Doing Good Things
Hung the Free to a Good Home show today, with the help of Tru, Keyla and Jeannette. All girl crews rule. This one went up smoothly. There are almost 70 pieces in the show, from over 30 artists, and all of them have dogs in them. This time around dogs are in the spotlight, and we are hosting an adoption event for West LA Animal Services. We're collecting donations for the shelter (and rewarding all donations with a 25% off coupon!), giving people a chance to meet shelter dogs, and also presenting an impressive collection of artwork celebrating canines. It all feels good to me.
Raising funds for LA Animal Services isn't a part of what we're doing with this show, but if you'd like to donate, you can do so on their website. The push here is to get these dogs adopted, at the very least, plant the seed! They'll be bringing dogs of different ages and sizes, but all with a great temperament. Maybe they'll bring the Spero they have for adoption there! MY Spero might be a little bummed to know that she's not the only one with the name, but she'd be happy if the fake Spero found a home, like she did.
Every animal I've ever shared my home with has come from a shelter, or was passed on to me by friends. I'm always a bit shocked when I find out people still get dogs from pet stores and breeders, but it happens. With the growth of so many breed specific rescue organizations, it's a shame it still does though. I've never been a breed specific person - maybe because I'm a mutt too, and although I've always dreamed of owning a Great Pyrenees, or a harlequin Great Dane, no dog to ever come out of any pooch's cooch will be better than Praxis, or even Spero in her dysfunctional way. The volunteers at the West LA shelter will be bringing some great dogs out tomorrow night (and one lone kitten!) that will all be available for adoption that day. If they need to be spayed or neutered, they won't be able to go home with people Saturday night, but they'll be available from the spay/neuter clinic right down Sawtelle, near Pico.
In regards to spay/neuter.... DO IT! I waited with Spero, heeding the advice of multiple vets and her neurologist, and then.... her lady time hit. I spend every minute outside with her protecting her virtue, and every minute inside with her cleaning up her DNA. It's terribly un-fun, and as I have no intentions of breeding her, I'm just counting down the days until I can take her to the vet and get her lady parts modified for safety and reproductive security. The last thing this world needs is more wobbly, head bobbing, needy puppies from her womb. I now believe this photo by Saelee was simply foreshadowing...
I feel lucky to work for a company that takes a sincere interest in doing shows like this. Just last month GRSF had the Tree Show, an always fantastic group show that benefits Friends of the Urban Forest. We do shows like this when the group and the theme seems right. I'm proud of pretty much every show that rolls out of the gate, but these shows make me the proudest. I'm always proud of the artists who step up to participate, the people who make time to come out for the receptions, and the organizations who take a chance on GR.
2009 seems to be the year for getting back in touch with my long hibernating activist spirit. I went to an orientation session for tutoring in Echo Park at 826 LA, am planning on going to an informational session at City Hall about how to get involved in local politics, and volunteered at Hollywood Hill event featuring the current economic challenges facing Rwanda.
The night about Rwanda moved me more than anything I've listened in on in a really long time. The speaker was Josh Ruxin, the director of Millenium Villages Project Rwanda. There was an amazing audience in attendance, including several people who had spent time in Rwanda and proposed challenging insights about the situation there.
I'm as guilty as the next person about living in a bubble, forgetting about the world outside of mine. I think years as an animal rights activist didn't help much either. It's only been in recent years that I've taken any interest at all in human issues. I'm getting softer in my old age.
The Millenium Villages Project Rwanda struck a chord with my values and feelings about cultural sensitivity, development from within, and the importance of building communities that become self-reliant and united in growth. During the course of the presentation, I wondered what someone like me could do - someone on the other end of the globe, without a lot of capital - but by its conclusion, I felt empowered by receiving the knowledge that Josh shared. His presentation was hopeful, and not some generic HOPE on a t-shirt hopeful, but truly optimistically inspirational. After learning that in a country with such a dark history - with so many cards stacked against it - there is so much promise for its people to forge a new path, I was forced to think about the opportunities I have to empower others... with or without a lot of capital.
Keep an eye out for Hollywood Hill's upcoming project, Armchair Revolutionary. These folks are committed to making a difference by turning the opportunities they've been given (and earned) into opportunities for others.
I can't imagine a better way to life your life.
Raising funds for LA Animal Services isn't a part of what we're doing with this show, but if you'd like to donate, you can do so on their website. The push here is to get these dogs adopted, at the very least, plant the seed! They'll be bringing dogs of different ages and sizes, but all with a great temperament. Maybe they'll bring the Spero they have for adoption there! MY Spero might be a little bummed to know that she's not the only one with the name, but she'd be happy if the fake Spero found a home, like she did.
Every animal I've ever shared my home with has come from a shelter, or was passed on to me by friends. I'm always a bit shocked when I find out people still get dogs from pet stores and breeders, but it happens. With the growth of so many breed specific rescue organizations, it's a shame it still does though. I've never been a breed specific person - maybe because I'm a mutt too, and although I've always dreamed of owning a Great Pyrenees, or a harlequin Great Dane, no dog to ever come out of any pooch's cooch will be better than Praxis, or even Spero in her dysfunctional way. The volunteers at the West LA shelter will be bringing some great dogs out tomorrow night (and one lone kitten!) that will all be available for adoption that day. If they need to be spayed or neutered, they won't be able to go home with people Saturday night, but they'll be available from the spay/neuter clinic right down Sawtelle, near Pico.
In regards to spay/neuter.... DO IT! I waited with Spero, heeding the advice of multiple vets and her neurologist, and then.... her lady time hit. I spend every minute outside with her protecting her virtue, and every minute inside with her cleaning up her DNA. It's terribly un-fun, and as I have no intentions of breeding her, I'm just counting down the days until I can take her to the vet and get her lady parts modified for safety and reproductive security. The last thing this world needs is more wobbly, head bobbing, needy puppies from her womb. I now believe this photo by Saelee was simply foreshadowing...
I feel lucky to work for a company that takes a sincere interest in doing shows like this. Just last month GRSF had the Tree Show, an always fantastic group show that benefits Friends of the Urban Forest. We do shows like this when the group and the theme seems right. I'm proud of pretty much every show that rolls out of the gate, but these shows make me the proudest. I'm always proud of the artists who step up to participate, the people who make time to come out for the receptions, and the organizations who take a chance on GR.
2009 seems to be the year for getting back in touch with my long hibernating activist spirit. I went to an orientation session for tutoring in Echo Park at 826 LA, am planning on going to an informational session at City Hall about how to get involved in local politics, and volunteered at Hollywood Hill event featuring the current economic challenges facing Rwanda.
The night about Rwanda moved me more than anything I've listened in on in a really long time. The speaker was Josh Ruxin, the director of Millenium Villages Project Rwanda. There was an amazing audience in attendance, including several people who had spent time in Rwanda and proposed challenging insights about the situation there.
I'm as guilty as the next person about living in a bubble, forgetting about the world outside of mine. I think years as an animal rights activist didn't help much either. It's only been in recent years that I've taken any interest at all in human issues. I'm getting softer in my old age.
The Millenium Villages Project Rwanda struck a chord with my values and feelings about cultural sensitivity, development from within, and the importance of building communities that become self-reliant and united in growth. During the course of the presentation, I wondered what someone like me could do - someone on the other end of the globe, without a lot of capital - but by its conclusion, I felt empowered by receiving the knowledge that Josh shared. His presentation was hopeful, and not some generic HOPE on a t-shirt hopeful, but truly optimistically inspirational. After learning that in a country with such a dark history - with so many cards stacked against it - there is so much promise for its people to forge a new path, I was forced to think about the opportunities I have to empower others... with or without a lot of capital.
Keep an eye out for Hollywood Hill's upcoming project, Armchair Revolutionary. These folks are committed to making a difference by turning the opportunities they've been given (and earned) into opportunities for others.
I can't imagine a better way to life your life.
posted by gr at
7:26 PM
nice post ;)
the show sounds awesome. wish i could be there.
Thanks, Amy. The younger Kwok's did a kickass job for this show. They're stuff is among my favorites in the show!
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