Blythe Fat Book Update

Here are some pics of pages from myself and other artists and of the collating process of the fat book I talked about here http://bly-me.blogspot.com/2008/05/blythe-and-animals-for-cause.html. It is progressing nicely. After all of the pages have arrived, the books will be wire bound and within, a full set of pages between handmade covers returned to each participant. So, that's 392 pages to collate plus covers! The final books also include embellishments, beads, yarn, fibers etc for the spine, pages and covers, so it has been quite a project for everyone- not to mention everyone who wished to participate created 28 or more original pages. That was a daunting task in itself. But as you will soon see when the finished book is shown in a future post, it will have been well worth it.
Why is it called a 'fat book'? The books are a chunky four inches by four inches square and each page is very textural. Embellishments to the edges may dangle off, raise up, etc., making the book a three-dimensional piece of amazement.

Even more exciting is the fact that one book will be auctioned off to benefit A Place to Bark http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com/, a no-kill animal rescue facility in Tennessee run by the very capable Bernie Berlin, herself a published artist.

I will be taking a class from Bernie in August in California at http://www.znecon.com/ and plan to ask Bernie to sign the book for the lucky auction winner. Watch for more info right here about that auction.

And now a word from my other blogs...

Just in case you never tire of reading my ramblings, I thought I'd offer a concise list of my latest postings, since it has been a busy little weekend at the keyboard. I've posted another Blythe-it-Yourself (BIY) tutorial on the ZNE Dollz blog at http://www.znedolls.com, and I referenced the reason behind that project here below and on my artist's blog at http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com.
I also wrote a profile of ZNE member and doll artist David H. Everett, which will be up tomorrow night, May 28, on ZNE Dollz. Check out his work; there will be lots of pictures.

Next, over at ZNE Artists and Poets, where we are just about done with our self-portrait hand-made books, I added the latest collaborative poetry effort at http://www.znepoetry.com. It needs some artwork yet, but that will be coming. Scroll on down for some other wonderful art and collaborative poetry efforts from our members. I neposticially (is that a word? uh oh, spellcheck says no) added a photo of my late mother from the 1940s for one of our mothers' day posts.

Finally, I am back in the swing of the "Off the Shelf" reviews for http://www.vintageindie.com, having just reviewed three Mexican hacienda style design books. Not sure when the review will be posted, but if you click on "Off the Shelf" in the listing of topics on the left, it will take you to an organized list of all my reviews.

Lastly, but not viewable anywhere (yet), I wrote three pieces dealing with Marie Antoinette this weekend for a MA collaborative some of us from The Faerie Zine http://faerieenchantment.blogspot.comare preparing and hope to self-publish in soft cover. Watch for details here. Besides artwork that we all have contributed, I wrote an historical piece as well as review of the Sofia Coppola movie and a mini-Marie costume tutorial.

Good thing I type fast and love it. Otherwise, I would have had no weekend left for all the other things, both art and family, that I did. Hope you had a fulfilling long weekend, too.

Art and Blythe Come Together

What's this you ask? I haven't posted here in some time, and now I try to get away with putting something from my art blog http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com here? Relax. It is Blythe-related. Lisa Kettell of The Faerie Zine and http://faerieenchantment.blogspot.com, also a Blythe fan, decided to host a Blythe Costume Swap.

So, I made a Marie Antoinette-style dress for my recipient Cyndi of http://dragonflysdreamz.blogspot.com. Nevermind that I've become fascinated (again) with Marie Antoinette after a great interest in high school xx years ago (and no, that's not 'xx' for 20). The Faerie Zine has actually been doing a lot of 'Marie' stuff, so it seemed quite natural to choose this for my costume. Thankfully (I think), Cyndi does not have a Blythe doll (the horror!) and just wanted a costume to display. So, this is made by attaching brocade, lace, velvet, wire, vintage millinery and vintage jewelry directly to a miniature (7") styrofoam dress form. 'Marie' will be winging her way to Alabama come Tuesday.

Maybe then the Blythe Manor girls here will get some attention. They have been unattended for a couple of weeks while I focus on art. They'll be gettin' all gussied up next weekend as we head to Michigan for the http://thisisblythe.com/forum TIB Michigan Blythe Meet-Up in Battle Creek at Auntie Angela's http://geminiangelsart.blogspot.com. A swap, photo ops, treats and more are planned. Blythe-o-licious!

Blythe and Animals for a Cause

Since I have been a little lax in posting here due to all my art goings-on (see my other blog http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com) Zena (above) was giving me a lecture about keeping my blog fresh. And, she put on her new froggy dress by H Loves R on etsy to do so. Whether animal or amphibian, the theme of her attire is appropriate since Zena and her siblings grace my pages for the Arte du Blythe Yahoo! Group fat book http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/Arte_du_Blythe.

Thirteen artists are creating 28 original 4" x 4" pages, fronts and backs, to be assembled into 'fat books.' Each artist will receive back a completed, bound book with original front and back covers by group founders, Heather Simpson Bluhm of Bluhm Studios and Shoshannah Jennings of Hannah Grey. As group administrator, I am coordinating the efforts and binding the books.

Perhaps the best part of the project, and where Larry the Cat (shamelessly posing above) comes in, is that one extra book will be auctioned off for charity later this year, likely on ebay. The beneficiary of this sale will be fellow artist, Bernie Berlin, who is equally well-known for her dedicated, tender and grueling work with her no-kill animal shelter, A Place to Bark in Tennesee http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com.

Bernie's work has been the subject of much fund-raising, including her finish in the top five of Parade Magazine's reader-voted charities recently, which netted her enough funds to construct a new building on her site. But, the costs of medicines, spaying and neutering, food and adoption travel keep the need for funds high at all times.

Blythes like Zena and Arte du Blythe want to do their part because, like Bernie, we love all animals. And, although her place is called A Place to Bark, she often finds herself rescuing kittens and all sorts of animals. Yes, Zena, maybe even a frog.

The fat book pages shown above, in clockwise order, are from Arte du Blythe members Miss Vicky, Dolly Mommy/Sandbeech, Debbiesh, Cheldoll/ZNEart and me.