The Pink Artist Debut!

Hello everyone, thank you for the kind words and wishes of a speedy recovery. I am back and ready to jump into some projects. Speaking of projects, I am cutting and pasting this blog from my Homegirl, Monica Magness of "Girl Gone Thread Wild"

I know I mentioned before that she did a call for artists to contribute 2 inch square mini quilts for a doll she was making. I had no idea the magnitude and beauty that this project would become. I will always feel so lucky and so deeply honored to have been involved.

A couple of weeks ago, I was thumbing through one of my favorite publications at Border Books, and there, staring at me, was "Our Doll!" On top of that, I even spied my little square on the dolls dress. Yay! My little claim to fame!

What is even more exciting is that you and everyone across the world has a chance to win this doll! Details are below, and if you enjoy constant beauty and inspiration, do check out Monica's blog.

(Cut and pasted from Monica's blog)

The Pink Artist Drawing Begins, Bosom Buddies Unite to fight breast cancer!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Welcome, welcome, welcome!!! We're so excited that the day has FINALLY come for The Pink Artist Drawing to begin! We are delighted to celebrate our journey with you!!! Our mission is simple, to spread the WORD: GET CHECKED! and please schedule those mammograms right NOW! From the beginning our promise has been to RALLY FOR A CURE for breast cancer the best way we know how and that is with ART. We pink artists have kept that promise as each of us took to our studios to use the God given tools we were blessed with- OUR HANDS. Support for our project has poured in from around the world thanks to blogs and word of mouth. This support has given us the opportunity to create from the heart a bountiful of PRIZES you could win in The Pink Artist Drawing August 1-October 15, 2008 going on right NOW. Over the course of just a few months our "call for art" grew to include well over 182 men and women, a phenomenal number that makes up The Pink Artist Project & friends who have joined our forces. To see more than 400 squares created by the pink artists personally, please stop by these posts for that joyful experience: The Pink Artist parade of squares (most artists have blog links next to their square, please come and meet our artists). Happy Browsing!

Joining our squares together we have created a 40" art doll we lovingly named, Love Squared to HELP RAISE AWARENESS & FUNDS FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH. Let us introduce you to the lady of the hour, The Pink Artist Doll, ~Love Squared is a symbol of hope, she stands for courage and displays that spirit of connectedness to end breast cancer for good~

To see all of our BEAUTIFUL doll photos,
please click on the links below:

The Pink Artist Doll: THE REVEAL

Interested in seeing the making of our doll?

Please visit these posts here:

The Pink Artist Doll Project, page ONE

The Pink Artist Project, page TWO

YOU can win our doll & a number of beautiful ART prizes donated by our PINK friends by helping us to raise funds for breast cancer research!

In the completion of our doll, we have further grown our circle of FIGHTERS to include Art Doll Quarterly & Artful Blogger (both on sale now at your local bookstore). In the Autumn issue of the 2008 art doll magazine, you can learn more about the stories behind our squares and LEARN just who we are as pink artists. Please have a look and let's celebrate seeing our project & doll in PRINT everybody, YAY!!!! THANK YOU to the staff at Art Doll Quarterly and AB both for their extremely generous support! We love you!

(pages 50, 51, 52, 53)

YOU can buy your issue here if you haven't already ran to the store for purchase:
And READ what Artful Blogging wrote about the BLOGGERS who took action:

(Autumn 2008, Letter from the editor)

"We have made a promise to end breast cancer forever – energizing science to find the cures is a critical part of this promise." -from Susan G. Komen website

As a project that grew from the questions, "what if?" and "What can I do?" we artists have taken on the plight to HELP a much BIGGER team of fighters here, those HARD WORKING souls at Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The Pink Artist's ART has given us a voice, a place to share the names and lives of our loved ones stricken by breast cancer, and lets the world know we mean business! Breast cancer has taken the lives of many women we call moms, sisters, aunts, cousins, friends, coworkers, and also the men in our lives ... so let's HELP stop this cancer DEAD in its tracks, WE CAN DO SOMETHING! YOU CAN JOIN US! Let's rally together as the pink artists & friends offer up our handmade art to raise donations for Susan G. Komen and the fight against breast cancer!

To enter our art drawing:

All you have to do for a chance to take home any one of the magnificent prizes is make a donation between August 1-October 15, 2008 and for every $10 donation you send in your name will go into our art drawing TWICE.

Join the fun!
Make your money order donation out to Susan G. Komen for the cure

and mail it to Monica Magness PO Box 2206 Madison, AL 35758 where your name will be entered into our art drawing and your donation will be collected & sent in directly to our charity on October 15, 2008

or

PAYPAL your donation to MLMagness@aol.com

with "The Pink Artist Drawing" in the subject header (or see our Paypal donation button at top left of blog). Your name will go into our drawing and your "gift" will be forwarded to Susan G. Komen for the cure. (Sorry no personal checks, CASH sent at your own risk)

Please make sure your name and address are legible,

typed is best for accuracy. Your name & information

will not be sold or shared with any other party.

Thank you for your help in raising those funds for

-breast cancer research & the CURE.

Donations will be accepted up until October 15, 2008

which is the OFFICIAL day of the drawing.

Winners names will be announced on my blog on the evening of October 15th.

The month of October is as you know Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Together let's make this a fun & rewarding way to HELP BIG.

Artists such as Michelle Ward, Alma Stoller, Tim Holtz, Donna O'Brien, Cheryl Strait, Donna Engstrom, Patti Culea to name just a few, and Stampington & Company have teamed up with us to become pink artists, or have HELPED to offer art up, and/or have gotten the word out for us in flyers, newsletters & Postscript. Won't you join us?

Let's watch the DONATIONS grooooow as our fundraiser will be totaled weekly and shown in the upper left corner of my blog for ALL of us to see.

EDITED 8/2: Please take a moment to ENJOY LIFE TODAY! Do something special just for you & your loved ones! Below are photos of a candle vigil my family held last night at 6 pm to honor our loved one who passed from Pancreatic Cancer, Carlos Vallejo, the man who instilled in me THE POWER THAT ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE... from my sister and her family in Arizona, to my parents in Texas, to my brothers family in Pennsylvania, to my own family here in Alabama, we sent off heal-ium balloons, tucking in a note and letting it flyyyyy... fly away...up to the heavens... to spread our LOVE to my uncle who left this earth TOO SOON... and also held a prayer vigil in his honor.

Uncle, THANK YOU for guiding this project to its beginning and its end. I love you.

(my beautiful mom in TX)

(my awesome nieces & nephews in AZ)

I love you pink artists! You made my dreams come TRUE.

So, in the name of ART & FUN... let's RALLY TOGETHER bosom to bosom and HAVE OURSELVES A CELEBRATION!! we worked really hard for this moment and it's finally here!

xo, Monica