I Own a Gorilla and a Mirror

Well, actually, no one should 'own' a gorilla, but my little donation went in with the $500 raised in the Altered Art Obsession and the Artists of Chubbyville raffle to allow us to adopt Umushikirano, better known as Rano, a 14 year-old silverback from Beetsme's group, one of the main groups of mountain gorillas monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.

And on top of that, I won a wonderful sea mirror with lots of beach glass made and donated by Jeanette Coates. There were lots of great pieces of art up for grabs, and other great artists who donated cash and/or supported the auction on their blog. All for Rano. Thanks especially to Rita Bellanca for coordinating everything and mailing all the prizes out and covering the shipping so that 100% of our funds could be donated. Besides sponsoring Rano, a significant donation was made to Wildlife Direct, founded by Dr. Richard Leakey.

Rano was born in 1992 to Fuddle and has two sisters (Mawingu, 25, Taraja, 7) and two brothers (Bilbo, 28, and Joliami, 19). Both brothers are also lone silverbacks whose current location remains unknown. Rano can be recognized very easily by his nose which has a distinctive cut. His kindness and easygoing demeanor allow trackers to get good photos of him because he seems to always be ready for a photo opportunity.

Rano is now what is known as a lone silverback, in that he has moved away from his natal group. He has been making attempts to form his own group since then. He managed to garner two females to join him for a short period of time but soon lost them to another group that ranges into the Congo border.

DFGFI lost contact with him between 9/06 thru 4/07 but he's back.Rano continues to be monitored and allows a great opportunity for the DFGFI staff to learn more about the fascinating lives of mountain gorillas. Fascinating work that would be!

Ga Ga for Octopi. Blog Explains it All.

So much is going on; I wish I were an octopus. Or a General. As in "yes, ma'am" and "right now, sir, ma'am." That would mean I would have little helpers, like art elves, to help me get everything done for the shows, swaps and contests going on right now (not to mention holiday gifts!) Gifts? I thought it was still late summer, or at least early fall. And now I have to contend with all my clocks "falling back" tonight, thanks to Daylight Savings Time.
This is nothing new to most of you, but here in Indiana we are only about one year into this new plan which we haven't had since 1972. And back then, all I cared about was boys, or maybe Barbie dolls. But I think it was boys.
So, not only do I have to remember to change all my clocks, I have to figure out what time it really is (okay, so I've already butchered three pop songs in three paragraphs - if anyone can figure out what they are and send a comment, I'll send you an art goodie). The reason I have to figure out the time is that of our 33 clocks, watches, cell phones and computers, we've got a spread variation of 17 minutes and about that many different times going at the moment. But enough about that.
Here's a little sneak peek of a garland I am making for Heather http://www.xanga.com/brezomayo in the Ga Ga for Garlands swap. I think I like it so much, I need to make myself one. I also have a groovy swap with Dale at Sea Dream Studio http://dalemclain.blogspot.com/, and an ATC swap with Debra L. in TN. My ATC shown from my Zettiology group, "Believe in Art," is the one I am sending her.
Not sure if I am supposed to blog about this yet, but no one said it was a no-no, so here goes: some of my artwork was chosen by ARTchix Studio http://www.artchixstudio.com/ to appear on the pet faux postage sheet that will be sold in the studio to art lovers all over the world! This is really my first hard copy publication, so I am very honored and excited. ARTchix truly does reach all over the world as it is based in Canada, and the Yahoo! ARTchix group I am in has members from Great Britain and Spain to name a couple spots. Here's a sneak peek at one of my five submissions. I don't know what was chosen. This is one I doodled.
Another one shows sweet Larry, who is a little sick and is at the vet this weekend. He's only 3 and so loveable and is having a lot of urinary and digestive tract problems. But Dr. Carla Carlton says he should be as good as new soon. I went to visit today. He does not like the barking dogs there and burrows under his blanket. I wanted to steal him away home, but I know he needs fixed up. Lester is missing him. Lester was on a pet faux postage stamp submission also.
I also am finishing submissions for Somerset Studio and the Faerie Zine, so where are those art elves for packing and shipping? Next up are four ornaments for the Pink Ornament Swap, and I am starting with bottle brush trees for my base. Shown here is the most adorable ornament ever, and she is headed straight for my house (along with five hot pink-headed sisters) for my white tree. Sadie Lou Hartmann makes the greatest stuff! You can find her on Etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=94357 or here http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftilyeverafter/, but you can't have my Betsy!
My other upcoming projects are a cottage swap wherein I will make, paint, decorate a tiny little whimsical holiday house, and a snowman ornament swap. I'd like to get more stuff done and off to ebay to support all my viscious art habits (more on new ones later), but the elves and the octopi haven't shown up yet.
Don't forget to read the post below to help my Chubbyville group save the gorillas. Please.

Take a Chance on Art; Help Save the Gorillas

Altered Artists Online and one of my online art groups, Chubbyville (fat books, not fat people!), are hosting a giant charity raffle this month! Raffle tickets are on sale now. The drawing will be held at the end of November.

Go here: http://aaocharities.blogspot.com/ to check out the incredible art prizes. More will likely be added before the end of the auction, so check back frequently! Raffle tickets are only $2 each. Best of all, its all for a good cause!

The chosen charities are the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) and WildlifeDirect, both of whom are working tirelessly to save Gorillas. DFGFI is dedicated to the conservation and protection of gorillas and their habitats in Africa. See: http://www.gorillafund.org/

WildlifeDirect was founded and is chaired by paleontologist and African conservationist Dr Richard Leakey, who is credited with putting an end to the elephant slaughter in Kenya in the 1980s. Go here: http://www.wildlifedirect.org/blogAdmin/gorilla/. Both the DFGFI and WildlifeDirect are responding to the immediate crisis in the Congo, where at least 9 mountain gorillas have been killed this year.

PLEASE HELP SAVE THE GORILLAS. HOW TO DONATE: Entries for the raffle will be accepted until NOVEMBER 24TH 2007. All donations are accepted via Paypalby one of my fellow group members Rita B. Please use discodog01@hotmail.com as the recipient email address.