As we try to wrap things up here at the office (as much as that is possible) and prepare to head out for holiday time with our families, we'd like to take the opportunity to wish our family of friends on the blog a wonderful holiday season. May your days be merry and bright, and may all your paintings turn out just right!

We'll be back next week!

(left to right) Sarah Strickley (features editor), Jessica Canterbury (managing editor), Anne Hevener (editor) and Cindy Rider (art director)

The world's public photography archives are at your fingertips with Flickr's new online project: The Commons. So far, participating organizations include the The Library of Congress, Brooklyn Museum, Smithsonian Institution and the New York Public Library, to name only a few. Visitors are invited to enjoy unprecedented access to publicly-held collections and to add their own contributions by adding tags or leaving comments. Click on one of my favorites from the Brooklyn Museum above to see what others are saying about it. Pretty cool, eh?

According to the National Endowment for the Arts, female artists earn less than male artists—surprise! According to the recently released study, “Women Artists: 1990-2005,” an increasing number of women are taking on more traditionally male artist occupations, but still earn less than male artists. This study further examined female artist employment trends that were featured in the May 2008 report, “Artists in the Workforce: 1990-2005.”

According to the study, women artists who work full-year, full-time earn 75 cents for every dollar made by men artists. On the whole, women workers earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Other findings: Women make up just less than half of all artists nationwide (46 percent), yet are underrepresented in many artist professions; women have achieved a greater presence in some artist occupations, such as photography; women artists are as likely to be married as female workers in general, but less likely to have children; and female artists cluster in low-population states.

Find the full details at www.nea.gov.