/polymerclay/pcc/openfaq.html (Arlene Thayer's section there--a general FAQ--is a little dated, so some things are different than would be now; Premo clay wasn't on the scene then, e.g., but still lots of info)
4. Glass Attic (you're in it <g>)
--my "encyclopedia" of polymer clay on all aspects of claying)
http://www.glassattic.com
"My
site contains all the files of information, tips, how-to's, and website addresses
I've collected since 1996 (over 400 pages & organized into categories) on
most subjects within polymer clay. The files are made up of thousands of
comments from individual posters (mostly in the rec.crafts.polymer-clay newsgroup),
as well as things I've written for classes, explanations, etc. I hope to
include many photo samples and diagrams, as well as some projects. It
will also include other things I've been interested in over the years: quilting,
regular and trick photography, kids' projects, miscellaneous crafts (like seasonal
things, sweatshirt decorating, cake decorating), Internet info on groups &
how to use various sites, etc." It's also searchable (by
word, or for lessons). Diane Black
General info
For those
of you who don't know, "chats" are different from
"discussion groups" (message boards-forums, mailing lists,
newsgroups)
.......they are similar to instant messaging though.
...Some
chats happen on a regular schedule, some whenever two or more people happen
to go to an established chat "room", and some can be created through
instant messenger utilities.<