Can I Keep It?

Major Plans

This is how we plan to spend the greater part of the weekend.

My views of the couch sitting portion of the program will resemble this.

On Saturday, we will make a brief detour of the regularly scheduled programming to attend the Paw Prints Gala benefiting the Memphis/Shelby County Humane Society.  If you scroll down on the page link, you'll see a photo of the original painting, Foot Fetish , Can I Keep It?  donated to the auction.

If you're in the area, join us for a little fun, food and maybe a drinkie poo or two.  All the proceeds benefit the Humane Society, so you'll be helping some one like Butch...

or Bentley.

You can find both of these cuties and many, MANY more at The Memphis/Shelby County Humane Society.  Adoption is the best option.

Maybe you can find a new best friend to help you couch surf this weekend.

Shoe Fetish

Today's post will be bought to you by my yellow shoes.

Simone and Aida are over there arguing about who gets them to wear on Saturday.  As if.  But I just realized that you can't see the best part of them.

The heel.  It's Zali's favorite bit.  Simone was doing a happy dance.  She loves these shoes as much as I do. 

I took them out to the Paw Prints Gala last Friday night with my friend Tracy.  I do not know why I didn't get any pictures of the two of us.  We looked fabulous.  Her shoes and my shoes had a lovely time bidding on artwork and dining on food from some of the city's best restaurants.  The shrimp and grits were divine.

One disappointment was that Tracy lost a bid on a handmade electric guitar.  Sort of.  She actually WON said guitar.  The artist presented it to her, with a hug and a kiss, explaining how it was made.  She told him that it was for her cousin, Hal, who plays with Black Oak Arkansas and was going to take it on the South American tour with him.

And then, Ron Childers, the announcer called for the guitar back.  Someone else wanted to bid on it.

Can they do that?

They did.

We both were stunned.  Bidding resumed.  Tracy gave a few more half-hearted bids and then, angry, let it go.  I can't say that I blame her.  I thought there were rules about that.

The real shame of it is, that instead of going on tour out of the country and appearing in a music video, the guitar is going to be framed and hang on a wall.  Untouched.  Unplayed.  Just an object. 

What a shame.

We didn't let it spoil our evening.  Tracy and I pointed our shoes in the direction of the Side Street Grill and had a Grey Goose Martini with extra olives.

My stunning yellow party shoes were simply exhausted the next day.

Paw Prints Gala 2010

The largest fundraiser for the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County is tonight!  Festivities will begin at seven o'clock at Central Station in Downtown Memphis.  There will live and silent auctions, music by The Living Daylights and food provided by Memphis' premiere restaurants.

My friend Tracy and I will be there with bells on!  Okay.  Not actual bells.  More like Pucci prints and outrageous heels.  I'll take pictures.

I wonder if Zali would care to escort us.  Hud has Homecoming at MUS. 

Wish me luck that my painting brings them lots of cash!

She Can Fly!

Twenty years ago, I had a Maine Coon/Rag Doll mix named, "Riley".  She was achingly beautiful with long, silky, tabby fur that glowed with a vivid rusty orange undertone.  Her eyes really set her apart from all other cats.  They glittered like opals, an ever changing kaleidoscope of green, blue and lavender.  Everyone who saw her remarked upon her beauty, but she had a charm that far surpassed any other cat that has chosen to share space in my home.  The least likely person to fall to her charismatic ways was my then father-in-law.  Jimbo was not a fan of cats, but Riley had a thing for deep male voices.  Jimbo's voice was smooth and full with a deep bell tone like a radio announcer's.  One night at dinner, Jimbo started to tell a funny tale about the record company he worked for in New York in the fifties.  Riley, enchanted by the sound, jumped up on the table.  Jimbo started to recoil in horror at having a beast on the supper table when Riley laid down and placed a pretty white paw upon his arm.  She cocked her head to listen, blinked those hypnotic eyes and he burst into a guffaw,  "Isn't she just the cutest little thing?"  He wouldn't let us move her and she stayed there for the rest of the evening, in rapt attention to his voice.

Riley was, if nothing else, completely at ease in her own skin.  On temperate days, she would climb to the roof of our California Contemporary home and sun herself.  In the evening, I would call her for supper. Lying on the edge of the garage, her feet hanging over the side, I would reach up and pull her down.  She rolled into my arms as if she were boneless.  On other nights, I would turn my back to her, allowing her to jump down and nest in my hoodie.  She was without fear.

The only problem I ever had with Riley was that she preferred to ride around in the hood of my terry cloth robe as she had done since she was a kitten.  I would slip into the robe after a shower.  She would leap from the sink, toilet or chiffarobe onto my back and settle in.  On the rare occasion, she would fly out of nowhere and land in the middle of my naked back as I brushed my teeth in the morning.

A like soul was saved on June 3rd in Washington state.  An eighteen month old Maine Coon mix jumped from a truck as it crossed the Allen Bridge in Cowlitz county.  She was hit by another car and leaped over the guard rail, crashing to the asphalt below.  A horrified driver who witnessed the horrific scene, stopped and went to look for her, expecting to find her dead. 

Instead, she found the little cat crouching under a car.  The good Samaritan called the Humane Society of Cowlitz County.  They rescued her.  The only injuries she sustained were a broken leg and a fractured palate. She also lost the litter of kittens she was carrying.   She is recovering nicely, unaffected by her terrible accident. She is sweet and confident. Last week, the workers at the Humane Society, put a two week old orphan kitten in with her.  She lifted her paw and invited the kitten in for a drink.

They named her,"Amelia".  Because she can fly.

Danger Is My Name...

Simone and Ze Muhzer and I have just returned from a  dangereous mission to procure illicit drugs for the French Underground.  Leaving ze house in ze cloak of darkness.  (Umm, we were wearing sunglasses.) We drove like ze wind from Zoe's derriere to the dealer.  Heez name was "Ike". Ze Muhzer slowly rolled ze Mustang up to the weendow and whispered our request to heem.  She signed ze papiers and VOILA!  Galloped off into the sunset.  Simone shivered at the thought of what could have happened, or it may have been ze air conditioning, but NOT MOI!  I laugh at danger.  I love danger.  I make love to ze danger.  I am Zali!  Ze Bandit D'Amour!

Yeah.  We went and bought some sinus medication.  Oooooh.  Ze horror.

Here's some of the other buddies on display at Autozone Park.    I adore the "DIva Dog" by Betsey Byrd, second from the right.  I think the City Auto Buddy has a crush on her.  He gets closer to her everytime I see them.

The bottle cap Buddy in the middle is also a fave.  He was done by Karen "Bottle" Capps.

The buddies all go to their foster homes today, where they will stay until they go to their "forever homes" after the auction on November the 8th.   

   

The "'68 Comeback Special Buddy'  made friends with every Buddy. It's a good thing he likes to have his picture taken.  This is just the beginning.

Zali?  Take off that scarf and leather pilot's helmet.  You just look silly.  Yeah, yeah.  Danger schmanger.  I know, you can "Keel me with a single glance from your razor sharp gaze..."  Scarf.  Off.  Now.  Simone?  Stop encouraging him.

Dog Daze in Memphis

As an artist, I am asked to donate my artwork to every organization that has a title.  It's exhausting and impossible to help them all.  I have become rather stingy with my charity. I have to.  I need some work to sell and make a living.  I don't want a real job.  I'm ill-suited for it. There aren't many careers where you can spend the entire day, standing around in dirty pants and flailing a paintbrush at canvas.  As long as other people want to buy and love my neurotic, crazy animals, I'll be doing just that.

There are a few organizations that I am generous with to a fault and one of those is the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County. (Aida Velveeta was adopted from their facility.)  They're a great organization that provides a much needed service, protecting the abused, placing the unwanted and providing safe shelter for the ill animals of the city of Memphis.  There are so many dogs and cats who need this service, it has them past capacity.  So when Ginger Morgan asked me if I would like to be a part of the "Dog Daze in Memphis" public art project to support the Humane Society, I jumped at the chance. 

The project is about Buddy, a hurricane Katrina survivor, who was placed with the HS.  Although lovable, it was trouble to place him in the right home, because he had lost a rear foot to a gator or a nutria trap.  This has made him unstable, so he kept being returned because their other dogs knocked him over or he made the toddler fall over...  Long story short, he is now the Humane's Spokesdog and Ginger's sidekick.  I was asked to do his likeness for the Humane Society.

His tongue is bondo and yes, Buddy always does this.  I gave him a nice soft cushion of cats on his base and one hiding on his back.  It's called, "Everybody Needs A Buddy".  Ginger asked me to remove the right rear foot like the real Buddy.  It was such a task that I told her later that I felt that I knew what Buddy felt like when he had to do it. But I really think he probably had an easier time...

I also had the distinct honor of doing the "68 Comeback Special Buddy" for Graceland, in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Elvis's '68 Comeback Special.  You know, the one where he wore the hot black motorcycle outfit?  I painted him in various poses from the special and made a collar of the big "Elvis" in red lights background.  The base is the silhouette cage dancing Elvis-es from the "Jail House Rock" production number.  It took forever to paint because I had to do it all in freehand. Due to the curve of the dog's body, when I put the first stencil down, I realized that it wasn't going to work.  Elvis's nose was so big, he looked more like Jimmy Durante! It's been a long time since I've done portraits of people.  When you paint someone's pet, they want you to show them warts and all.  I love to do it.  Painting people is a different beast.  They prefer to be more idealized so I gave it up long ago.   Painting a Rock N Roll legend is downright daunting. The kind folks at EPE seem to be pleased with him and I am content as a result.  He'll be on display at Graceland, here in Memphis, starting in August for Tribute Week, until all 78 dogs done by various local artists are auctioned off in the Fall. Tribute Week is a big deal at Graceland.  They'll get 100,000 or two people from all over the world to pay homage to The King.  There are events planned all day for every day of the week, culminating in a Candlelight Vigil.  Fans start lining up in the early morning hours on the last day.  The last people to file by Elvis's resting place was at about 7:00 the next morning last year, I believe.

The third and last Buddy I did is for City Auto.  My brother-in-law is the owner of City Auto (Thanks, David!) and graciously agreed to get one of his companies, Mr. Touch-Up, (Thanks Lee!) to clear coat all the dogs.  I gave him reflector eyes, a rear view mirror, moving wheels, a chrome gas cap and a dual chrome tail pipe.  He has white pin striping down the sides that terminate in the CA logo near the trunk.  Yeah, he's got a trunk, kids.  Wouldn't yours?  I'm thinking about having one installed in Zoe.  That way, I can stop being bogged down carrying a purse.

The dogs will leave Autozone Park (Home of the Memphis Redbirds) on Monday,July 14, and will be distributed to their various foster (sponsor) homes until the about November.  Then there will be a gala auction where you can bid on any one of the 75 Buddies in the show.  If you ae in Memphis, you can take the Dog Daze Tour and see any or all of them at their sponsoring businesses. Come out and see them if you can.   They're all pretty wonderful and some are downright amazing.