Yellow Dog + Swirly Sky Finds a new home...

A bit behind on my blog posts these days, well a bit behind on everything, I guess. Adjusting to new realities which I will address next week. This is a happy new collector with her friend, from the Broadripple Art Fair in Indianapolis last month. I tried out a new booth configuration there...really only moving a wall a few feet, but it completely changes the space that I occupy in the booth, the key here being that I am visibly 'in' the booth not sitting behind the wall.I like it and am looking forward to trying it again at this weekend's Wells Street Art Festival here in Chicago, from 10am-dusk Saturday & Sunday:

 

Wishing you all a beautiful and joyful weekend!

Bike the Drive...2010

At 6am Sunday morning (before we even knew what the next 48 hours with Izzy would bring) we did Bike the Drive for the 3rd? time...but a first with the tandem and a bike that had more than one speed so I feel like we cheated a little. ; ) Round trip from our home and back with google maps: 40 miles. The most entertaining part of the morning was meeting the couple above (Jacob and Kate?) on another Schwinn Twinn...their's fully authentic complete with the originals seats and fenders...and much prettier, but they coveted our basket and Rich's custom rear light job. I was especially impressed when I found out he had just purchased it the day before, she told him the the only way she would do the ride was if he had a tandem, enter Craigslist voila...! 
 

Saying goodbye to my sweet muse...

After almost 15 years with us, on Monday, we said goodbye to Izzy. It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but in the end it was a more peaceful parting than I could have imagined. Things have been going downhill very gradually over the last 2 years, Rich and I did as much as we could to keep Izzy comfortable. Early on we tried acupuncture and chiropractic kinesiology to help with her arthritis. We gave her 9 pills a day, 7 dispensed with peanut butter in a special method perfected by Rich. He cooked weekly in the crock pot for the girls over the last year, and we started using sign language with her as she lost her hearing. We often carried her down and sometimes up the stairs, took very slow labored walks which she still loved, especially to smell the earth and nature (Rich wrote a song about her years ago called "The Sniffer"). There was endless discussion between us about the consistency of her #2...which on a good day was something we termed 'turdular' and if she ate or what she ate. Through it all she taught us patience and compassion and made us better human beings. Since the day we adopted her in November of 1995 (from a vet office on North Avenue where she had been abandoned) she has brought more love to our lives and inspiration to my art work than I could have ever dreamed of.

I'm so grateful to Rich for helping to take such great care of her and to Alice for always being our comic relief. And other folks helped us through these senior years: Ben King from Urban Tailz, who took such gentle care of Izzy and Alice whenever we had to go out of town, Kelly Krueger of Articulate Animals...who was able to communicate Izzy's needs to me from pain med adjustments to letting me know that she was ready to leave her tired old body behind, our vet Dr. Gaspar who respected our wishes to just keep Izzy comfortable and worked with us on pain control, and in the end Dr. Amir Shanan, a hospice vet, who came to our home at 10 in the evening on Memorial Day and so compassionately helped us say goodbye. I was going to close with 'Rest in peace, Pumpkin...' but prefer to imagine her sailing through the air to catch frisbees in that big dog park in the sky...

Poem I wrote in 1999 written around the painting above:

"My Dog's name is Izzy and she's really neat, she chases frisbee and walks on four feet.
She chases squirrels, she chases cats, she even lives with two, how about that?
She loves me no matter what my mood, but she loves me most when I have food. "
She is the color of cinnamon and pumpkin pie...
I'm happy she's my dog and those are the reasons why! I love her so..."

Mutt Lynch Wine Label Contest...Vote #61

"Mixed Breeds", ©Anne Leuck Feldhaus

The Dog Art Today 2010 Mutt Lynch Winery Label Contest is underway and voting ends tomorrow, Tuesday, May 25th. I would love to have your vote for "Mixed Breeds" #61, the label is for a new red wine called "Muttitage". Be sure to scroll down and check out all 77 entries...and vote for your favorite!

The winning entry will be made
into a label for Mutt Lynch Winery's limited edition wine (only 500
bottles) that will
debut at the winery's Dog Days of Summer event on August 14, 2010.  This
annual event includes wine tasting,
dog themed art, and vendor booths to benefit the San Francisco SPCA.

R.V. Dog & Art Lovers Night = Big Fun!

We didn't know what to expect for our first ever RVDALN, but it turned out to be a very fun night...lots of people came, several with their 4 legged friends and we collected quite a 'bounty' of supplies for the Chicago Canine Rescue Shelter. Our adorable Guest of Honor, Norton a 5 month old Bassett Hound mix, was not able to stay the whole evening but he made many friends while he was here and I'm confident he will be adopted very soon!Norton: Follow the link for adoption info.
All the generous supply donations that came in from attendees for the Chicago Canine Rescue Shelter.
  We also had complimentary human treats and a visit from the Pepperoni King! This man needs a crown! Vail...that doggy in the window. 

A darling young lady doing her doggy impression.Saying goodnight to Norton and Rachel, one of the wonderful volunteers from Chicago Canine Rescue.

Anne's Art in Indy...

I'm off to Indianapolis in the morning to set up for the 40th Annual Broad Ripple Art Fair at the Indianapolis Art Center. If you live in the area I hope you'll come and see me in Booth #205. It's going to be a fantastic show with more than 225 artists and great weather is predicted!

Snicker gets his wings...

 

My dog sculpture of Snicker is complete...came out pretty well with the exception of a hairline crack across the base...oh the joys of working with clay! Luckily there are some great epoxy products out there that may save the day if it decides to split. This piece is about 23" long and 13" high. Follow the link for the story behind this piece.

Save the Date....RV Dog & Art Lovers Night!

Mark your calendars for the first ever Roscoe Village Dog & ArtLovers Night!

• When:      Friday, May 21st

• Where:     Anne's Studio & Gallery: 2040 West Roscoe in Chicago

• What:      Bring your friends human andCANINE to join us for Art, Wine and Treats as Anne shares her newestspring paintings and welcomes a Special Adoptable Guest from ChicagoCanine Rescue. We will also be collecting *items for their Roscoe VillageShelter.

• What Else: Bring an*item for the shelter and receive a 20% Savings Certificateoff any original painting! *Items needed: Garbage bags, PaperTowels & Detergent