Dog Art Today

Tag: vegan

  • Beasts of Burden and Compassion Arts Festival NYC

     

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    Sacrifice by Jane O'Hara, 2005

     

    New York friends, I wanted to remind you that "Beasts of Burden: Our Complex Relationship with Animals" will be on view October 20 – 22 in NYC. 

    The exhibition is part of the Compassion Arts Festival, a weekend of song, artistry, discussion, film, and performances reflecting our multifaceted relationships with the earth and the animals we share it with.

    There are two "Beast of Burden" events, the art show and a multimedia performance by curator, artist, and activist, Jane O'Hara.

    If there's one piece that exemplifies the show for me, its Jane's Sacrifice (above), a 5-foot tall screen that depicts nine animals wearing vestments of the companies that killed them. It's inspired by iconic paintings of Christian martyrs and the notion that millions of animals sacrifice their lives to powerful forces everyday in similarly barbaric ways.

    I think it will be moving to see this piece in person.

    Also, I'm proud to have my work, Twelve dox-ZENs, included.

     

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    Twelve dox-ZENs by Moira McLaughlin, 2014

    I produced this work in the in the wake of the death of my beloved longhaired Dachshund named Darby. For months, I was crippled by grief and creative paralysis. 

    Finally, I decided to paint dozens of sumi-e ink Darbys on the pages of a deconstructed book, Buddhism and Zen by Nyogen Senzaki and Ruth Strout McCandless. The series is a meditation on the Buddhist concept that the mind is an endless cycle of three processes: craving, acting, and discontentment.  

     

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    dox-ZEN XII

     

    Exhibition: "Beasts of Burden: Our Complex Relationship with Animals"

    TUF Gallery/O’Hara Projects
    208 East 73 St.
    New York, NY 10021

    Opening Reception and Book Signing: Friday, Oct 20, 2017, 5 – 8 pm (vegan friendly & free to the public)

    Gallery Hours: Saturday, Oct. 21 and Saturday, Oct. 22, 11 am – 6pm

    Performance: "Reflections on Beasts of Burden by Jane O'Hara"

    Saturday, October 21, 7:30pm

    Symphony Space/Leonard Nimoy Theatre
    2537 Broadway
    New York, NY10025

    Tickets for Jane's multimedia presentation are $20 in advance and $25 day of show available here.

    Visit Beasts of Burden for more information about this exhibition and performance.

    For information about all the animal-centric events happening this weekend visit Compassion Arts Festival.

    P.S. Sadly I won't be able to attend. If you have a chance to take photos, I would love to see them. Tag me on Instagram and Twitter.

    Thank you so much.  Enjoy!

     

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  • The Pooch Clutch by Colleen Rudolf

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    The Pooch Clutch by Colleen Rudolf available at Etsy

    The Pooch Clutch by Philadelphia artist Colleen Rudolf is a locally-sourced, eco-conscious, handcrafted, animal-free, made-in-America dream accessory.  It is a work of art as evening bag that inspires on every level. 

    First, the drawings: each sketch is a shelter dog from the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  Colleen volunteered at the PSPCA while she was a graduate student at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.   After photographing and writing bios for hundreds of dogs for Petfinder, she decided that if she sketched and then painted portraits of the dogs, she could honor them more fully and help facilitate long-term placement.   She hoped that if she saw them as valuable enough to paint, others might pay attention them.

    After graduation in 2008, her interest in dogs and art evolved, and she began creating objects with her portraits.  She founded Portraits by Colleen and designed dishes, mugs, bags, and greeting cards using business practices that reflect her commitment to local and sustainable modes of operation.

    Each Pooch Clutch is sewn by a Philadelphia seamstress.  The hardware comes from Dallas, Texas.  The fabric is manufactured at Spoonflower in Durham, North Carolina with an inkjet printing process that entails very little waste of fabric, ink, water or electricity, and uses eco-friendly, water-based pigment inks on natural fiber textiles with no additional chemicals.  The eye-catching satin fabric inside the Pooch Clutch come from local textile businesses on Philadelphia’s fabric row.

    No animals are used in the manufacturing of the Pooch Clutch.  It is vegan and fabulous, a rare breed.

    And Colleen donates 10% of all proceeds to Philadelphia’s Street Trails Animal Rescue, a small local shelter she chose because of their passionate volunteers and their commitment to education.

    I don’t feature many “doggie” fashions on Dog Art Today.  I am not interested in promoting cheap products made by low-wage (slave) labor in foreign countries (calculate your slavery footprint at Made in a Free World). That is why I am delighted to share the Pooch Clutch with you.  It is a beautiful object from its conception to its execution.   If I can help in its promotion, it is my privilege.

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    Pooch Clutch

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    Colleen Rudolf models the Pooch Clutch

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    Pooch Clutch fabric manufactured by Spoonflower in Durham, North Carolina

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    Handmade Label

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    Colleen Rudolf with the Pooch Clutch and her Pooch, Dooey

    The Pooch Clutch is $75 and is available at Colleen Rudolf’s Etsy store.

    For more information visit Portraits by Colleen.