BTR Nexus Café™ 14.02.13

Welcome to the Nexus Café™

The seventh episode of the Nexus Café™ opens:
Thursday, February 14, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. ET
(AT: 7:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT - 4:00 p.m. MT - 3:00 p.m. PT)

Call-in to the café during showtime at: 619.924.0981,

or Toll free 'call-in' to speak with the hosts at: 877.598.1774
for those in the contiguous United States.

We are hoping you will find the Nexus Café™ to be an intriguing place for you to stop-off and visit from time to time, as well as a place to help stimulate your creative mind and thought, through music, poetry, prose and interpretive readings!

Simply sit back, relax, have a cup of coffee, tea, or chai and a snack, and listen-in as internet personalities DjRoger and DjNatasha spin some interesting musical tracks that are interspersed with a few friends of the NWCU, who will present their written, spoken word, and/or SoundCloud creations for you!

On Thursday's episode:

• Something to Consider:
Share the Love with Natasha Lynn Head

• A View from the café's window on the World,
with Roger Allen Baut
• Social Sprite's Tip of the Week:
with Joanne Young Elliott
 
...a selection of compositions from:

51 Suddenintense need with Aaron Kent
Bacchus Aurelius
Ben Ditmars
Fritz O'Skennick
Moloch
Natasha Lynn Head
Susie Clevenger
Orbitally Re-arranged Monatomic Elements (O.R.M.E)

and as always a few surprises...

Some of the music that is provided
into tonight's episode is from Mevio's Music Alley

If you would like to be interviewed, perform a live reading of your work for the show, or submit a SoundCloud track, please let us know! Guidelines maybe found in our Nexus Café™ back room page.

BTR Nexus Café Hosts:
Natasha Lynn Head and Roger Allen Baut
Founding NWCU Coordinators

Susie Clevenger • Joanne Young Elliott •  Beth Winter
NWCU Coordinators

Please note: The views expressed on this show
do not necessarily reflect the views of the NWCU, or its founders.

BTR Nexus Café™ 07.02.13

Welcome to the Nexus Café™

The sixth episode of the Nexus Café™ opens:
Thursday, February 7, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. EDT
(ADT: 7:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. CDT - 4:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. PDT)

Call-in to the café during showtime at: 619.924.0981,

or Toll free 'call-in' to speak with the hosts at: 877.598.1774
for those in the contiguous United States.

We are hoping you will find the Nexus Café™ to be an intriguing place for you to stop-off and visit from time to time, as well as a place to help stimulate your creative mind and thought, through music, poetry, prose and interpretive readings!

Simply sit back, relax, have a cup of coffee, tea, or chai and a snack, and listen-in as internet personalities DjRoger and DjNatasha spin some interesting musical tracks that are interspersed with a few friends of the NWCU, who will present their written, spoken word, and/or SoundCloud creations for you!

On Thursday's episode:

• Something to Consider: with Natasha Lynn Head.

Natasha also interviews: Heather Grace Stewart,
Best selling author of Carry On Dancing, Leap,
and Where the Butterflies Go.

• Social Sprite's Tip of the Week:
with Joanne Young Elliott
 
...a selection of compositions from:

Bacchus Aurelius
Ginny Brannan
Moloch
Natasha Lynn Head

and more...

If you would like to perform a live reading of your work for the show, or submit a SoundCloud track, please let us know! Guidelines maybe found in our Nexus Café™ back room page.

BTR Nexus Café Hosts:
Natasha Lynn Head and Roger Allen Baut
Founding NWCU Coordinators

Susie Clevenger • Joanne Young Elliott •  Beth Winter
NWCU Coordinators

Please note: The views expressed on this show
do not necessarily reflect the views of the NWCU, or its founders.

Silver Phoenix Award recipients 2012-2013

The Silver Phoenix Award

The NWCU Silver Phoenix Award was established in the Autumn of 2012, and is awarded for the following reasons.

1. To designate anyone who has won in 'any' of our 'special events' categories, such as the NWCU Autumn Kick-Off event.

2. To anyone who has 'demonstrated' a high level of 'liking,' 'sharing,' or 'promoting' of the NWCU, as well as other artist's, artisan's, and writer's creative work.

3. Provided commendable assistance/service to the NWCU, in general.

4. This award, for numbers 2 and 3, will be made at the discretion of the founders of the NWCU Natasha Lynn Head and Roger Allen Baut.

2012 -2013 Recipients of the Silver Phoenix Award

Joanne Young Elliott,
aka @soulsprite

Joanne, a coordinator of the NWCU, has been selected as a 2013 recipient for the Silver Phoenix Award by founders Natasha Lynn Head and Roger Allen Baut for her meritorious service to the NWCU. She has exemplified the standards of the NWCU in: 

1. Demonstrating a high level of 'sharing,' and 'promoting' of the NWCU.
2. House moderator of the 'chat room' for the Creative Nexus and Nexus Café internet radio shows.

3. Editor of The Creative Nexus newspaper of the NWCU.

4. Provided commendable assistance/service to the NWCU, in general.

Susie Clevenger,
aka @wingsobutterfly

Susie, a coordinator of the NWCU, has been selected as a 2013 recipient for the Silver Phoenix Award by founders Natasha Lynn Head and Roger Allen Baut for her meritorious service to the NWCU. She has exemplified the standards of the NWCU in:

1. Demonstrating a high level of 'sharing,' and 'promoting' of the NWCU.

2. Admin for the facebook NWCU community page.

3. Assistant house moderator of the 'chatroom' for the Creative Nexus and Nexus Café.

4. Provided commendable assistance/service to the NWCU, in general.

Beth Winter
aka @Beth_Winter

Beth, a coordinator of the NWCU, became the first recipient of the Silver Phoenix Award in the Autumn of 2012, in our NWCU Autumn Kick-Off event of September 22 and 23, for her winning composition, entitled, Peek-at-Beth.

Since then, Beth has gone on to:

1. Demonstrate a high level of 'sharing,' and 'promoting' of the NWCU.

2. Lead our NWCU Sunday Book Talk events, presenting a fascinating series of books from Zen and the Art of Archery, by Eugen Hegel, to Phoenix Rising, by Mary Summer Rain.

3. Provided commendable assistance/service to the NWCU, in general.

Please join with Natasha and I, as we congratulate Joanne, Susie, and Beth on being designated recipients of the Silver Phoenix Award, and adding on adding this award to their blogs. More on Joanne's, Susie's and Beth's  background may be found by clicking on their links.

Wednesday Wake-Up Call 26.12.12 Collage to Close the Year

A Collage to Close the Year 

A collage is a putting together of different pieces of art to create something new. I want you to use any of your own creative work from 2012 to create something that sums up 2012 for you. 

If you only write then cull your poems and stories to create a cento, a poetic form that takes lines from other poems to create a new one. 

If you only sculpt take one shape on each of your sculptures and create a new one or use Photoshop to create a collage of your work…get creative in your presentation…look at things from different angles. 

If you’re a musician create a remix or medley of your pieces. 

If you work in many mediums you can use Photoshop to create a collage and or groupings in one blog post.

Just show me your 2012 using your own work in a new way.

The other great thing about this prompt is that you’ll see how much you accomplished creatively this year.

And when you have it please remember to share it with us via Mr. Linky!

Here’s to a fabulous 2013!

Guidelines:

• Post your response to the prompt on your blog.

• Copy the address for the specific post and click on the Mr. Linky Button below.

• Here you will be prompted to paste your link and enter your name. 

• The prompt is live for a total of four days. 

• Make sure you use your actual post address and not the general address of your blog. This way folks will be taken directly to your response, and won't bail on you for having to search your space to find it.

• That's it! Your name will appear hyper-linked on our Mr. Linky page, along with our other entrants. 

• Remember, our purpose is to ultimately share the good works of our group. 

• Don't forget! Even if you do not participate please:

• Take a moment to Tweet, ReTweet, Comment, Share, and give Google +1s for those entries that you like!

• Visit those who have participated, commenting and engaging with your fellow creatives. 

• Most of all, we hope you enjoy the prompt, community and interacting.

#WWUC @NWCreativeUnion with @SoulSprite

“Earth's crammed with heaven...But only he who sees, takes off his shoes.”

― Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I was contemplating using today’s full moon, called the Frosty Moon as my stepping off point for this week’s Wake-Up Call, but then another assignment came my way and somehow they seemed connected.

I was asked by the director of Temple of the Goddess to write an article for the newsletter about Patricia Monaghan who passed away this month. She was a prominent figure in the women’s spirituality movement, organic farmer, poet and scholar who believed:

In our endangered world, place seems no longer a regional literary concept, a matter for discussion among those whose poems are peopled by moose rather than pigeons. Describing the hallowed sense of place was part of the craft of storytellers from the earliest human times. We need to now recover that simple craft and tell again the stories of the many precious places we know.

Patricia was also a Founding Fellow of The Black Earth Institute, “a think-tank for artists seeking to connect social justice, environment and spirituality.” And so it is with all of this in mind that I encourage you to go outside and pay attention with all of your senses to the environment you find yourself in. Tell that place’s story in any form you are inspired to do so and then share your creations with us.

Here is a poem by a Chinese Mountain Poet that tells the story of the place he inhabited:

Living in the Mountain on an Autumn Night

After fresh rain on the empty mountain

comes evening and the cold of autumn.

The full moon burns through the pines.

A brook transparent over the stones.

Bamboo trees crackle as washerwomen go home

and lotus flowers sway as fisherman's boat slips downriver.

Though the fresh smell of grass is gone,

a prince is happy in these hills.

~ Wang Wei (699? - 761)

Ready to play?

• Prepare a blog post in the creative medium of your choosing.
• Copy the exact address of the post.
• Click the Mr. Linky button below to submit your name and post.
• Visit others through Mr. Linky  Engage, comment, share. 
• Prompt will remain open until the following Sunday.

#WWUC @NWCreativeUnion ~ Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Today let us wake the dead. Hallows or Samhain is a Celtic holy day on which people used to remember and celebrate the blessed dead and long gone ancestors. Today, many of us who follow the path of the Ancient Celts or a general Pagan path still celebrate this way.

In fact tonight I will cast a circle and sit with a picture of my father who made his transition to the other side back in 1984. I will remember him and write him a letter as I have done every year for the past 14 years.

This week’s prompt is to remember your ancestors, those recently gone or ancient. Remember them in song, in poetry, in story, in painting, in sculpting…the point is to remember them, to wake them in your own being. And once you’ve created please share it with us in Mr. Linky below. I’d love to learn more about your ancestors!

By Charles Elliott/Beautyseer

This picture is of the Ancestor Altar at Temple of the Goddess’s Hallows Celebration this past Saturday.

The following spoken word piece was performed at the Hallows Celebration:

The Dead are Never Gone

By the twentieth century Senegalese poet and storyteller Birago Diop

Hearing things more than beings,

listening to the voice of fire,

the voice of water.

Hearing in wind the weeping bushes,

sighs of our forefathers.

The dead are never gone:

they are in the shadows.

The dead are not in earth:

they’re in the rustling tree,

the groaning wood,

water that runs,

water that sleeps;

they’re in the hut, in the crowd,

the dead are not dead.

The dead are never gone,

they’re in the breast of a woman,

they’re in the crying of a child,

in the flaming torch.

The dead are not in the earth:

they’re in the dying fire,

the weeping grasses,

whimpering rocks,

they’re in the forest, they’re in the house,

the dead are not dead.

Now...here's how to play along:

1. Post your response to the prompt above to your blog. The medium is of your choosing. Words, color, image...how ever the prompt strikes you.
2. Copy the address of your post and click Mr. Linky below.
3. Paste your post address, enter your name where indicated, click submit...and your in!
4. Revisit Mr.Linky to explore the responses of others who have found themselves inspired, commenting and sharing.
5. Our goal is community. Sharing the good work of others. Let others know you appreciate their work, just as you hope they let you know they appreciate yours. 
6. You have until 9am Sunday Morning to link your response.

Let’s Endorse One Another on LinkedIn

Over the past couple of months LinkedIn has made a lot of changes. This week’s tip has to do with the improved personal profiles, specifically the new “Endorsements” feature.

In the “Skills and Expertise” section of your profile the skills you have listed have been turned into clickable buttons. When someone clicks on one of your particular skills it counts as an endorsement. If you have “Poetry” listed on your profile as a skill all your connections can click on it and endorse you. When someone is checking out your profile they’ll see that you are a poet loved by many.

Even though this feature isn't connected to LinkedIn search it is still important. It lets the world know more about you in a way that shows that others respect your gifts and talents. It’s simpler than having someone write a recommendation and its impact can be greater if you have 100 endorsements for a particular skill. And I'm sure that at some point it will be connected to their search.

So if you haven’t filled out the “Skills and Expertise” section of your profile on LinkedIn get over there and do it now. And be sure to visit your friends and endorse their skills because that’s what we do here at the New World Creative Union.

Joanne Elliott of Social Sprite Media Services brings this column to NWCU every week. If you're a creative seeking advice on spreading the good news about your work, we're here to help!

You can email Joanne at jelliott@socialspritemediaservices.com 

Autumn online cleaning

Spring and autumn cleaning don’t only apply to your house; they apply to your online home spaces as well. Time passes and before we know it changes have happened in our lives that aren't reflected in our online profiles. This means it’s important to make the rounds at least a couple times of year to clean things up.

Here’s a list of the things you might want to check:

First, make a list of all the social networks you belong to. Think hard, there may be some you don’t use anymore. If that is the case you might want to delete them.

Make sure the links you used work.

Is your current job the same as you have listed?

Did you finish school, get another degree, win an award or get certificated in something since you last posted to your profile description? Be sure to get it all in there.

Update your contact info. Do you have the same email or web address?

Clean up your website too. Make sure all the links work and that all the information listed there is current.

Check to see if you have Google+ and Facebook Like buttons on each page of your website and that all of your social profiles are represented there as well.

Happy Autumn cleaning!! Enjoy this new season!

Joanne Elliott of Social Sprite Media Services brings this column to NWCU every week. If you're a creative seeking advice on spreading the good news about your work, we're here to help!

NWCU Autumn Kick-Off Event: Freelink 22.09.12-23.09.12

[Baut Images: Leaves of Gold]

The NWCU Autumn Kick-Off

The New World Creative Union announces its Autumn Kick-Off event beginning on the Autumnal Equinox, Saturday, September 22, 2012, 12 noon, until 12 midnight,  Sunday, September 23, 2012, EDT to give as many people the opportunity to participate  as possible.

And, what a great event this is! This event was suggested by Beth Winter one of our new coordinators. We encourage as many people as possible to participate and promote this creative activity.

Here's what it's all about:

• It's 'all about YOU!

• You are invited to create a blog post which totally expresses YOU and your creative gifts/abilities, and link it up via Mr. Linky.

• This is a way for all of us to get to know one another better and to express or extend their various talents.

• It could be in the form of a photo, sketch, poem, prose, painting, SoundCloud presentation, or a combination of several of them. It's up to you!

Guidelines:

• Post your entry on your blog.

• Copy the address for the specific post and click on the Mr. Linky Button below.

• Here you will be prompted to paste your link and enter your name. 

• The event is live from Saturday, September 22, 12 noon through Sunday, September 23 midnight. 

• Make sure you have used your actual post address and not the general address of your blog. This way folks will be taken directly to your entry, and won't bail on you for having to search your space to find it.

• That's it! Your name will appear hyperlinked on our Mr. Linky page, along with our other entrants. 

• Remember, our purpose is to ultimately share the good works of our group. 

• Don't forget! Even if you do not participate please:

• Take a moment to Tweet, ReTweet, Comment, Share, and give Google +1 for those entries that you like!

• A special designation will be given to the entrant who receives the 'most' Google +1s.

• Visit those who have participated, commenting, and engaging with your fellow creatives.

• Most of all, we hope you enjoy the event, community and interacting.

Remember The NWCU is all about 'sharing'
and 'promoting' each others creative work!

Does your blog have its own Facebook page?

Many creatives like to create many things and so have one blog for their poetry, another for photography, etc.

If you do have separate blogs for each creative outlet you might want to create a Facebook Page for each…especially if you want to sell both or only one.

Here are some other reasons you might do this:

If your blog name is better known than your name. People may be looking for your blog name on Facebook and if it doesn’t have a page to connect with they may get discouraged.

TIP: It is also a good idea to have links to your social media profiles on your blog so you can be found. Make sure they are in a prominent place like the top left right or not too far down on the side column.

To delineate your various brands. With separate Facebook pages it is easier to focus on your various brands or personas.

To broaden your reach. Having a blog is great, but just like any other creative endeavor you want to share with others you need to market it. Social media is the perfect way to get the word out about your work. And with a Facebook page specifically for your blog you can better focus on your target audience.

To gain insights. Facebook pages have the Insights feature which gives you stats on the demographics of your fans, engagement, etc. It’s a great tool to help you market your work.

Joanne Elliott of Social Sprite Media Services brings this column to NWCU every week. If you're a creative seeking advice on spreading the good news about your work, we're here to help!

Autumn Surprises II: NWCU Announces New Coordinators

Sunday, September 16, 2012, NWCU, Facebook, global - The New World Creative Union (NWCU) announced today the appointment of Susie Clevenger, Joanne Young Elliott, Leslie Moon and Beth Winter as Coordinators of the NWCU. They will be joining Natasha Head and Roger Allen Baut as part of the new NWCU team.

When asked, "Why the appointments were made now," Roger responded by saying, "Natasha, and I felt that with the expansion of the NWCU, and it's activities, that it was time to bring on some new staff to help them in moving the NWCU forward. He went on to say, they were very excited to have Susie, Joanne, Leslie, and Beth come on-board with so much happening. Natasha seemed particularly excited about an as yet 'undisclosed' feature "waiting in the wings." She said, "An announcement on this will be forthcoming. Right now were looking at our upcoming NWCU Book Talk, Wednesday Wake-Up Call, and NWCU Sunday Snapshot (a photo-prompt)."

The following is a short introduction to the four new NWCU coordinators, that was provided to us, by Natasha Head who originally wrote the bio-briefs.

Susie Clevenger

Susie has been writing for most of her life, and her writing can be found in such online publications as The Brinks Gallery, The New Writers, and Poetry and Prose Magazine. She has also been designated as a recipient of the NWCU Award for Creativity for her composition for the NWCU Wednesday Wake-Up Call.

More information on Susie may be found here: Susie Clevenger

Joanne Young Elliott

Joanne is a poet and a writer of fiction who does some occasional online journalism. She also works with Social Sprite Media Services, which she started in 2011. She states that her, "...mission is to support authors, artists, and spiritual organizations because the world needs their message and vision.

Joanne has already been assisting the NWCU with a series of very helpful articles on how to use social media effectively. Her articles may be found under the NWCU's Tips and Tricks file.

More information on Joanne may be found here: Joanne Young Elliott  

Leslie Moon Moseley

Leslie is a published poet, photographer, children's writer, having 25 years experience as a technical writer and editor for the medical non-profit sector. She is also an advocate, and writer for the special needs community.

You will probably remember Leslie as a member of the Shorty Award Winning One Stop Poetry, and her fine work there. One Stop Poetry still has a large following and daily paper.

More information on Leslie may be found here: Leslie Moon Moseley

Beth Winter is a gifted and prolific writer, and specializes in poetry and prose. She has authored over 600 poems, and founded and oversees a poetry critique group on AllPoetry.

She is also a blossoming photographer who has captured many interesting images, and has a uniqely creative pen and eye.

More information on Beth may be found here: Beth Winter

There you have it ladies and gentlemen! The latest Autumn Surprise from the NWCU. Join with us in welcoming these four new creative and talented individuals in their ongoing creative evolution as coordinators with the New World Creative Union!

And always remember to 'share' and 'promote'

other artists, artisans, and writer's work. It's what

the New World Creative Union is about!

Create Headlines That Make People Click!

Create Headlines that make people want to click your links!

New World Creative Union is all about sharing. We share each other’s work as well as our own. So how do we make sure people take notice and actually want to click the links we share? It’s all in the headlines.

Here are six points to help you create enticing headlines:

1. What is the person who clicks the link going to get out of it? How is your poem or creative work going add to their day?

2. Be descriptive. Help people to feel and visualize your work as much as possible in a short headline.

3. Make it personal. Talk to your potential reader. If your poem is about a time of grief lead them in by talking about loss in general. Find a way to connect.

4. Find a way to tie your work in to what’s happening in the world right now. For example, since fall is near you can share fall photos. Or you can link your poem about grief to fall, the season of letting go.

5. Use active not passive voice. For example, “Scary Halloween Poem” is passive and “The Ghoul Changed My Life” is active.

6. Details, details, details. Don’t forget to add the artist’s name or Twitter handle, title of the work, etc.

Joanne Elliott and Social Sprite Media Services brings this column to NWCU every week. If you're a creative seeking advice on spreading the good news about your work, we're here to help!

#Pinning with @SocialSprite & @NWCreativeUnion

Using Pinterest to Market Your Artwork

Last week I gave you some ideas on how to protect your images online so you could start using Pinterest to get your work out there. If you missed the basics check out this article.

This week I’ll give you some ideas on how to market your work.

Create one or more boards for your work. This may seem obvious, but I saw an artist online say that he hadn’t done that yet…he was having too much fun exploring other artists’ work. What kinds of boards you create depends on your work. If you create in various mediums you’ll want to create a board for each medium. If you have various styles you might want to create a board for each style. Break it up in ways that seem appropriate to your work.

Create boards for your other interests. You’re a whole person with other interests. Share those with the world, too.

Interact with friends and make new ones. Though Pinterest is not Facebook or Twitter it is still social. “Like” other people’s pins. Repin their images if they would go great on one of your boards. Comment on their pins. Interact. Remember, marketing is not all about you. Engage others!

Create an “inspire” board. What inspires your work? Share those things on a board. People like to see how the artist works.

Create a “behind the scenes” board. People not only like to see what inspires an artist’s work, they like to see the work process. If your art entails an involved process perhaps you can map that out in images on a board. Create an experience.

Create a board that shows pictures of your work in the new owner’s home. This can show people how great your work could look in their home or office.

Don’t push sales. You don’t want to be pushy, but if you are out to sell your work it’s a good idea to do three things:

·         Add prices. By doing this your pin will show up in Pinterest’s “Gift” section which you can find at the top of the Pinterest website. This section lists gifts of varying prices and will help get you more visibility.

·         Write a good description. This will make your pin more searchable. You can add your website address here as well to help remind people to visit.

·         Make sure the pin of your work links back to your website. Every pin links back to its origin so pin from your website. This will make it easy for potential buyers to purchase your work.

For more information on what I do, please check out my New World Creative Union profile.