the tallest handmade book in the world (but not really the tallest)

i have truly and sincerely not meant to take so long on this project and feel like an ass.  i could make excuses about it, but i won’t, however since today is the last day of school i am back in action on this!  (i spend a good 7 hours a day homeschooling in addition to everything else, so summertime is the time to get stuff done around here!).  i’m very excited!

currently, all pages are ordered and the intro page is written out with all names, locations and either urls or email addresses except two people who did not provide contact information.  (this is part of my delay — trying to track them down.)  so, here i will list the participants and if you know either of the two and can provide me with their email address or blog/site url, i will send you a virtual kiss.  i want to get this up fast so not adding urls right now, but don’t fret — i will of course include them in the book and the pdf version so everyone is properly credited as they should be.

alicia caudle (that’s me)
mum and finn (that’s my son and me)
marni smith-gentry, usa
jill zaheer, usa
marit barentsen, the netherlands
patty szymkowicz, usa
hermine koster, the netherlands
jo murray, austrailia
bonia rose, usa
dave hayes, usa
bernie williams, usa
maggie mannwieler, usa
erin perry, usa
darline campbell, usa
janette gregson, uk
isabelle favre, france
sarah harris, uk
amanda kuykendall, usa

update: have tracked everyone down and gotten all info.  woohoo!  (and proper spelling)

for those who don’t know, the tallest handmade book in the world (which is really only about 4 inches thick) is a book made from donated pages that will be auctioned off to benefit my art group for children on the autism spectrum — click the link to the left in my side-bar to read more (but please note that i no longer have that PO box address).  for the summer we are bumping up art groups from one or two a month to one or two a week.  many of these kids’ families can’t afford contributing to the art supply fund and i can only buy so much.  currently i’m working with four kids on the spectrum on a regular basis, and a small handful of others here and there.  i cannot tell you how amazing it is to see their work!  i will seek parental permission and post some things soon.

what’s left to do?

make covers for both front and back.
finish my last spread (i did the rest of the pages in the intro spread and helped the little man with his four pages at least!).
take photos for PDF upload.
bind the whole thing up.
post it up for auction.

not sure if i should do a silent auction here on my blog, or if i should do it on ebay.  what do you think?  there are pros and cons to each option.

what can you do?

once it’s all complete, i will spread the word for a week or so and you can help.  tell anyone you know who may be interested.  i’m so excited to see how many people are interested in this book.  i cannot even begin to tell you how gorgeous it’s going to be!  the work in it is amazing and a half, squared!

i will try not to sleep much for the next couple of weeks so i can get this done, however i’m not stating a date of completion because i don’t know how long it will take.  i do hope you understand.  just stay tuned.  🙂  you can sign up for email alerts somewhere on my blog if you want to make sure you don’t miss anything.

check back soon for peeks!  i’m revving up my camera to get shots of all pages (wish my scanner was accessible, but i kind of lost it during some remolding projects — totally dumb!).  also, i’m going to have a give-away associated with the book but not sure how i’m going to do it just yet.

Silent Art Auction for Little Alexis

Yesterday I read a very touching blog on the Country Folk Art blog a new friend of mine named Tammy that I’d met in Kerin‘s Mixed Media Art ning group. She has started a silent art auction to help raise money for her friend’s little girl Alexis Grace who is very ill with cancer. She is holding her own, but still quite ill.  Having gone through issues with cancer myself and after having a tremendously ill son for two years of his life, my heart goes out to this family and this precious little girl.  Click on her photo to read her mama’s blog post.

In the spirit of this silent auction, I would like to put a few items up for auction. The auction will end on June 12th. All bids should be emailed to me directly (hi at alteredbits dot com) and top bidders will be announced here on my blog on the 12th, at which time I will contact you for shipping and payment information. All payments will be sent directly to Jill, Alexis’s mama, and made payable to Seattle Children’s Hospital.  All necessary information will be provided at that time. I will pay for all shipping fees.

Item One:
Figure 3: Bird Cage (Limited Edition Art Print)
This measures 6×8 and will be printed on high quality acid free, lignin free, water resistant matte photo paper of 8.5×11 size (you can cut to frame or leave “whole”). This will be signed and numbered in the bottom right.

Item Two:
Chapter 5: The Bird Lady (Limited Edition Art Print)
This measures 6×8 and will be printed on high quality acid free, lignin free, water resistant matte photo paper of 8.5×11 size (you can cut to frame or leave “whole”). This will be signed and numbered in the bottom right.

Item Three:
Page 571 (I think I name this something different every time) (Limited Edition Art Print)
This measures 6×8 and will be printed on high quality acid free, lignin free, water resistant matte photo paper of 8.5×11 size (you can cut to frame or leave “whole”). This will be signed and numbered in the bottom right.

You are also welcome to make a cash donation for Alexis and her family if interested. I know times are tight for a lot of us right not but every little bit helps. I will provide that information when I have it available.

Here is a sweet little video to leave you with: Alexis with her big sister and mama singing on at their church on mother’s day. What a precious little angel she is! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T_pHBLOayw