Category Archives: Art
The Saddest Picture in the World
When I was a little emo kid, I would stare at this picture every time I went to my grandparents’ house.
“The Lost Playmate” by Gustave Henry Mosler
This framed 1902 print of Gustave Henry Mosler‘s painting “The Lost Playmate” originally belonged to my great aunt Vera, a kind and hunchbacked old woman I can barely remember.
Upon her passing, my grandfather acquired this piece of Victorian art and it became a central piece in his collection of old dog prints and figurines.
My grandfather has been gone about a dozen years now, but most of his collection still decorates the house he shared with my grandmother.
“The Lost Playmate” will always be my favorite, but come back tomorrow, and I’ll show you more of his beautiful collection of dogtiques.
Who is Our Secret Admirer?
Somebody out there sure loves me.
Yesterday, I received an email from Yellow Brick Home, informing me that I have been “anonymously gifted a custom mini, modern portrait” of Scooby the elderpin.
I’m so excited I could almost cry!
If you’ve never seen the awesome pet portraits that Yellow Brick Home offers through its tiny division called The Pet Shop, go check ‘em out now. You might even recognize some familiar fuzzy faces from the blogosphere in the pet gallery!
Meanwhile, I’m now furiously sifting through pictures of the elderpin that I can send to Yellow Brick Home for inspiration as they turn him into a piece of fine art!
To whoever is responsible for this beautiful opportunity:
Thanks with all my heart - and Scooby’s, too!
Are you our secret admirer? Do you have a portrait of your pet?
Frida Kahlo: A Wayward Woman and Her Little Dog
In 1938, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo painted herself and one of her dogs.
A reproduction of that painting – “Itzcuintli Dog With Me” – hangs on the wall of my house.
It’s a souvenir from our vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, exactly two years ago.
Our strolls around the city were full of Frida imagery.
We even ate at a restaurant El Repollo Rojo (The Red Cabbage) that served foods Frida Kahlo used to make for guests at her own extravagant parties.
El Repollo Rojo is decorated with images of Frida Kahlo and her art.
Frida Kahlo has always been a favorite artist of mine.
I will never forget hearing her story for the first time, on movie day in my high school Spanish class. The students around me were all screwing off, but I could not tear my eyes from the screen and the tale of an extraordinary and rather wayward woman who lived, loved and worked passionately, for herself and for her people.
During her life, Frida Kahlo’s heart and her body were both broken, but her spirit never was.
Along with food, high art and fellow artist Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo loved animals.
AnOther magazine has a great slideshow of Frida with her many pets, including xoloitzcuintli dogs like the one in the picture I own.
This is not a Chihuahua
Itzcuintli is the Aztec word for day, and its sign is the dog.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
In ancient Mesoamerica, dogs were sometimes buried with humans, presumably to help guide the souls on their journey.
Frida Kahlo’s typically dark work often includes ancient symbolism. She suffered most of her life from compromised health, so it makes sense to me on many levels that this Mexican breed would appear in her self-portrait.
Modern xoloitzcuintli dogs are sometimes used as therapy dogs for people with chronic pain.
I wonder if they helped Frida.
Are you a fan of Frida Kahlo? Who is your favorite artist?
If you don’t know much about Frida, I urge you to watch the 2002 movie about her starring Salma Hayek.
For more about Frida Kahlo, check out related posts by InkPaperPen and Dear Kitty.Dogtiques
All the women in my family love garage sales.
Vintage print of Victorian woman with dog.
When I was growing up, my grandma operated an antique shop. That meant she had to hit the sales every summer weekend to keep her inventory fresh.
My mother and I often joined her.
By midday on a Saturday, we’d have a car full of new-old furniture, pretty dishes, vintage clothes and accessories. And a lot of knickknacks and other small trinkets.
As you can imagine, even as a kid my eyes were naturally drawn to anything doggy.
Vintage brass tie clip with dog and pheasant.
My grandmother taught me to judge items based on their overall condition, the material from which they were constructed (solid wood, ceramic and stone beat out plastic any day) and where they were made.
Sometimes I ignored all that advice and bought things I just thought were cute.
My grandma still sells antiques, from a booth at fairs and festivals around the Midwest. My mother is a curiosity dealer now, too, with her own permanent booth at an antique market in the Kansas City area.
My dad’s sweetheart is also in the business. She has a popular craft and antique shop called Rosie’s in my hometown of Beatrice, Nebraska.
Although I don’t have a lot of time to personally shop thrift stores, estate sales, auctions and garage sales, I love to pick through Rosie’s treasures and examine my mom’s latest finds.
Have you ever heard of Portrait-brand dog food?
I’ve instructed all the antique mavens I know to be on the lookout for dogtiques – canine-related relics and conversation pieces – that I can share with you.
Maybe they’ll find something you’ll want to buy!
Do like antiques? Do you have any dogtiques?
If you’d like to learn more about any of the dogtiques shown on this page, let me know!
Fashion-a-Bull Fall Fun
Are you feeling Fashion-a-Bull?
“I am a writer. I am a pit bull supporter. I am the majority.” Photo by Emily Hawkins.
Charlie Machete felt very fashion-a-bull yesterday when he donned a Thundershirt + bandana for the Coast to Coast Bully Walk with KC Pittie Pack. We’ll call it his Preppy Guy Halloween Costume.
KC Pittie Pack had a bigger turnout – and more bully breed dogs – than usual for our special Pit Bull Awareness Day Walk.
Emily from Our Waldo Bungie and her husband Daniel wisely left their dogs at home so that they could document the event and get photos of everyone holding up the signs inspired by Animal Farm Foundation’s “I Am the Majority” campaign.
You can check out more photos at the KC Pittie Pack pages on Facebook and Meetup.
If you’ve been following my posts all week, you also know that today is another big day for me in the way of bully breed awareness efforts and fashion.
I am so excited about everything Katty Delux, the Madewell gals and I have in store (pun intended) for this fabulous autumn event!
Fashion-a-Bull shoppers will be greeted at the door by some friendly doggies, including one wearing a Tiennot Knits Sweater, and some four-legged Chiefs fans who are coming over from Kennel Creek Pet Resort.
The first 20 shoppers will receive a free treat bag full of gifts and notes from our event sponsors.
The raffle prize list includes gift certificates from Tiennot Knits, Kennel Creek and many other awesome donors. And the list of goodies you can win just keeps getting better!
Katty scored a donation from Umba Box, and I picked up these gorgeous, handmade magnets from the Magnet Lady Kathleen Henn last night.
Wouldn’t these look great on your fridge?
So far, we are about $150 toward our goal of raising $500 for the care of the dogs of Midwest Adopt-a-Bull.
If you are in the Kansas City area, please consider stopping by the Madewell shop at Town Center Plaza in Leawood. Our party is happening from 4-6 p.m.
Raffle tickets are $5, and winners need not be present to claim their prize.
Those who don’t take home a raffle prize can win as shoppers. Madewell has several sales going on right now, plus a special discount for our party. Everyone who attends will be entered in a drawing for a Madewell gift card and get to enjoy complimentary refreshments.
For more information, check out the Facebook event page.
For more prize pictures check out the Fashion-a-Bull Fall at Madewell photo album on Wayward Dogs’ Facebook page.
If you entered the Retro Vixen giveaway and are wondering if you won, check out this post at Katty’s blog Chronicles of a Sweet Tooth.
Show “Pittieful Love” by Fighting BSL
As most readers know by now, I’m a huge fan of Magnet Lady Kathleen Henn‘s original doggy art.
After learning about the premature loss of Knox, beloved dog and a dog star of the Baltimore-based blog Pittieful Love, I knew I wanted to help them commemorate his life with a custom magnet.
Although the Magnet Lady finished the project in short order, it took a while for me to get the gift in the mail. It was received around the same time that the Maryland Court of Appeals dealt a blow to all dogs like Knox — pit bulls and pit bull type dogs — by deeming them ”dangerous.”
This is another in a frustratingly long list of cities and states adopting Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) that hurts pit bulls (and often other dogs like rottweilers) by making it unlawful or legally difficult to adopt or own them.
For more information about why BSL doesn’t work, check out this post by Peace, Love & Fostering.
For more perspectives on the situation in Maryland, check out pit bull lovin’ blog Running with Squirrels and, of course, Pittieful Love.
If you live in Maryland or know people who do, urge them to join the fight against Court of Appeals’ anti-pit bull ruling.
Magnet Monday: Meet Miles
Nearly every Monday, I work in a mention here about Magnet Lady Kathleen Henn, who can turn a snapshot of your pet into a clever, artistic magnet.
Like anyone else, Kathleen’s favorite dog is her own. Miles is a very short, very sweet rescue pup who loves to make new friends at the dog park every week.
Even-tempered Miles brings a smile to Kathleen’s face every day. He makes visitors feel at home, treats Kathleen’s cats and elderly dachshund Trudy with respect. Most importantly, he supports Kathleen’s artistic endeavors because he never gets tired of posing for the camera.
What does your dog do for you?
To order your own custom magnet, e-mail kathleenhenn@yahoo.com.
Dog people are the best people
A few months ago, a reader tipped me off to another blogger who hails from Nebraska and is now based in Kansas City.
The website name Our Waldo Bungie let me know instantly this blogger lives in my very neighborhood.
Reading on, I learned more:
- She has a garden.
- She is a first-time homeowner.
- She still owns the first dog of her adulthood — a very tiny one.
- She and her husband are engrossed by the TV series Breaking Bad.
Emily and I began lurking around each other’s sites.
The commonalities didn’t stop.
She casually mentioned that Gael Garcia Bernal — one of my favorite actors — is one of her favorite actors. She blogged about a trip to Portland not long before Zach and I took our first trip to Portland. She announced that her foster dog was adopted — and then the dog was returned. We got excited that Charlie Machete was adopted — and then he was returned.
I needed to meet this girl.
So, Emily and I agreed to take a walk together on the Trolley Track Trail. We trodded and talked non-stop for two hours, and a friendship was born.
Through the past few months, we have shared a lot of laughs, links and tips on blogging, life and dog management. Emily offers words of encouragement (and sometimes very helpful supplies) on the days when dog fostering (or whatever) stresses me out. She celebrates the good days with me and, in spite of being a busy graduate student with a husband and her own host of responsibilities, almost always find time to leave a comment on my posts.
I feel so lucky that my reader, my dogs and my blog all helped me connect with this wonderful person.
Turns out, Emily’s and my birthdays are just two days apart. (Coincidence or fate?)
So, I had Magnet Lady Kathleen Henn make the two magnets on this page for Emily. That’s Ginger Rogers, her first foster dog, at the top, and her forever dog Turk below.
I gave them to Emily yesterday, after our walk through Unity Village with KC Pittie Pack and Friends, the dog socialization group we recently founded together.
You can order a custom magnet for yourself or a friend, too. Just e-mail kathleenhenn@yahoo.com.
If you haven’t already, please check out Emily’s blog.
Also, check out WOOF! Tails from St. Simons. That’s the blog kept by Miranda, the reader (and high school friend), who told me about Emily.
Has your love of dogs ever led you to someone amazing?
A bewitching gaze for Magnet Monday
It didn’t take me long to choose an appropriate phrase for Magnet Lady Kathleen Henn to incorporate into her artistic treatment of Minnie.
Ever since we met this husky mix covered in mud and cowering on the Trolley Track Trail, a certain iconic Screamin’ Jay Hawkins tune has been stuck in my head.
If you would like a custom magnet of your favorite pet, e-mail kathleenhenn@yahoo.com.
From small dog playgroup to a pack of pitties
- Jessica and her sister Amy.
My friend Jessica and I met through our min pins.
Several years ago, we both replied to a Craigslist ad from a gal who wanted help socializing her new Chihuahua (a rough-looking fellow who had been living the wayward life under a dumpster).
Jessica and I both made it to the second small dog playgroup gathering — she with two red miniature pinschers named Nic and Andy, and I with my black-and-tan elderpin Scooby. Jessica and I have been friends ever since, dog sitting for one another and trading perspectives on animals, men, good food, cheap living and what to do when you find a wayward dog on the way to work.
Jessica is the first person I ever met who fostered dogs. She is a proud mama to a beautiful baby boy now, but she still has a pack of furbabies.
The newest canine addition to Jessica’s household is Julie, a gray pit bull she and her husband rescued from a local shelter. Julie is petite, athletic, a little bit shy and fantastic with the baby. She was a well-behaved and well-dressed addition last Saturday to KC Pittie Pack and Friends, the new way Jessica and I have to help socialize our pets.
After a hike with the KC Pittie Pack through the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, I gave Jessica a belated Christmas present:
Of course, the gift was a hand-painted piece of doggy art by Magnet Lady Kathleen Henn. Jessica’s sister Amy took the photo of Julie.
To order a magnet featuring your pet, e-mail kathleenhenn@yahoo.com.
To be part of KC Pittie Pack and Friends, “like” the community page on Facebook or e-mail kcpittiepack@gmail.com. Our next excursion will be a walk around Loose Park in Kansas City, Missouri.
