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.

my newest two story book is just in time for valentine’s day, though anatomical hearts are a year-round adoration to me.

the pages off the bottom book are blood red, and the top book’s pages are black.  i love writing in white gel pen on dark pages.

available for purchase on my website, here: http://alteredbits.com/alicia-caudle-art.php

– also, i would like to have a give-away –

this week the fam and i went on some huge adventures, having a hike in an area i used to frequent, tromping past mini-waterfalls and gazing below at the willamette river.  it was pretty, and fun (though quite cold).  afterwards we went to one of my favorite volunteer-run used book stores and i got heaps of vintage foreign language books.  lucky me!  but lucky you as well!  i’ve put together a bundle of over 40 pages of foreign language text and image sheets for you: french, sanskrit, japanese, scandinavian, german, russian… i’m guessing on some of these.  all of these date from 1920 to 1960 and could be yours for collage or other art projects.

i will be adding a few more paper bits once the random generator picks the winner — something custom that i think he or she may like, such as vintage scrap, collage sheet bits, vintage ephemera, or stamps, etc.  all you have to do to enter is leave a comment.  the winner will be announced next saturday, the 21st.

good luck!!

xx

in preparation of trying to file the non-profit paperwork, getting the garage remodeled into the kid’s studio, and setting up website hosting (shameful admission: i can’t afford to do it all myself money-wise), i’ve created a few pieces of art with the kids to make a little start-up money, in a joint etsy shop with the boy called mum and finn (our monsters will be going there soon, too, but i thought it would be a good fit for this stuff as well).  100% of profits go to the kid’s art group, of course.  the first three pieces below were based upon the kid’s talking about feelings and some of their favorite things to do.  they picked the colors and things and i painted the pieces as best as i could based upon their descriptions (according to six to nine year olds, i’m “really good” at painting their words — they are so sweet!).

piece one: i love skipping rope in the rain
4×6″ canvas
available here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90242520/skipping-rope-in-the-rain-mixed-media
sold. thank you.

piece two: kicking a ball while wearing a funny hat
4×6″ on canvas
available here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90239254/kicking-a-ball-while-wearing-a-funny-hat
sold. thank you.

piece three: watching orion (in bunny ears)
5×5″ canvas
available here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90238257/watching-orion-in-bunny-ears-mixed-media

stuffed monster (based upon my son’s drawing): eunice traded her right art for george’s intestines. she survived… but he did not.
(not intended to be a child’s toy — small parts — removable intestines)
available here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90244911/stuffed-monster-bunny-eunice-traded-her

and last but not least, a special playful but weirdo mixed media book/journal.
available here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90248419/two-story-book-mixed-media-art-journal
this one is special in that it’s a “two story” book™ (© alicia caudle, 2011, all rights reserved) which is one of my recent creations (i will be posting my other two story book creations soon and will be hosting a small workshop on how to make them but more on that at a later date):  THIS PIC MAY TAKE A BIT TO LOAD.

all of these pieces have been added to our new etsy shop (with LOTS of new monsters coming soon): mum and finn on etsy

note: both the girl and the boy above that are listed as 4×6″ canvases are the same brand of canvas but for some reason the size is a tiny bit different.  what’s up, winsor newton!?  the girl is about 1/4″ taller… and i didn’t notice until i finished each of them.  hmmmph.

so, our “tallest handmade book in the world” project is still going strong.  sir finn, my eight year old fireball has requested that the end date be april 27th, 2012.  that is his ninth birthday.  i said sure thing!  so, let’s see how tall we can get this — it’s not currently very tall but it’s gorgeous! click the tallest handmade book image on the left to read the full post and requirements if you’d like to play.

here are some peeks of less than half of the unbound pages.  i’m a tease ’cause i want you to be surprised with the whole thing at the end. 

(i just realized i forgot to put a peek of my page in there.  ha!  at least finn’s is there… can you guess which are his?)

so, i have officially purchased a domain for the website of our wee non-profit asperger art group.  did i even tell you that i have finally started it!?  i’m so excited!  i’ve got four boys so far but couldn’t possibly take any more until we get the studio done for them (have 7 more interested kids, two volunteers lined up both with backgrounds in asperger’s syndrome and autism).  right now we’re kitchen tabling it… tight squeezes but heaps of fun!  it’s called little bug’s studio.  or bug’s art shack.  i bought both domains ’cause i couldn’t decide… and my bug isn’t going to be “little” for much longer.  next step: set up the 501c3 non-profit status stuff through the state.

it’s so amazing how much these kiddos can fight and argue while trying to play soccer or wii games or legos but you put an art project in front of them and they are so very calm and sweet.  and quiet!  my son is always one of the most audible children on earth but while doing art, it’s a different story.  ahhhh!  blissful silence.    my camera broke just two weeks before solstice so i didn’t get pics of most of our projects, but here are a couple for now.  each of the kids made a “special box” for themselves and one for a holiday gift for mamas or aunties or friends.  here are two progress photos of the 8 year old created “special boxes”:

this bird part was black and white paper he colored in/painted.  his aunty said her favorite colors were “purple, red and sparkle” so the box is covered with so much glitter my house looked like a faerie had exploded in it.  it was fun to see their faces light up with their finished projects.

here are the two completed boxes finn made for his aunties for solstice/christmas (the left one was a memorial box for my sister who’s dog recently passed away — he’s such a tender and thoughtful boy!):

i wish i had shots of the rest of the boxes from the other kiddos.  there was a space box, an einstein box, another footed bird box and a pirate box.  apparently i didn’t even take cell phone pics of those!  another fun thing we did was posters of ourselves (i traced them on five foot wide paper pieces and they painted/collaged/embellished/etc. with their favorite things).  that was a hit — they all loved it and expressed so much through their art about what they like, love and appreciate in the world.  art with kids is so much fun!  especially seeing their eyes light up — such a gift!

but i must get back to adult-hood soon and finish some of my own projects.  xx

over the past few weeks i’ve received several emails with requests to extend the deadline for the altered bits zine.  so, i’m going to.  but not just ’cause i’m sweet, but because i haven’t done my pieces either as my focus has been elsewhere for quite awhile now.  plus, although i’ve had lots of submissions, i don’t think it’s quite enough for a four-themed zine.

so, that said, the NEW deadline is march first.  if you were hoping to submit something and didn’t, now is your chance.  i will cry if there aren’t enough entries, but not too hard since i’m just as guilty.  hah.  BUT i’m going to work on it this week.  the wheels and gears are turning up there in that whacky head of mine trying to figure out which of the two themes i will be doing.  kidding — i’m doing cabinet of curiosities and an artful retelling of history.  and i even know what i want to do… just have to make the time.

ALL OF THE ORIGINAL GUIDELINES PERTAIN AS OUTLINED IN THIS POST IF YOU’D LIKE TO READ IT. THE ONLY CHANGE IS THE NEW DEADLINE OF 1 MARCH 2012. >>

i have to also be honest and say that i have received two or three more entries the past week and i haven’t gotten the chance to look at them yet.  i know who you are though so know they are gorgeous!  will look and respond soon — had been dealing with some big things the past few weeks and am just now resurfacing.

happy new year and lots of hugs to all!

this summer we were supposed to remodel our detached garage and morph it into the studio of bliss and divinity (which was put off from the summer previous), but that didn’t happen.  soon this will happen but i’ve given up my dream of a new studio for myself.  instead it’s going to be a safe and cozy place for kiddos with aspergers and autism to come, hang out, express themselves and make some really cool art.  i have the windows picked out and a plan for a mini loft and wood stove (we’ll see how that turns out — i giggle while i type as the husby will likely roll his gorgeous brown eyes and walk away when i announce such things to him as my plan).  i don’t suppose the kids really NEED a loft, but it would be fun.  my point, which seems not to be a point at all, is that i now have WAY too much stuff as i thought i would be moving my art goodness to a space 4 times larger than what i have but it’s now not happening.  i should have some giveaways!

anyway, i enjoy filling my space with many hoards of various bits.  this big compartment box sits to my left while i’m at my main desk (there are four desks in here).  these are the things that i use most often so they must be readily available.  figure one: compartment hoards.

this is my favorite multi-level box of goodies.  i have buttons from the mid 1800s, lots of completely random rusty and metal items, bugs and bones and things i have no clue what they are.  just stuff i love.

below is part of my charlotte and charlie collection, some of my brushes and tools and other odd things.  this is a fairly old pic — i was using a VERY large canvas and a piece of plaid wrapping paper for a makeshift curtain for a bit there as you can see.  it’s all better now and i feel so grown up with real life curtains. 

one of my other obsessions is boxes of old watch vials, filled with watch parts.  i have a few, but this is one of my favorites.

i have an ever-growing collection of bugs and bones, too.  oh, and a chicken fetus.  i’m not sure where some of this went which is super sad.  i started packing some of it up for the new studio but since that isn’t happening now, i’m going to have to go unpack.  it will be like a pre-holiday celebration, i bet!

this is to the left of my sewing area — a wonderful and gorgeous wing book from my sweet friend kerinny ninny, some of my favorite doll heads, cards from my pal debrina in new zealand and a host of other things.

oooh, and my leather-bound handmade books!  the goddess book is such a treasure to me.  it was given to me by my hear friend jo archer in england.  the ones below were gifts from my mother and father in law from their trip to russia.  i love them all!  they have inspired a new obsessive collection of leather bound books.   remember brain boy?  yeah, that’s him in the vase.  i need to get my arse in gear and finish that piece!

this is the wall just outside my studio which i can mostly see from my main desk/work space.  there you can find art by many amazing artists: kim palmer, lisa jurist, kc willis, joanna pierotti, lisa sarsfield and this chick named alicia caudle i once met.

there is no way i could make the time to post all of the amazing pieces of art i have in my home but i will highlight five of my favorites this round, and do another five sometime soon.

this is one of my dearest, sweetest, most favorite pieces ever.  it’s called “three bird house” and was created by kerin gale, my sweet and wonderful friend.  i bought this from her when we very first met and we’ve been friends ever since.  i will refrain from sharing the whole nightmare story about it but here is the quicky (a testament to how amazing keriny is!): it arrived with the top shattered.  i sent it back and poof (poof = a year and a half, haha)!  she fixed it and you could never ever tell it was broken.  love that girl!

copyright kerin gale

this was a wedding present from our dear friend kevin who is an amazing and intricate collage artist and painter.  this is huge and is one of the first things you see when you enter our abode.  click to enlarge — there is SO much going on in there!  sorry about the glare.

copyright kevin

this, of course, is a seth apter original entitled “melt”.  i saw it on his blog last year and had to snatch it right up.  i will own more seth art one of these days!

copyright seth apter

this is the only michael deMeng piece i own too, though i hope to remedy that one of these days… when i’m not poor and starving. 

copyright michael deMeng

this gorgeous piece is one of my all time favorites too — miss joanne archer sent it to me very recently and i LOVE it.  it’s titled “the harbour” and is hanging in my living room in a very prominent place so i can see it every day and share it with all who come to visit.

copyright joanne archer

i got a new cell phone a couple of weeks ago and i’m obsessed with playing with all of the filters and effects on the camera.  sepia is one of my favorites.  this is the wall of my living room that i see while perched on the couch — just look up and to my right and this is what i see.  the piece over the shelf and the other to the right are both by the amazing and talented lisa jurist.  if you click to enlarge, you will see a sweet clothes pin doll that miss debrina made me too.  and of course my ever-growing bottle collection.  i got many of these from jo archer’s shop maud and mabel on etsy.  go shop there — she has stuff to die for!

a creepy corner?  nopes.  just another little collection of goodness.

i am in love with african porcupine quills and have them all over my house.  such purdy little things they are, but sharp!  (yes, that is a raccoon penis bone next to them.)

i should have gotten more shots of my vintage and antique medical tools.  i have three surgery sets and more than just the four vaginal speculums i’ve shown.  sorry to appear so narrow minded in the medical world.  sheesh.  this shelf is just inside the front door but i am thinking it may possibly make a bigger impact if i move it to the bathroom.  is that too creepy and weird?

now i’m obsessed with this photo filter.  lovely!  i collect daguerreotypes… well, this is a new thing.  i have only two at the moment but you have to start somewhere, right!?  i like this handsome gent.

what do you collect?  have any “creepy corners” to share?  i want to see them. 

(click the image to be taken to the first print edition of the altered bits zine)

i have tons of great news to share soon: i’m starting a non-profit art group for kids with aspergers (and have had some fun art adventures with some boys on the spectrum) and i have lots of gorgeous pages to share from the tallest handmade book in the world collaboration (it’s still very, very short though).    more soon — it’s a little busy around here!

from tracy’s blog:

Tracy verdugo is an Australian artist.singer/songwriter.workshop facilitator. She has had 9 successful solo exhibitions since 2002 and contributed to many group shows. Her work is in collections locally, nationally and internationally and her skills are well recognised as a creative workshop facilitator for both adults and children.

i love all of tracy’s beautiful, vibrant art, but here are some of my favorite pieces that she has created:

ALL ART COPYRIGHT TRACY VERDUGO.

click on the thumbnail item to be taken to the “favorite thing” or click on their shop or blog links to get to know them a bit better.  on friday, which is my date in the hop, i will be posting a a little something about my featured artist, tracey verdugo.  make sure you come back to check her out — she’s an amazingly vibrant artist.

November 25th – Katie Cahill

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatieCahill

Blog:
http://katiecahillart.wordpress.com

November 26th – Wini Dougal

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/artlovejoy

Blog:
http://www.artloveandjoy.blogspot.com/

November 27th – Nolween Petibois

Etsy Shop:

http://InnerWorlds.etsy.com/

Blog:

http://www.inner-voices.net/

November 28th – Kristi Parker VanDoren

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BKDesignStudio

Blog:
http://kristiscreativecafe.blogspot.com/

November 29th – Emily Cline

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RubyShea

Blog:

http://www.emilyclineart.com

November 30th – Jennifer McGee Urbanek

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MyArtistWithin

Blog:
http://urbanekdesign.blogspot.com/

December 1st – Alicia Caudle (that’s me)

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/digit13

Blog:
http://alteredbits.wordpress.com/

December 2nd – Tracy Verdugo

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CasaCantamar

Blog:
http://artoftracyverdugo.blogspot.com/

December 3rd – Nancy Perennec

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nancyperennec

Blog:
http://littlebitwired.blogspot.com

December 4th – Sun B Lewis

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunblewis

Blog:

http://www.sunshinebarlowe.com

December 5th – Angela DiGiovanni Kemp

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AngelaDiGiovanni

Blog:
http://AngelaDiGiovanni.com/

December 6th – Sharon Rowland

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlicesSecretDoor

Blog:

http://www.alicessecretdoor.com

December 7th – El Tsamp

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/eltsamp

Blog:

http://apinkdreamer.blogspot.com

December 8th – Katie Cahill :: the blog hop wrap-up

Blog:
http://katiecahillart.wordpress.com/

i’ve gotten lots of emails stating that i haven’t posted info about the zine on my blog other than the themes so yeps, i’m a huge jackass.  apparently i’ve just spewed off a bunch of empty promises to post about it… so now i’m officially pulling my head out and posting the info for those who are new to my zine or wish to get additional information.

after going through the suggestion and voting process, we came up with four themes for issue two of the altered bits zine.  the themes are as follows:

cabinet of curiosities ( i’m actually working on a piece for this category today.)
tattered and torn (i’ve gotten the most submissions for this category so far.)
an artful retelling of history (this was my choice, so of course i’m quite excited — love the merging of art and history!)
handmade & altered books and pages (this is a super fun one too!)

feel free to interpret each of these categories as you please and use your imagination.  EACH ARTIST CAN SUBMIT UP TO THREE PIECES.

here is a peek at some of the submissions so far.  i’ve muted the color a bit so i don’t give everything away.  i promise you’ll still want to see the zine in the real.  it’s going to be gorgeous!!

the deadline for submissions 21 December, 2011.  i have had to extend this a bit due to all of the recent chaos in my life… so hopefully this will work for everyone.  if you need an extension, please let me know and i may be able to work something out, though i cannot make any promises just yet.

what you must submit to be eligible for inclusion:

• send high resolution photos of your art piece (or photography), at least 300 dpi, no smaller than 6 inches on the shortest edge (at 300 dpi, 6″ = 1800 pixels).  please attach to email rather than inserting into body (some email programs shrink files when you do that).
• indicate which category you are submitting each piece to so i don’t put it in the wrong place.
• PLEASE don’t send small photos.  use name files like this so i’m not confused: lastname_firstname-artpiecename.jpg (you can send jpgs, pngs, tiffs — no gifs or bitmaps — those don’t work for print).
• a short bio in odt, txt, rtf, doc or pdf format.  please DO NOT SEND DOCX files — i can’t open them and don’t want to buy ms word.
• the url to your  website or blog
• optional: a short write-up about your piece and/or your inspiration (these will be space permitting)

what you need to keep in mind:

• kind of a no-brainer but i’ll say it anyway just in case: do not submit anything with copyright restrictions.  for example, don’t use egon schiele’s “standing nude young girl” in a collage or whatnot — i don’t publish copyrighted content as that could ruin it for all of the responsible participants.
• please ensure all of your images are royalty free or have commons licenses.  there are great places to get images like that (flickr commons, wikipedia commons, etc.).

when it will be published:

i will be working on layout and design over the winter holidays and the start of the new year.  i’m shooting to have this published and ready to order by late february or march.  i’ll keep you posted though — if you sign up for notifications on my blog, you’ll be insta-enlightened when i post about it.

extra bits:

if you are interested in submitting an article or tutorial, let me know — i’ve never included one before but think it could possibly be fun to have one in each issue here on out.  if you are interested in advertising in the zine, go to my website to find the rates and info that i will be soon posting: http://alteredbits.com/artzine.php (or email me)

send everything to hi [at] altered bits [dot] com.

thank you so much, friends and fellow artists.  if you haven’t submitted yet and you plan to, i cannot wait to see!!!