The Artful Home® - too good not to share

I had a "whoa! moment" the other day when I found The Artful Home® catalog amongst the ususal junk mail. Seen it before? It is published by The Guild and features artisan crafted furniture, artwork, art glass,jewelry, and gift items. As the pictures prove, the catalog items are beautifully photographed. More items not seen in the catalog are available on the website. You can find the artists information there too.

(Click on the photos and they will open up in a larger window)


(the cover and these 3 photos- credit Eric Ferguson of White School Studios)

Certainly not the typical furnishings that one sees everywhere else. Many of the items are very limited. The coffee table above, for example. Only Seven are available for Fall. Seven. I think the prices reflect the quality, care, and time put into each piece.

Some of the artwork available.

And Art Glass. Now, I have a large dog, with a even larger tail, so Art Glass on the coffee table is out of the question. But aren't these nice.

(1st vase photo credit- Sahara Flat Vessel- Bob Barrett)

(photo credit-jewelry page- Hap Sakwa; clocks photo credit- Eric Ferguson)


The wavy cabinet is 5 foot tall and I would love to see it in person. I admit the photo makes me a little dizzy to look at it, but it has to be fantastic in person. Made out of torch cut and welded iron.

Which brings me to the other reason for posting this feature. The Guild and The Artful Home® are hosting a home show in New York City, November 16-18, 2007. Tickets are available at the website, plus, they are giving away a trip for two. Here's the website- Artful Home Show.

Retriever Puppy #2- watercolor on Yupo

You have seen this image before. I wanted a larger version for my upcoming show in November. This one is approx 8 x 10 inches.

I started it and finished it, except for his eyes. So for the past 3 months he has been staring at me with no eyeballs. He could have been a character in the 1978 miniseries starring Bette Davis- "The Dark Secret of Harvest Home". (If you saw it, you know what I'm talkin' bout).

It will be framed (probably 11 x 14) and double matted for the show. It can be purchased before the show starts, just will not be available until the show closes around Thanksgiving. Proceeds benefit the Botanical Gardens and the Sundown Surgery Fund at the UGA vet med teaching hospital. $400.

Old Dog Haven - Washington State

I came across a letter while sorting through old mail, and it reminded me of Old Dog Haven in Washington State. The letter was actually from a similar facility that has opened , or is opening, up in Brevard, NC, called Kanine Kingdom. Their website isn't up yet when I tried to search for it.



There are lots of animal shelters and rescue groups all over, but there aren't many that take in senior dogs. Old Dog Haven is one of them. Craig and Tanya Amberson of Art Helping Animals adopted a pekingese mix dog from there last year, or year before. I am adding an Old Dog Haven link to my sidebar.
If you happen to be looking for places to make a tax free donation here at the end of the year, ODH is one of my top favorites. Click on the image below to go to the Old Dog Haven site.

(logo and image credit- Old Dog Haven)
If you happen to know of other similar facilities, drop me a note and I will add them a link also. Thanks.

What would you like to see here on the blog?

I am working on tweaking the blog format at little. I will be setting up a survey shortly, but wanted your comments on what you would like to see or read here on the blog. Any suggestions? What about artist interviews? anyone like reading those?

Advice column written by Leon, the hospital cat? which would go something like,

Dear Leon, I am overweight. Any advice? Signed, Hungry in Alabama.
Dear Hungry, Join the club. I am on the perpetual diet. Leon

Questions and answers? art and/or related?

Leave any suggestions or ideas in the comments, and I will mull them. Thanks.

Christmas is Coming Early this Year. and Often.

The gift
Originally uploaded by Zamm

My Monthly Giveaway

Now it might not be as cute as this though! (photo credit:Zamm at flickr)

After giving it some thought, I have decided to start a monthly giveaway to one lucky subscriber to my mailing list. If you received this in an email, you are already registered, so relax, you don't have to do a thing. If you are not on my mailing list, you can sign up at the box in the top right hand corner.

This is how it will work. Around the first of the month, an email address will be drawn out of a hat, along with an alternate, just in case. You'll be contacted for your shipping address, and then wait for your surprise.

And it will truly be a surprise- it might be greeting cards, gift items, prints and stationery designs that are not available to the public, or a painting. You'll have to wait and see.

Dogs and Heatstroke- be careful out there

I've had two patients die in 2 days with symptoms of Heatstroke. One was a 7 week old chihuahua and a 6 year old beagle. And they both were in pens with some shade, and water.
The chihuahua did make it in, but it is a little like trying to unscramble an egg, and he later passed away that evening. I suspect a few other calls have been from heat exhaustion.

Georgia is having a record heatwave this week. The high temp yesterday was 101 breaking a record from 1980. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse than today. This post goes all over, so if your pet is in a similar situation, it is better to be safe than sorry, and don't leave them outside in the extreme heat of the day.

MyRegistry.com- online gift registry

Are you familiar with this site- MyRegistry.com? It's an online gift registry that allows you to select items from any online store. Not just the big ones that everyone else shops. Any online store.

Here's the link to their home page.

Below are the facts . . . .

Why MyRegistry.com?

Add Gifts from Everywhere!
At MyRegistry.com you can add items to your registry from any web site or brick and mortar store in the world. Unlike registries that are set up by individual companies to increase purchases on their sites, MyRegistry.com s truly a universal gift registry with no ulterior motives. You have the freedom to mix and match items from any of your favorite sites and stores and create your dream gift registry.

A Registry that lasts as long as you want it to!
How often have you been late in sending a wedding or a baby gift only to find out that your friend’s registry has already expired? Not at MyRegistry.com. Your registry lasts as long as you want it to and you can continually update and add what you want for weddings, baby showers, birthdays, holidays and any other important life event. Lifestyles and needs change, and so should your registry as often and for as long as you want.

Find exactly what you are looking for
Browse millions of items to add to your registry according to your event, in our ‘Gift Ideas’ center. Find what are the most popular gifts or what was recently added – and add them to your registry with one click!

Save Thousands of Dollars with the MyRegistry.com!
You’ll find thousands of dollars worth of exclusive deals and discounts from over 500 of your favorite retailers in the MyRegistry.com Find a Store center, including Baby Universe, Best Buy, Linens ‘n Things, Wine.com, ProGolf.com, Macy’s, Dell and Gateway Computers! These special coupons are yours FREE when you join MyRegistry.com!

Hassle Free and Easy to Use!
When you sign up for an online gift registry with MyRegistry.com, you will easily install an 'Add Gift' button into your web browser. This button makes it simple to add gifts to your registry. All you need to do when you see something you like on a merchant's website is click this button, and the item will be automatically added to your registry— it is that easy!

*The 'Add Gift' button is compatible with all browsers, including Safari, Mozilla, Firefox, AOL and Internet Explorer.

Easy for your Friends and Family to use!
By centralizing your gift registry and putting it online, you’ve made it easy for everyone to shop for you! Sorting gifts by price or category is a breeze, as is using MyRegistry.com’s user-friendly interface that allows your family and friends to order the items that they wish to get you directly from the sites or stores you’ve chosen them from. Your online gift registry will even make a note of which items have been purchased already, so no one needs to worry about giving you a duplicate gift!

MyRegistry.com is the ultimate online registry for all your gift-giving needs! It is ideally suited for weddings, baby showers, graduations, confirmations, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, sweet sixteen, or any occasion you can think of! Easy to navigate and fun to use, MyRegistry.com is the perfect way to register for all the important events in your life!

2008 Art Helping Animals Calendar

Here's is a shot of the cover- Designed by Muwah.



The first calendar for 2008 is ready at Lulu. Here's the link.

Last year, in case you are wondering, we raised over $300 on calendar royalties. For 2008, we may have more than 1 calendar. Featuring different subject matter- dalmations, cats, etc.