31/31: Alicia Caudle

31 artists...31 days. Spend every day of March with me at The Altered Page to meet the 31 spotlight artists in my book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed. See their beautiful faces, read their 'quirky' bios written in their own words, see some of their art that led me to invite them to be a part of my book, and hear my story of what they each mean to me. Then click on over to their sites and see what they have to say about The Pulse of Mixed Media.
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Alicia Caudle

I have a bit of an art-related multiple personality disorder as I'm creatively all over the board. I paint. I collage. I assemble. I sew.

I'm a 'mad eco-scientist' of sorts in that I devise natural, earth friendly recipes for dyes, stains and inks to use in my art (largely due to annoying allergies to chemicals), and I like to make light-up and mechanical art from scrap electronic bits. This is my husband's fault as he teaches me things such as which value of resistor is needed to power an LED light.

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I have been trying to remember when I first 'met' Alicia. It may have been back in early 2009 when she joined my Disintegration Collaboration. In any case, her art and blog have always fascinated me. She is a mixed media and assemblage artist who has a definite 'quirky' style. To quote her own blog, she has a "penchant for anatomy, bird nests, taxidermy, miscellaneous doll parts and 'creepy things'." In attempting to include many different approaches and styles to art in my book, I just knew I had to include Alicia.

I really admire Alicia, the artist and the person. Like so many of us, she does her best to balance her art/blog with her day job (talented web designer) and her family life. Not an easy feat for sure. But she always pushes herself and goes the extra mile. She has created her own, beautiful zine Altered Bits. She is involved in some amazing collaborations as both a participant and as a host. And most admirable of all, she is starting a non-profit art group for children with aspergers syndrome and autism. Not every artist is a sharer, but Alicia is generous and giving of her time, her skills, and her heart. There is a good chance that I will meet her in person at a book release event in the Northwest. I am so looking forward to that!

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31/31: John Borrero

31 artists...31 days. Spend every day of March with me at The Altered Page to meet the 31 spotlight artists in my book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed. See their beautiful faces, read their 'quirky' bios written in their own words, see some of their art that led me to invite them to be a part of my book, and hear my story of what they each mean to me. Then click on over to their sites and see what they have to say about The Pulse of Mixed Media.
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John Borrero

You may have seen me walking ahead of you on the street, looking around to see who is watching, and bending down to retrieve metal from the curb. You may have passed me at the book store, investing in mythology and folklore, smiling with a childlike enthusiasm as ancient stories speak to me,

Maybe you've noticed me at the antique shops, buying photos of faces of people forgotten to lovingly give my creations their grace and humanity.

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I was at the right place at the right time when I first met John. Just over one year ago I was wandering through The Artist Project, an art exhibition in NYC, when I came upon a booth that literally stopped me in my tracks. There were paintings and there was sculpture, all of which were thoroughly original. You can see the evidence on his website and Facebook Page. Although I had already invited my group of spotlight artists for the book several months before, I knew in that moment that I had to include John and his work. And 30 artists became 31.

Since that serendipitous meeting, John and I (along with Stephanie Rubiano) worked together on an Exquisite Corpse collaboration, which proved to be both very challenging and extremely fun at the same time. I got to see first hand, his artistic talent and technical expertise - both of which are evident in abundance. So glad I was in the right place at the right time John!

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31/31: Leslie Marsh

31 artists...31 days. Spend every day of March with me at The Altered Page to meet the 31 spotlight artists in my book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed. See their beautiful faces, read their 'quirky' bios written in their own words, see some of their art that led me to invite them to be a part of my book, and hear my story of what they each mean to me. Then click on over to their sites and see what they have to say about The Pulse of Mixed Media.
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Leslie Marsh

There are boxes and bags of family photographs sitting on a shelf in my house. Some of them simply make me smile, while others make me curious about the stories.

This becomes art when I take the hidden, the forgotten, the sometimes damaged, and bind them into books people may be compelled to pick up.

My shoebox inspirations become bound expressions of life. I'm a photographer too, and I've got my own shoebox.

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I am in awe. I am amazed. I am gobsmacked. This is how I feel when I see Leslie's books on her blog. Now Leslie is also a sensational photographer and wonderful artist, but it is her books which take my breath away. The beginnings of my life in art was making books. So they are close to my heart. And Leslie's books make my heart beat just a little bit faster.

I have spent time with Leslie on a number of occasions including at a workshop I took with her and a workshop I took from her. From these times, two things have stood out. Firstly, she is simply a great human being: generous, genuine, kind. Secondly, she is oozing with talent. Hers is a good example of seeing art on the Internet and saying wow. And then seeing the same art in person, and being speechless. Take it from me, she is a master book artist. I cannot wait to see her future work unfold, page by page.

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Happenings

Sending thanks to all of you for your enthusiastic response to the release of my book. I am having the time of my life right now and it has been so satisfying to see that people have responded so positively to The Pulse of Mixed Media. For those of you who have a copy of the book, I would so appreciate it if you would take a few minutes and leave a review on Amazon to help me spread the word!

I continue to add events to both my online and live schedule for the book tour. Go here for live events and here for online events. And you can always see where I will be by clicking on the links on the sidebar of my blog.

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A reminder to all tweeters: Join me tonight for the Twitter Launch Party to celebrate the release of The Pulse of Mixed Media. The party will be held from 9-10pm EST and the list of confirmed guests keep growing. You will have a chance to chat live with many of your favorite contributors from the book: Angela Cartwright, Judy Wilkenfeld, Julie Prichard, Lelainia Lloyd, Holly Dean, David Hayes, Denise Aumick, Susan Tuttle, Linda Woods, Trish Baldwin Seggebruch, Laura Quilligan, Bridgette Guerzon Mills, and more. All the info you need to attend the party can be found here.

Please note: in order for everybody at the party to see your tweets, you must make sure that your Twitter account is not set to 'protected' for at least the hour that the party takes place.

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There is still time to respond to my open call for art to be part of my newest project related to The Pulse. I have selected 3 questions that were asked of the artists in the book, and am now asking all of you to answer these questions by creating 5" x 5" artworks. There is no judge or jury. All submissions will be posted on my blog and select pieces will travel with me and be displayed on my book tour. There is no official deadline for this project but expect an announcement that one day in April, submissions will no longer be accepted. All the info you need to submit is found here.

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Once a month, David Hayes from Clearer Reflections holds a collaborative online project called 'Dave's App Recipe Book Project.' The brief: take a picture and edit the picture using your App(s) of choice on an iDevice -- and not on your Mac or PC. The participants share their image and their App recipe on their blogs. Dave then lists all the participants links on his blog. Head on over to check out all the contributions. And it is not too late to participate yourself!

Today I decided to share an altered image of the Chrysler Building, one of the many iconic sites from my hometown, NYC. On this beautiful, 70 degree day in March, I thought celebrating NYC was the perfect thing to do. Single App used: Snapseed

31/31: Vivian Paans [Bonder]

31 artists...31 days. Spend every day of March with me at The Altered Page to meet the 31 spotlight artists in my book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed. See their beautiful faces, read their 'quirky' bios written in their own words, see some of their art that led me to invite them to be a part of my book, and hear my story of what they each mean to me. Then click on over to their sites and see what they have to say about The Pulse of Mixed Media.
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Vivian Paans [Bonder]

I create from a space of silence and solitude...

A space where at times emotional turbulence and noise are ruling...

Where intense happiness and suffering meet face to face...

A space where I am balanced within myself, between extremes and feeling grateful to be alive.

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I have been trying to remember when I first 'met' Viv and found her blog. I can barely remember a time as a blogger when I didn't know her. I did find an email from back in July 2008, when I wrote to Viv to say how happy I was that we were both in the same issue of Artful Blogging. Since then we have 'shared' so much more, including our Self Contained collaboration with Stephanie McAtee. I absolutely love Viv's approach to art making and her style -- filled with color, symbols, grunge, drips and splatters. I happen to love her accent too!

Viv is so far away from me geographically (more than 10,000 miles from NYC to WA Australia) but I feel very connected to her as if she were next door. Despite living on the opposite ends of the earth, we have had many experiences in common, not the least of which is therapy - with me being a psychologist and Viv currently studying transpersonal art therapy. Somehow Viv and I know that we are destined to meet in person, despite the distance. It is just a matter of time.

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31/31: Judy Wise

31 artists...31 days. Spend every day of March with me at The Altered Page to meet the 31 spotlight artists in my book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed. See their beautiful faces, read their 'quirky' bios written in their own words, see some of their art that led me to invite them to be a part of my book, and hear my story of what they each mean to me. Then click on over to their sites and see what they have to say about The Pulse of Mixed Media.
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Judy Wise

There is a thread through all my work. A search and a love of the search. Without the passion for the search and a love of the materials (wax, paint, paper, clay, nature) - life has no meaning.

I am looking for my stubborn idea of beauty and often enough I find it.

That is enough for a lifetime of devotion.

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When I first came upon Judy Wise's blog many years ago, I was completely mesmerized by her journal pages. Uniquely hers, they were bursting with color, drawings, text, collage, photographs, stamps, and a ton of passion. So many people journal and so many post their pages. But Judy's stand out to me as quite special and truly all her own. She still posts her pages and I still love them as much.

But Judy's blog and her art are about much more than just her journal pages. I am utterly enthralled with her abstract plaster and encaustic paintings. And I am so lucky to have one in my studio. Her book Plaster Studio: Mixed-Media Techniques for Painting, Casting and Carving, written with Stephanie Lee, has inspired me greatly. I have never met Judy but from what I can tell she is one very special person. Looking forward Judy to the days our paths cross.
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Questions Asked

Just a quick note to everybody out there. 

I have been receiving comments in my recent posts with specific questions about the book and both the live and online events that will be taking place. I don't respond to comments with another comment to the same post because I am never sure if the person who asked will ever see it. I prefer to send an email and I always try. BUT please understand that Blogger does not always provide your email address to me, even though you have to leave it as part of your comment. Never understood that!

So if you have not heard from me...please know it is because I have no way of reaching you. And if you have a question, the best way to ask is through email at shap97@gmail.com.

And to 'susan in seattle' (and anybody else in the Pacific Northwest)...yes I will definitely be in Seattle for the book tour. On Saturday May 5th. I am just waiting to work out a few details before I announce it officially. Hope to meet you there!

See you in the morning with artist #20!

31/31: Lynne Hoppe

31 artists...31 days. Spend every day of March with me at The Altered Page to meet the 31 spotlight artists in my book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed. See their beautiful faces, read their 'quirky' bios written in their own words, see some of their art that led me to invite them to be a part of my book, and hear my story of what they each mean to me. Then click on over to their sites and see what they have to say about The Pulse of Mixed Media.
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Lynne Hoppe

I paint what's inside of me without thought of "what it might mean."

I like to see what one color looks like next to another; how the presence of a line here or a shadow there changes everything.

I like to experiment...

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I think of Lynne as the type of artist so many of us want to be. She paints and creates simply for the pleasure of doing so. There are no agendas and no grand schemes. I have said before that creativity is at its most pure when making art is for the sake of creating, rather than for a specific goal, such as publication, exhibition or sale. And I feel this from Lynne from both her artwork and her essence, which comes through loud and clear on her blog.

I have had the luck and pleasure to have collaborated with Lynne, along with Julie Prichard, on two art projects: Graffiti Wall 2009 and 2010. I also own a piece of her artwork, which hangs front and center on my inspiration board. Seeing her work in person confirms my sense of her work as organic, elemental and original. For me, her series of faces are endlessly fascinating and filled with personality, charm, and just the right amount of quirkiness. One day I hope to meet Lynne in person. It might happen during this book tour but if it doesn't, I will patiently wait to see the face behind the faces in person.
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31/31: Leslie Avon Miller

31 artists...31 days. Spend every day of March with me at The Altered Page to meet the 31 spotlight artists in my book The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed. See their beautiful faces, read their 'quirky' bios written in their own words, see some of their art that led me to invite them to be a part of my book, and hear my story of what they each mean to me. Then click on over to their sites and see what they have to say about The Pulse of Mixed Media.
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Leslie Avon Miller

Begin. Fling paint, make marks, rip and tear. Use sticks, palette knife, brush, and tools.

Rags, papers, spray move paint around. Explore, experiment, discover.

Build layers of dark and light. Scratch, scrub, sand to reveal. Contemplate, integrate, design, adjust. Express, connect, communicate, be content.

And begin again.

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Leslie's art has always resonated with me. Spoken to me in fact. I find her work mesmerizing. It isn't just the organic, abstract style of her surfaces. Nor is it just her natural color palette. And it isn't just the mark making that is a large part of her approach, whether in the form of circles, splatters, lines, scratches or scribbles. Rather it is all of the above and the way that Leslie puts it all together. In fact, I love her work so much I am the proud owner of the first artwork shown in this post.

I am also a big fan of Leslie's blog. Her posts have so much depth and substance. They are filled with not only images of her work, but with poetry, meditations on issues of the artist, and creative thoughts. I will have the opportunity to meet Leslie in person in May when she joins me in an artist panel in Seattle. And I am definitely interested in hearing what she has to say.

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