Art the Spiffy Spider Giveaway on Facebook

Come on over to Facebook and "Like" Kathryn Calvert - Art the Spiffy Spider and then "Share" the page with your friends.  When we get to 40 "Likes" one lucky fan will receive a copy of the book.  Good luck!

Hanging out with Art...

I had a lovely time today at the Lane End Primary School Summer Fair, Cheadle Hulme, UK.  It was great to see so many eager readers and to talk with people about the book.  

Who is the Bart in your life?

I’ll share a little secret with you – as long as you promise not to tell the children.  Okay? Good.  Here it goes … In Art the Spiffy Spider, Art realizes his dream of finding a friend.  There, the beans are spilled.

After Art leaves his rather pleasant home and garden, his world becomes sadder, darker, and more and more lonely.  All he wants is a friend who will like him for who he is – a really nice guy.  That’s not too much to ask for, is it?  To be liked is something everyone wants in life.  Surely, no one wants to be shunned or ostracized for being who they are, no matter how different they are from “the norm”. 

Art ends up in a dreary, rundown place. A derelict shed, surrounded by garbage and broken dreams.  Yet he settles down to sleep, tired and rather hopeless, but willing to make the best out of an unfortunate situation. 

Cheery, optimistic Bart

So imagine his surprise when he wakes up and finds another spider greeting him with the rising sun. Yes, this is where Bart joins the story.  The expression on Bart’s face during that unexpected meeting pretty much sums him up.  He’s simply one cheery, optimistic spider.  Exactly what Art needs.

Just by looking at Bart, it is obvious that he’s been living rough for some time.  His coat is torn and patched up.  His hat is broken and shabby, yet he wears it with pride.  Perhaps he used to be a spiffy spider just like Art.  And maybe, just maybe, he left his home once upon a time to find a friend himself.

Still, in this rather dark and desolate place, Bart has clung onto something for a very long time. Hope. And that hope shines and shimmers in his stunning silver platter, which most likely came with him from wherever it was he used to call home. 

He’s kept it perfectly polished, ready to use for whenever a potential friend should finally show up.  Or maybe he’s kept it pristine so he could just see his hopeful face in its reflection, and maybe so he wouldn’t feel so alone.

By now Art is quite frustrated about his insect diet and the happiness this has cost him.  He doesn’t really want to join Bart for breakfast, but Bart isn’t having any of his self-pity.  His jovial attitude convinces Art that they are what they are – spiders.  And that’s okay. 

Their friendship soon blossoms and no doubt, they will be friends for life.  Bart has shown Art what happiness is like, when you are true to yourself and not pressured into being something you’re not. 

I hope young children will grasp this story, this theme, and hold it close to their hearts.  Their journey is just beginning and as parents, we need to encourage them to become their own person, and not give in to the pressure (and sometimes even the bullying) that surrounds them. 

Indeed, we all need someone like Bart in our lives whether we are 4-years old or 84.  And there’s nothing too shabby about that. 

Special offer for UK readers

For a limited time you can purchase the Kindle version of Art the Spiffy Spider at a super low price of only 99p at Amazon.co.uk. Check it out here.

The Artistry in Art

Wow.  Art the Spiffy Spider has been available for sale for a month now.  And during these four weeks, I’ve had several people ask, ”Why did you name the spider Art?”  The answer is simple:  Spiders are artists.  

A spider’s web is a mystifying piece of artwork.  It appears delicate and is finely crafted, but it is also incredibly strong and vital to some spiders’ survival.  In fact, did you know a spider’s silk is the strongest naturally made fabric?

Spider webs are simply stunning – a fine weave of silk that goes around and around.  Add an extra touch of a morning’s dew, or in late Autumn, a frigid frost, and presto! What you end up with is nature in its most beautiful form.    

Spiders have three glands at the back of their body with tubes called spinnerets. There are about eight different types of known glands, but no spider will have all eight of them. All of the spinnerets produce silk, but the type of silk they produce differs from one another and is used for specific purposes. Some silk is sticky to trap insects, while some isn’t, allowing the spider to move freely along its web, for example.

When a spider presses its spinnerets against an object, such as a tree branch, this forces liquid silk to flow from the spider.  Once it meets the air, it hardens into a silky, yet incredibly strong and elastic thread. 

Starting off a web is a game of chance.  The spider will project a strand of silk into the wind.  All it needs is a surface to catch onto and then the artistry can begin. Once that first thread is established, the spider will crawl along it, back and forth several times, strengthening the strand.  After all, this will be the web’s main support beam. 

Next, the spider will create a Y-shaped frame before adding more radicals to the web.  Think of these as the spokes on a bicycle wheel. They will be placed closely together so that the spider doesn’t have large gaps to walk over. 

Once the radicals are completed, the spider will focus on strengthening the center of the web, creating about five circles of support.  To avoid becoming trapped in its own web while it is under construction, the spider then creates a series of non-sticky circles for it to use.  These are its guidelines.

When the web is complete with non-sticky strands, the spider will retrace its steps, depositing sticky web behind in its place. Apart from the radical threads, the round non-sticky strands will be discarded as they aren’t needed anymore.  Now the spider has a roundish web to trap its food and non-sticky radical strands to reach it without any problems.  Even more so, the end result is a piece of art that should not go unnoticed – regardless of how squeamish you are when it comes to spiders!

In Art the Spiffy Spider, Art’s lifestyle – his appetite for insects – costs him the chance of having any good friends.  The insects that live alongside him are terrified of being tricked by Art’s web and becoming his next meal.  Yet I chose not to focus too much on his web, but instead on how Art’s isolation affects him. 

I could have had the book illustrated in a very simple cartoon style, but I wanted the artistry of a spider – and nature itself - to carry over into the world of human art.  This is why the book features full color pages of artwork, splashed with vivid flowers and different saturations of light.  This is also why the landscape changes as Art becomes more withdrawn and lonely, and why it comes to life again when his journey is successfully completed. 

It is simply art telling a story where sometimes words simply cannot be found. And just like spiders – big and small – I think that’s also pretty amazing!

Art the Spiffy Spider at a very special price

Grab the Kindle version of Art the Spiffy Spider at a super low price!  For the next few days, the book is participating in Amazon's Countdown Deals, starting at only $0.99.  But hurry as the price will gradually rise to its regular price of $4.13.  Perfect for taking with you on vacation - take your books without all the extra weight!  Offer ends May 31st.  Stay tuned for a special UK offer later this week.

Buy your copy here.

Art the Spiffy Spider is now available in print via Amazon

Kudos to Amazon who now have Art the Spiffy Spider live on their site much sooner than expected!

It can be purchased at www.amazon.co.uk and www.amazon.com