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Art Gone to the Dogs

10/3/2011

18 Comments

 
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Photo courtesy of Treats Unleashed
October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month!

To celebrate, Daphne and I had a special painting date at Treats Unleashed – at their Puppy Picasso Event!

Using a sponge brush, dog-safe paint was applied gently to her feet, and then she got to work! We began with her favorite color: metallic pink!

I was a proud pet-parent, watching Daphne create her very own painting to take home! Each painting cost only $5.00, the proceeds benefitting the Humane Society of Missouri!

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Daphe painting passionately!
In the afternoon, we met up with Dan and Sam for a double-date at Dog Days of Summer: Laumeier Sculpture Park’s special exhibition that explores the relationship between humans and canines as depicted in visual art!

“As one of only two accredited museums in the United States that allows dogs, Laumeier is an ideal museum to produce a show that is both playful and serious,” said Marilu Knode, Laumeier’s Executive Director.

Research for the show began in 2009. The results of visitor studies showed that more than 20 percent of Laumeier’s visitors come with their dog!

“All the breeds I see at Laumeier, from Teacup Poodles to Great Danes, are descended from a common ancestor – the wolf,” said Kim Humphries, exhibition co-curator. “Millennia of evolution have domesticated the dog which has become so deeply intertwined in our lives it is only natural that they have found their way into our artwork.”

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a commissioned dog trail by Finnish artist Tea Mäkipää, who has worked with a range of experts from St. Louis and elsewhere to create a multi-sensory experience for both canine and human visitors along Laumeier’s Nature Trail.

Mäkipää’s six interactive installations highlight the ways in which our four-legged friends “read,” and experience, the outdoors. The exhibition includes contemporary artists Robert Chambers (USA), Jeff Koons (USA), Maria Lindberg (Sweden) and William Wegman (USA), as well as historic works by Richard Cosway, Edwin Megargee and others on loan from the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog.
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Sam's favorite sculpture was the Treasury of Smells!
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Afterwards, we grabbed some much deserved dinner!
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It was hard staying awake during the car ride home!
With the ongoing economic crisis, there are more dogs in need than ever.
But what if you can't adopt?

Here are 5 easy (and free!) ways YOU can still help (from Petfinder's blog):

1.    Donate your Facebook status!
Just paste this message into the What's on your mind? box at the top of your page:
October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month. Save a life: Adopt a dog! http://www.petfinder.com

2.    Tweet, retweet and repeat the following (or your own brilliant message):
October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month. Save a life: Adopt a dog! http://www.petfinder.com

3.    Add a Petfinder widget or banner to your web site or blog.
(I have one posted in my blog sidebar to the right, and a different banner posted on my LINKS page.)

4.    Contact your local shelter or rescue group and offer to photograph their adoptable pets and upload the pics to Petfinder.

5.    Pass on an understanding of the importance of pet adoption to the next generation.
Talk to your kids, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and other up-and-comers about animal shelters and why Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month, and pet adoption in general, is important.

Have a great beginning to your week…and month!
Mary
18 Comments
ann's art @ studiohyde link
10/2/2011 06:40:51 pm

What a fantastic post Mary!...love it.

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Dianne Jones link
10/2/2011 08:30:37 pm

Great post! wish they would do something like that here in Turkey there are too many homeless dogs roaming the streets, some of us foreigners do what we can but it's not enough. Very sad!

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Pj Zafra link
10/2/2011 09:17:56 pm

Hey Mary, this is such an amazing post! Cute dog and very creative as well. :D

Wish something like this would be present in the Philippines. I see lots of homeless starving dogs out there.

Great post! Keep it up! :D

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Janine link
10/2/2011 09:31:42 pm

The video is so incredibly cute! Put a smile on my dial.

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Trina (Trina's Clay Creations) link
10/2/2011 09:35:49 pm

This is a great post Mary, thank you for sharing!! Wishing you an awesome week!!

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Diana Evans link
10/3/2011 02:08:55 am

I think everyone should adopt a dog!!!!

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Mary C. Nasser link
10/3/2011 02:28:22 am

Thank you for all the wonderfully positive comments.

Glad the post has resulted in smiles.

Diana, I couldn't agree with you more that everyone should adopt a dog!
They are so good for us...instantly lowering our heart rates and blood pressure are just 2 examples of benefits!

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Rita link
10/3/2011 06:39:57 am

That video was so cute. I wish there were a dog art museum near me! I'm not quite ready for a dog yet, but we have decided to adopt a shelter dog when we do.

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Scrollwork link
10/3/2011 06:45:17 am

Wonderful! I'm linking to your post on Facebook when I update my status to announce that October is Adopt A Shelter Dog month. That video on the gallery was fun to watch.

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Cherie Lenore link
10/3/2011 06:49:13 am

Love this post!!
What a fun creative idea to let your dot create art.
I am so going shopping for dog safe paint!
I have an Australian Cattledog, Skyanne. She is almost 2 years old and is a sweetheart.

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Marian
10/3/2011 08:08:13 am

What a wonderful blog! I adore animals!

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Maggie Flatley link
10/3/2011 08:52:02 am

wonderful post!

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Debi Walter - The Romantic Vineyard link
10/3/2011 09:26:44 am

Mary,
What a great post. I love all your candid photos. Thanks for sharing your passion with us. I look forward to doing this challenge with you!
Blessings,
Debi

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Candice link
10/3/2011 01:22:33 pm

Wonderful post! We have 2 dogs of our own and they are the loves of our lives. My husband and I are hoping to have more dogs once we've settled into our own place. Daphne looks like a real sweetie! =)

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Sara Carbaugh link
10/4/2011 07:37:22 am

So adorable and such a cool exhibit! We have a sculpture park here in Hamilton, Ohio so I'll have to look into taking my pup, Sid Vicious, to check out the art there! : )

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Traci Lehman link
10/4/2011 11:46:28 am

Hi Mary, I tweeted your post. I think you provided a ton of valuable information and I love the pics of the dogs painting.

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Kate Muehlemann link
10/6/2011 12:50:07 pm

I love that you posted this - thank you !
I have a shelter dog + she brings such joy
Glad to meet you through BYW + see your lovely art :)

Kate

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DM link
10/15/2011 01:14:45 am

Just last year we adopted a former puppy dog mill dog. He has changed so much, and what a personality.
I love the painting idea.

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    I love creating mixed-media art layered with maps! This blog is a place for me to share my work and what inspires me. Read more here.
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