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wowz! the “inspired remnants, curious dreams” blog tour was an amazing hit and ever so much fun! the winners are SUPPOSED to be announced in two day’s time, but i’m going to be super busy that day so i am posting them now (i’m not the first!). without further ado, the winners of the fantabulistic blog tour prizes are….
The winner of A) The book: Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams by Kerin Gale.
Lisa Gatz of her self-titled blog Lisa Gatz
The Winner of B) One Aves Power Pack
Katie Cahill of Evil Seamstress
The Winner of C) Fluid Chalks Online Workshop by Lesley Venable at http://theartofaltering.ning.com/
Patti Edmon of Altered Attic
(Ironically, I was the first winner as my comment’s number came up, but that would hardly be fair now would it!? I was sad though — this looks fun!)
Winner of D) Two Digital Collage Sheets of your choice by Alicia Caudle (aka “me”) of Altered Bits at http://alteredbits.com/digital-collage-sheets.php
Renate of Put a Little Magic In Your Life
Winner of E) Sample pack of Silputty 40 silicone putty mold mix from Silpak.
Barbe Saint John of http://www.barbesaintjohn.com
Winner of F) 1 OZ ICE Resin and a mixed metal bezel from http://www.iceresin.com/
Sharon of Live Wire Jewelry
All of these prizes will be shipped directly do you by the manufacturer/publisher/etc. except he collage sheets which I will email to you and the online workshop. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR ADDRESSES and I will forward to the proper peeps so you can get you your goods.
And, there are MORE! I did an additional drawing for just my readers (whom I love and adore).
The Winner of 5 digital collage sheets of your choice is Sharon Rowland of Alice’s Secret Door
And last but not least, the Winner of the “How to Crackle Charlottes” PDF tutorial and three un-crackled Frozen Charlotte dolls is Lisa of Vintage Glimmers
Huge congratulations to all of you lovely ladies!! (I like that there are two Sharons and two Lisas) 🙂
Contact me ASAP with your contact info and I shall get the ball rollin’ so you can get your goodies. I will try to contact each of you via email today too, of course.
this is the time when i get super quiet and don’t post for awhile… working on the zine like crazy (plus prepping for a wee show, a new etsy shop and working on pulp)! i’m horrible at answering emails in times like this so don’t take it personally if you feel ignored (there are currently 979 unread messages in my inbox).
some pieces are still trickling in for the zine since i allowed a post-deadline deal of this friday for those that gave me a head’s up — so exciting to see all of the magnificent work that you all have created! thank you so much! it feels like i’m playing graphic tetris: fit this here, squeeze that in there, turn this to go there, etc. i have a couple of gaps, but i’ll figure it out, i’m sure (think there is a 1/2 blank page in the gallery section and a 3/4 blank page in letters and symbols but hopefully i will work it out and MAYBE a full notorious page). if you get it to me by friday (PST — so saturday for some of you “other side of the world” folks), i MAY accept another piece or two but i’m not making any promises… not to sound like a big meany pants. details are here >>
more soon.
okay folks, the holidays are over and we’ve gotten passed OWOH and all the lovey valentine stuff so i thought i would put out one last reminder for the next altered bits zine. above you can see a few tiny peeks at some of the art that has been submitted so far (if you don’t see yours above, don’t fret — only so many could fit). **oh, i interrupt myself here** IF YOU SUBMITTED SOMETHING AND I HAVE NOT RESPONDED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP AND RESUBMIT AS I’VE HAD A FUNKY SPAM PROBLEM LATELY. i will be taking submissions though the end of the month for the following categories:
notorious: use your imagination and get creative. this was a fantastically cool topic suggestion by our lovely friend kerin gale of remnants of olde.
letters and symbols: this seems to be a popular topic indeed!
general gallery: if your piece doesn’t fit in the above categories, please feel free to submit to the general gallery in the middle of the zine. space here is limited and is filling up.
you will find more info and rules for submission on the altered bits website. limit three submissions per person, email to hi at altered bits dot com, include piece title(s), artist bio, location, url to blog or website (or both), super hi res, etc. — all the info is on the site under “submission guidelines”.
IF YOU HAVE NOT SUBMITTED A PIECE yet but plan to, please shoot me an email so i can try to save a spot for you as space is somewhat limited, but only if you’re for sure going to submit. or leave a comment here. that’s easier maybe.
the previous zines have been digital, but this one will be print. you can see past issues here if you have not yet seen them:
anatomically altered | odd numbers | black and white
if you have any questions after reading through the site, please let me know. i’m so excited for this and can’t wait to see our very first art zine in print. woohooo! there is also going to be a super extra special artist spotlight in the zine (all zines to come, actually) as well as other fun stuff.
oh, and to answer a question that has been emailed to me a few times, the things i mostly accept for the zine are any mixed media art, altered art, handmade books, assemblages, some jewelry, collage, art dolls, paintings, fiber art — mostly anything mixed media. i’m not 100% opposed to it but i don’t typically do photography unless it’s quite unique.
potentially offensive off note (please skip if you’re easily bothered by… anything). i NEVER will publish porn, thank you very much, mister x. (got a submission saying “i’ll pay you to publish this” but, uh… nope, sorry. i love vintage erotica and such, no problem, but close-up modern day penetration shots aren’t going to work for me, sorry dude.)
(now i should really go work on my zine piece!! i always almost forget that part as i get SOOOO into the design aspect of things.)
UPDATE:
i think i wasn’t totally clear (based upon a few emails i got last night/this morning). the deadline for submissions is next friday, february 25th, BUT if you can’t have it done and will let me know by the 25th, i can tentatively save a spot for you and give you a tiny extension to the following friday (3/4). layout and design takes forever and a half so there will still be a bit of time. then i’ll give myself a couple of weeks+ to get it all purdy and nice before it’s off to press. sorry i wasn’t more clear. i’m sleepy and brain dead a lot lately.
i’ve been on a handmade book and journal kick lately and completed two more last night. this one is teeny tiny and goes into an assemblage of sorts that is not ready to share (truth be told, i’m not sharing it until the zine comes out, ha!).
ignore the glue on my filthy little fingers…
the second was started before i got pneumonia. i couldn’t finish it for a long time ’cause it didn’t really feel “me” despite my secret obsession with peacocks, creamy vintage crocheted lace and vintage beads, but it’s done, and i’m off on a couple anatomical books now, as well as some with glass covers (working on drill pressing glass is going to be fun!!). this one was just added to my shop (it’s a little blank journal with 44 pages):
i think i actually showed this before, now that i think of it. boring! sorry about that. did i show the test tube books? i must go check…
i’m quite behind on blogging but soon will be posting that ever so cool pile of things i found that made me gasp, details on the zine (you still have time to submit your piece or three!!), photos of my recent commission and something so sweet you’ll want to cry. not really, but it’s sweet, promise.
what are you working on this week?
it’s time again for one world one heart! actually it was time about a week ago but i was a bit slow… what else is new, at least for those who know me. for those who don’t, hello! i’m alicia of altered bits, a little online shop with mixed media and altered art goodies — and i have some goodies to share. i’m also a mixed media artist with an affinity for dolls/doll parts, anatomical “things”, rust and anything that’s old, tattered and interesting to look at.
this year i’ll be giving away three things. first up, a small frozen charlotte doll with a little bundle of gorgeous recycled sari silk ribbon in earthy hues:
next up, the whole “collaged bits” collection from altered bits in digital format (i’ll upload it to my server so you can download it). i created these sheets and images so you won’t find them anywhere else (if you do, tell me though ’cause they’re mine, ha!):
last but not least, i’ve pulled one of my anatomical collages to give to YOU. it’s entitled “still” and is mounted on black mat board. i am not as much of a collage person as i used to be as i prefer to create creepy little assemblages but i almost miss the feel and smell of paper when i leave it for too long.
you know the drill — just leave a comment and you could win one of these three items. winners will be announced on february 17th (the day before my birthday).
PLEASE MAKE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: i had a winner last year who left no email address or blog address so i was bummed.
…and really a lot more than that!
i’ve been a busy bee, re-stocking the altered bits shop with heaps of new goodies, including but not limited to frozen charlottes, little victorian dolls, other vintage and antique dolls and doll parts, a whole new page of digital collage sheets (these were up weeks ago — i’m just slow to share), new embellishments and found objects, vintage photo bundles, textile bundles and vintage crocheted lace… all kinds of little pretties. if i add five things per day to my shop over the next seven months, i should be caught up. 😉
a few new items were added to my etsy junk shop too… cleaning out the house in a new year is a great thing!!
i literally have hundreds more dolls so if you’re looking for some, let me know. i’m not going to be able to add them all for awhile (takes a LOT of time to photograph, resize/enhance, write code/add to site, create buttons, etc.).
on a totally random note, wanna swap? i’m looking for a cute little boy cdv, cabinet card or tintype and will swap you for other photos (i mostly have adults), dolls of whatever sort, vintage lace, or whatever you may want from my shop(s) of relatively equal value. i’ll even throw in some digital collage sheets for fun. 🙂 i’m really quite picky about this photo… typically i don’t use children in my art, unless they are fetuses. in fact, this will be my first child. but in the spirit of accuracy, i need a little boy (around age 10 in the first decade of the 1900s, named sam) for the historically accurate ghost book i’m working on.
now that i’m well again, and despite my broken riblets, i can’t stop cleaning and organizing. i finally finished the kitchen and am back to doing the studio. omg, i have WAY too much stuff!! as a result, i’ll likely be posting several giveaways over the coming weeks. just as cool, i already have FIVE huge bags full of arty goodness to donate to scrap (school & community reuse action project). if you’re from portland, you surely already know and love scrap. for those who don’t know, they are a non-profit and their mission is to inspire creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior by providing educational programs and affordable materials to the community. i didn’t mean for this to turn into an advertisement (even though they kick serious ass with their yummy section of re-use lace and glass and fabric and paints and wood thingies and rusty this and that, etc.)….
first, a little bundle of goodness, including two 1800s antique carte de viste photographs and a little brass photo frame with a heart (just from the 80s — had a photo of a niece in it at one time). will come wrapped in three vintage fabric pieces, and tied with a lovely recycled sari silk ribbon. could be fun to make some fabric collages or add to an altered book or whatever.
these are the four left-overs of all of the new coin charms i have bundled up and added to my site. i was going to keep them for myself but omg, i have WAY too much stuff. seriously — i could make a collage and an assemblage every single day for the next five years and the ONLY thing i may need to buy is nails and glue… and maybe not even that.
disclaimer: i have absolutely NO idea where this adorable little mermaid baby doll came from, if i bought it or if it was a gift. please don’t hate me if you gave this to me or i got it from you or whatever. it’s cute — just a little too cute for me so i figured i should give it to someone who would love it and put it to good use. looks hand-made from a mold, perhaps. has a hole through the shoulders so could be made into a big necklace or whatever.
all you have to do to enter is comment. if you want one thing more than another please specify. THREE winners will be picked by next wednesday or so. by “or so” i mean i am shooting to pick winners on wednesday but i may get side-tracked as i do that often. plus, the little man is going to gramma’s house on wednesday for FOUR days so i’m going to be childless and may lose track of myself for a bit.
november is always a quiet time of year for me. hectic, but still and calm-feeling at the same time for some reason. it’s getting cold now which makes me want to go out even less than i typically would and i get so very busy creating holiday gifts for fam and friends, winter-time art show goodies, stuff my shops, etc. that i feel like a quiet little machine. as crazy as november and december always are to me, i feel like i’m going in slow motion in this hushed little space of my own.
i’ve made a few more handmade books. that makes 18 so far (they are tiny though). three of these are gifts for sure (the two above = gifts to me – are the only non-blank ones), and some may soon be in my shop as i may have created too many to fit in my wee space at the 12/5 art fair (do you think 3 assemblages, 15 mini-books, 25 cards, 25 prints, eight collages, a large handmade book, five wristcuffs, three necklaces and six journals will fit on a 3×5′ table??).
i also did a series of anatomical collages a couple weeks back, or so. four of which can be found on my site — just posted them.
first, i created a woman…
then i created four men. here are three of them…
so, i was insane to put the zine submissions deadline in december… at this rate i won’t even get anything done for it and that would be no bueno. if you’re not sure what i’m talking about, see my previous post about the altered bits zine.
new deadline is january 28, 2011. if you wish to play in the zine, please have submissions to me by then, instead of the previous mentioned december 20th. between the holidays, gift making, a couple art fairs, two exhibits and other arty obligations, this will work way better for me and probably for you too.
in the past couple of weeks, i’ve made a zillion mini books (having been having heaps of fun inventing new binding methods — see two of them above), a series of new anatomical collages, more journals, some cuffs, and lots of other things — i’ve been quiet in blogland but that’s so not the case on the home-front. lots of art and news to share soon when i have a wee bit more time. and soon, i’ll post peeks of lisa j’s book i’m working on for the pulp collab (i started in on it a few weeks ago but didn’t touch it again until last night).
happy sunday!
so, things had gotten really crazy around here for a while. a long while. and as a result some things have suffered, such as the altered bits zine. but no more! i shall slack no longer! (even if “slacking” means home schooling my son, remodeling parts of the house, redecorating other parts, prepping for a couple of shows, filling daily customer orders and designing my little heart out for “day” clients…)
announcing, a new and improved call for entries for the…
the two themes that were voted on several months ago will remain the same, but since most of you have probably forgotten what those were, i shall refresh your memories AND add info below on an additional, not previously decided up section. if you are going to enter PLEASE read the guidelines below, which will soon also be added to the zine page on the altered bits site when i have a bit of “extra” time.
this is the first PRINT version of the altered bits zine. previous issues were online/digital versions and can be viewed at the aforementioned zine page (all zine downloads have since been removed, however there are still links to view all of the issues/pages of previous zines).
first theme: notorious [noh-tawr-ee-uh
s, -tohr-, nuh-]
–adjective
1. widely and unfavorably known: a notorious gambler.
2. publicly or generally known, as for a particular trait: a newspaper that is notorious for its sensationalism.
this was a fantastic theme idea, suggested by our very own kerin gale of remnants of olde. it tied for first place with theme number two way back when we did the voting. i can think of lots of things to do for this theme as i’m sure you can imagine. 🙂
theme number two: letters and symbols
i can already tell that this is going to be a biggy — what a fantastic theme!
this theme was suggested by robert willson of apollinaire’s tattoo, whose blog sadly no longer exists. robert, if you see this i still have a little wooden box of goodies for you and need your mailing address.
the third section for the zine is an “anything goes” gallery of mixed media art. miss a previous theme that you think you’d have fit in? send it in. have a cool assemblage or book or collage that doesn’t fit either of the themes that you know kicks enough artistic arse to be included? send it in.
other stuff:
the zine will also contain an artist interview. just you wait — you will love this one!! i’m already giddy about it and it’s my zine and i hand picked this amazingly wonderful artist just for YOU. (okay, and me!)
there will be a potential bit of tiny extra room so feel free to send an article, tutorial or perhaps an outline of a really cool collaboration you’ve been a part of (with photos, of course)… this could be fun!
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
all submitted images need to high-resolution (at least 300 dpi) and at least 1800 pixels at its shorted side (that’s six inches for non-pixel folks). the larger, the better. unfortunately due to the huge amount of time it takes to receive, organize, layout, design and publish the zine, any submissions that do not fit the submission guidelines will be overlooked. sorry — it’s just SO much work, you just don’t even know (last zine logged in at over 120 hours of my time, for example).
each artist can submit up to THREE pieces for consideration. whatever category you want (all one or mix and match — totally up to you). please send each submission in a separate email with one image and a couple of optional detail shots if desired. all photos should be JPGs, PNGs or TIFs. email subject should be: altered bits zine submission. email to hi [at] altered bits [dot] com but obviously with no spaces and in proper email format. 🙂
please send an artist bio including links to your site(s), blog(s), etc. with your submission(s). this can be sent as a word doc (NOT A DOCX FILE — i hate word and use open office so cannot open docx files). don’t put the bio into the body of the email unless you’re also attaching it as a separate file too. please and thank you. this makes things much easier for me in the long run when matching up art and bios when doing layout/design. i’m ADD enough and really don’t want to chase bits and pieces when unnecessary. (i’m sleepy so hope i don’t sound like a bitch here!) not all bios will be used due to lack of space, however your name, location, and url(s) will most definitely appear next to your art either way.
because i typically receive heaps of submissions, please name all of your files like this: caudle-alicia-bio.doc, caudle-alicia_death-of-the-apothecary.png… etc. BUT with your name and piece titles. yeah! again, this just makes things easier for me and will help me to get the zine designed and published faster so you can see it quicker.
this one is a biggie: please, please, please do not use any copyrighted imagery or copyrighted text in your submission. there are tons of free sites with imagery under commons licenses, etc.. i don’t want to have to redo or nix the zine due to someone infringing on a copyright, ya know. that would be a huge bummer and ruin it for the rest of us.
advertising opportunities:
there will be slots available to purchase advertising space in the back of the zine as well. our previous online zines received thousands of downloads and views so this is a nice potential opportunity to get yourself out there for a decent low price. lower rates for artists, a slight bit higher rates for retailers. i’ve received dozens of inquiries about this and will post pricing about this to my site soon in a downloadable PDF file. i can help with print quality ad designs if necessary so don’t fret if you only have web resolution banner ads and such — we’ll work it out.
i feel as if i may be forgetting some things but it’s nearly 1 AM here so that’s totally understandable, i’m sure. if so, i’ll add it soon to my site where you can all check out the info. wanna play?
(thought so!)
xxox!
p.s. whoops! i forgot a deadline. i hate deadlines so it’s no wonder. let’s say december 20th, 2010. i will add this to my site tonight and respond to those of you who inquired as well. for now though, off to the pumpkin patch with the little man!
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