arty goodness and love… and a winner

oooh, what a magnificent week!  2012 is turning out to be quite a special year indeed!  my prediction: the best ever!  what do you think?

the week started out by me registering “little bug studio” as an official domestic non-profit corporation.  after many, many minutes on hold with the IRS (57 of them, to be precise), i discovered that filing my  501(c)(3) for official tax exempt status costs roughly $5-700.  that wasn’t part of “the good part”.  however, with my EIN (which i’m getting next week) i can accept tax-deductible donations AND there is a 27 month grace period for having to file the paperwork for 501(c)(3) status.  woots!  buying time is my kind of process indeed!

i recently purchased both littlebugstudio.org and bugsartshack.org and will soon (depending upon your definition of the word “soon”) have websites up for each.  then back to creating more art with the kiddos for fun and fund raising to finish their brand spankin’ new studio.  even if we have to keep arting it up at our 1960s diner restaurant booth though, i’ll be happy because having 2-3 kids over every week is WAY better than zero.  my dear and wonderful friend katie cahill did a blog post about little bug studio which you should check out here: Call to All My Handy, Arty, and Bighearted Friends!  katie and i have been friends for almost 20 years (practically fresh from the womb — we are very, very young!)  she gives a little peek into my life as the mama of an aspie boy, my plans for the kids’ art studio, and even posted the most precious shot of my little man’s bug-fingers from the last time we were out to breakfast.

copyright neighborhood center for the arts

from her post, wonderful things have happened… the best being my introduction to my new friend, mixed media artist susan lobb-porter. check out susan’s website, oo la la! living the arty life.  susan is a wildly creative lady with an enormous heart.  she works at a non-profit art center called neighborhood center for the arts (in grass valley, california) where she teaches art to adults with developmental disabilities.  every day, up to 50 artists between the ages of 21 and 75 attend their studio and create paintings, weavings, ceramics, drawings, woodwork and computer arts.  many of the artists have had their works exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including european galleries.  i’ve seen photos of the amazing work they are doing (you can too — check out the above-linked website) and you must check it out now too!  i am in love!

copyright neighborhood center for the arts

while perusing susan’s blog, i read the most magnificent post and implore you to read it (actually two posts).  please go read them both, then come back and finish mine as it will make sense.  PLEASE MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO. i cried.  but in a good way.  soooo very touching!

artside out: http://www.oolalatheartylife.com/2648/artside-out/

yellow bird: http://www.oolalatheartylife.com/2735/yellow-bird/

lalalalala.  <— this depicts a jaunty tune, like “hold music” but actually good.

copyright neighborhood center for the arts

okay, so as you read, susan is trying to raise funds for an iPad for her students, such as the one she wrote of.  what an amazing gift!  i’m going to help because that is just the kind of girl i am.  some time in the next week or so, i’m going to list a new digital collage sheet and 100% of the sales of that sheet will go towards her cause.  i have lots of ideas for her but because today has been a day chock full of utter insanity, errands and unexpected fiascoes, i haven’t gotten to tell her yet (and this post was supposed to be up yesterday which proves that i’m miss slow motion this week).  (this is where my ADD kicks in and says “even though you’ve been typing this post for 36 hours, you should stop and email susan your ideas)…

i am super-crossing my fingers that they will be able to raise the funds for a new iPad so these amazing moments of transformation, expression and creativity will continue.  no, they WILL raise the funds.  this is 2012.  people are good.  art saves lives and those of us who are smart know it.

AND, please read her latest blog post (she so graciously wrote about my bug and me, and our wonderful art group): http://www.oolalatheartylife.com/2848/eunice-traded-her-right-arm/

          

another magnificent and magically kind and big-hearted event that has transpired is that TWO gorgeous and lovely friends have contacted me wishing to provide donations for the mum and finn etsy shop (100% of all proceeds go to little bug studio).  what a wonderful and kind gift!  jo archer has donated several of her wonderful wooden brooches.  these are $5 each and she has even offered free shipping!  go snatch them up — we are the proud owners of two ourselves and these rock!  (i have a doll head and finn has a robot)  all five of the bucks go to our art group charity.

you can also check out jo’s etsy shop here, with more wooden brooches and gorgeous art.

           

and now for the winner of my drawing for vintage foreign book pages…

(random number generator picked #22)

AJ’s Art Journaling: http://ajsartjournal.wordpress.com/

congrats!  email me your mailing address and i shall have this out to you this week.

have a fantastic week, my friends, and check back soon for more books and giveaways.

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