The Potbelly Pixie

Alice project -- the final outcome

Created specifically as a donation to the Elliot Sylvester ATCA Fund auction, these three pieces -- chair, sock bunny, and art card -- showcase my funky, gothic, zetti-fied, weird and whimsical interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. Fun!!

The chair, originally from IKEA and customized by me, features a digital painting of Alice which I created in Photoshop and have transferred to fabric and outlined in chunky ricrac, then covered in heavy protective vinyl for longevity.

A single ACEO print of "Alice, Revisited" is still available in my Etsy shop; that's all that's left from the limited edition run of sixteen prints.  Thanks to everyone who purchased a copy; your contribution is so appreciated!!  You can find that last print at: www.potbellyarts.etsy.com. Card #1 in this edition will accompany my chair and Mr. Rabbit to the home of the highest bidder.

Along with nineteen others, my chair will become available for purchase on July 12 at Matt Hensley's FLYING ELEPHANT in Carlsbad, California. Here's the full scoop:

July 12, 2008
A NIGHT OF MUSICAL CHAIRS
Benefiting The Elliot Sylvester Autism Treatment Center of America (ATCA) Fund
@ Hensley's Flying Elephant Bar
Carlsbad, CA
(Owned by Matt Hensley of FLOGGING MOLLY; so kewl!!  He's making a chair, too!!)

It's an evening of FOOD, MUSIC, ART AND FRIENDS!... and a fund raising event for Elliot's Autism Treatment Center of America (ATCA) Son-Rise Intensive program.  Learn more at:  web.mac.com/sylvesterfam/anightofmusicalchairs/Home.html

Please Lend a Hand

I've decided to sell a limited edition of 16 prints of my ALICE, REVISITED artwork as ACEO's -- Artist Card Editions and Originals, or the "for sale" version of Artist Trading Cards (also known as "ATC's.")  Whee!

Yes, normally I just swap these playing-card-size bits of work.  But in this case, 100% of proceeds from the sale of these ACEO's will go to a great cause: The Elliot Sylvester ATCA Fund. I think I spoke in an earlier post here on my blog about Elliot, who's the son of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Laura.  He's autistic, and pretty severely affected, and his family is doing all kinds of fundraising so that they might attend a week-long intensive autism training program all the way across the country, at the Autism Treatment Center of America (ATCA.)  The training costs an absolutely staggering $17,500.  Who wouldn't need to fundraise, to pay for that?!? :)~

If I do say so myself, this is one prrrrrrrretty art card.  I think the fact that this card was painted digitally lends it BEAUTIFULLY to printing.  The prints are so vibrant, with vivid blue, red, and yellow tones that positively *pop* off the page!  I've laminated the card, front and back, for a scratch-free, long life.  This card, like all my art cards, is thick and sturdy and fully finished with a full-color backing titled, dated, numbered, and signed by me.  This ACEO will also arrive protected by a clear plastic sleeve, and will be mailed inside a greeting card featuring art created by Elliot Sylvester himself. Elliot's family has printed a set of these cards, featuring his artwork, as part of their ongoing effort to finance his considerable medical and treatment expenses.  If you'd like a closer look or are interested in buying a set of these cards for yourself, please visit www.autissey.com/elliotart, the Sylvester family's Elliot art site.

Anyway... It's just a very small thing, of course... but if I can sell all sixteen cards at $9.00 each and contribute that entire total to Elliot's ATCA fun, that's almost $150.00 I can donate... with your help.  I am personally contributing all postage costs both domestically and internationally, so there is zero shipping cost to the buyers of this card.

If you're of the mind to assist such a big-hearted effort, please visit my POTBELLY ARTS Etsy shop, where you can view and purchase these cards directly.

And if you'd like to learn more about Elliot, his journey through autism, his family, or ATCA, please visit the Sylvester family website at www.elliotsroom.com.  He's such a beautiful, sweet souled boy.

Oh, and PS:  The reason only eight of the cards are currently available is that I somehow stupidly managed to laminate little tiny fuzzies under fully HALF of them, after I printed and assembled them.  AARGH!  So they're not perfect and thus, not sellable.  Maddening, I tell you.  Hmph!  I will be reprinting the remaining eight cards and also listing them for sale just as soon as I can.

Please keep California in your thoughts

I'm not much for prayer requests usually, but I figured it wouldn't hurt, and might even help (a lot?), if folks reading here spent a minute sending good thoughts (and prayers, if they wanted) to all the many Californians touched by the raging wildfires down south.  Already, a quarter of a MILLION people have been evacuated from a huge area ranging from Malibu at the north end to near the Mexican border at the south end of our state.  Unbelievable.

My stepson Jeb (below), who will turn just 21 October 29, and who's a crew member for the Mt. Lassen HotShots (a division of the US Forest Service) has shipped south with his crew from the very northernmost part of California to assist the firefighting efforts.  While I admire and respect his efforts, I realize he's directly in harm's way, and I'm enormously worried about him -- as is my husband, naturally.  I'm not even sharing with Tim just how worried I am about Jeb.  These wildfires can turn on a dime without notice, and it's these exact scenarios where you sometimes hear that ten firemen have lost their lives, after being trapped by a sudden change of direction in the flames.

My friend Laura and my sister Chanda, and their families, both of whom are in the San Diego area, are completely packed and ready to evacuate on a moment's notice.  And my friend Lysa, whose beautiful home is on a hilltop in Poway, and whom I cannot reach, may have already lost her family's home; Poway is said to be a glowing ember in many places, at this point.  Given that, at 41, she's already a two-time cancer survivor, I can't tell you how much this possibility breaks my heart.

Please keep California in your thoughts!  These are said to be the worst wildfires in state history, and the Santa Ana winds show no signs of slacking off.  With gusts at 50mph on occasion, it's just an extremely, extraordinarily dangerous situation, with embers flying everywhere, any way you slice it.

With gratitude for your positive thoughts,
Shel

Clickable version of map shown above is at CNN.com.

(also posted at Teddy Talk)

Please donate!

Below, a copy of something I posted at Teddy Talk this morning.  If you're healthy and between the ages of 18 and 60, please give it a thought.  You might save a life.

======================================================
Hi all.

Just thought I'd post a quick public service announcement about this month's Marrow Donor Drive, sponsored by the National Marrow Donor Program.  Since it's "national," big-hearted international readers outside the US will have to sit this particular drive out.  But... the Registry contains information about international opportunities for bone marrow donation, so if you're interested but live outside the US, please click these links to find out more about marrow donation in your country! --->

http://www.marrow.org/ABOUT/NMDP_Networ … dc_list.pl
http://www.marrow.org/ABOUT/Connecting_ … egistry.pl

If you're interested in registering as a donor of bone marrow (the liquid inside portion of your bones) or peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), all you need to do is:

--  be over 18 and under 60
--  visit www.marrow.org/index.html
--  complete a brief medical history form to help the Registry determine your eligibility (certain conditions exclude certain people)
--  read about the marrow donor program and what your registration there means, and
--  request a tissue test kit.

The tissue test you'll do involves nothing more invasive than swabbing the inside of your cheek(s.)  After the swab, you send your materials back to the donor registry.  Your tissue type is then determined by their scientists, and your information stored in the marrow donor registry.  If there's a match someday, you'll be contacted.

Usually there's a fee of $52 involved in tissue typing but for this month's drive, from May 7-21, it's free to register.

Here's a link to the Registry's FAQ page, for more info on the collection process itself (among other things) --->  http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/FAQs/Donor_ … .html#live

www.marrow.org/index.html

In case you're wondering, YES, I requested a tissue test kit for myself, just today!