Why I love Pinterest.

I'm not exactly sure why I first decided to try Pinterest. In fact, once I was on, I couldn't remember what the point was at all. I'm not interested in shopping, recipes, DIY (Do It Yourself) tips. Well, OK, a little maybe, but not enough to want to spend time browsing that stuff randomly. BUT, once I got going, I discovered that it can be what you make if it. I've been pleasantly surprised at the unique ways some of my friends are using it, creating their own personalized collections of all sorts of reference, blogs, books - even current events, creating a streamlined, organized set of readily accessable links. Who knew? Certainly not me! In short, I learned: it is whatever you make of it. Biggest surprise of all, it's USEFUL!

For me, it's a combination tool box and toy box. First, it can be easily built into a fantastic collection of visual reference. I've kept a clip file for decades, and though I'll probably still keep it, at least for now, Pinterest is so much easier to use for this purpose. Fantastic! And, if other illustrators might find some of what I've collected (so far) of use, I can share! Come visit at: http://pinterest.com/marioneldridge/

Another way to look at it, it's like bookmarking, but way, way better for us visual folks! And, I'm finding that it's great for idea generation and most of all inspiration! It feeds my soul. I especiallly love my toy box of imagery late at night - taking some time at the end of the day, soaking up gorgeous, interesting images, even if it's just for a few minutes. I can either see visual gems collected by others or go on a cyber search of my own, seeking out the beautiful, the unique, the fascinating, the sweet, the funny - many, sometimes surprisingly, igniting a creative spark.