Back when Pinterest was new and you had to be “invited” to join, I accepted an invitation from my cousin and investigated it as a venue to collect information and inspiration. At first, I wondered if it was just another time drain that would keep me out of my studio, but quickly found so much potential in it as a tool that I blogged about it. It was one of my most interactive blogs and Linked-In discussions. This new venue was initially greeted with some fear by photographers and artists, because of the increased chance for copyright violations. But I could see that it was here to stay and encouraged creative people to benefit from it.

Down the road from that first introduction to Pinterest as a venue, I’ve found it to be one of the most valuable tools I have as an artist, author, and craftsperson. Since there are lengthy tech-laden articles online about how to use it, and I’ve included one such link at the end of this blog, I want to briefly just touch on the ways I’ve found it useful.

As an artist, I’ve created boards to collect research on articles and images I know I will need for future projects. Some of my boards are for a collection of blogs and demos I would like to re-visit occasionally, or don’t have time for at the moment but want to go back to find them later. One of my boards is simply for color combinations, and is useful when planning a new painting. I also place some of my own paintings on boards, linking them to my artist website for better viewing and to potentially meet new friends who like my work.

As an author, I can’t imagine what I’d do without the Pinterest collections I’ve created for my “Painter Place” series of novels, which have saved me so much time! Since I mention music in my series, YouTube performances are pinned in the boards, as well as car styles, hairstyles, movies and cultural events of the times, and setting locations. Readers of my Painter Place series will find a storehouse of fun to help them have an interactive experience with the novels.

To see my boards on Pinterest, you can find my profile at https://www.pinterest.com/pamelapoole...

For more information on using Pinterest for your own creative endeavors and collections, here is a link that I found useful: http://www.yourwriterplatform.com/use...