Uncle Sam Wants You! Or I do...

We are frequently asked if there's anything you all can do to help. Well, I'm here to cash in. Our poor Simple Joy art site has been sadly neglected for far too long because I just have not had time to tend to it. I have a list of over 700 artists I have to search through and find relevant art to add to the site. It is incredibly time-consuming. So as my mom always said of chores, "Either one person can spend 10 hours cleaning, or 10 people can spend one hour cleaning." I won't tell you how many times it just ended up being the one person....please don't make me do that...

All it takes is simple knowledge of Excel spreadsheets (you just have to know how to enter information in a field and insert a new line...very easy to learn if you don't know how already) and the ability to search Wikimedia Commons and copy/paste website links. I've provided here a link to an editable Google spreadsheet. Pick an artist name, look them up, and add relevant images! Easy peasy! Plus, you get to spend time just looking at fine art! It's very soothing to the soul.

A couple rules:

1. Stick to Wikimedia Commons. It's much easier for us to determine if the image is in public domain. Even if the art itself is in public domain, sometimes the person/company who took a picture of the art retain rights to that picture. Wikimedia Commons typically spells out the rights of each image, which is why we use it.
2. Stick to art that was published before 1926. If you have reason to believe something printed after that is in public domain, go ahead and include it. I'll check everything out.
3. Stick to art that coincides with the art style found in the website. You know the type, and if not, check out the website. You won't find a lot of portraits or abstract art. We want art of people living their everyday lives. And nature and animals in all their glory.
4. When in doubt, include it. When I put them in the website, I'll check to make sure everything is kosher.
5. You are not confined to the list of artists. If you know another artist you would like to see included in the website, please add it!
6. If you have art that you love and find particularly relevant, but that is not in the public domain, you can add that on the second page. I'll add it to our non-public domain Pinterest pages.

So grab your favorite artist and have at it! And let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for all your help!

Google Doc Link