geeking out on an Oakland original

If you live in the SF bay area, you probably know about the work of Mark Bulwinkle. He's been an Oakland fixture forever and has graced our fine, grungy city with some of the wackiest, wildest, most original works ever. We've been crazy for it since first spotting it at the parking lot of Home Depot in Emeryville, of all places. Twenty or so of his works (right) jet up from the ground and call out to the wildman in all of us.

How do you describe his work? This article from Architects and Artisans probably says it best:

At first glance, the artistic milieu of Mark Bulwinkle appears to be a happy one. Animals cavort, flowers bloom, the sun shines, and a boy’s eyes take the form of hearts. The cartoon-like images seem to be laughing at the viewer, as though a private joke has been incised into each.

Upon closer inspection though, an energy with manic overtones emerges. We notice that a cat is blind, a dog appears rabid, a grin seems more like a grimace, and a trio of menacing beasts swallow each other whole.

He so speaks our language.

For pit bull rescuers especially, life can seem rough and rusty, but it's much easier to swallow when peppered with the right amount of sarcasm. Lose that and slip into fairytale happy land, and pretty soon you'll probably lose your mind along with your sense of humor.

Bulwinkle shirked an invitation to appear on the Oprah Show some time back. He said he wanted “to be an artist, not a celebrity.” Well he's a celebrity to us, so hopefully we didn't show our geekdom too much when we met him at his studio to talk about art. His place is wall to wall crazy - Every inch covered in wackydom.



We knew we had to find a way to include his work into the barn, and thanks to a Christmas gift from my boytoy Tim, we have! If you happen to visit us someday - and we hope you do - you'll be greeted by a Bulwinkle original at the front door, and Bulwinkle tiles set into the hearth of the woodstove. If you're like me, you might squeal like a twelve year old. We won't mind a bit if you do.

Right: Photo of Bulwinkle at his studio, credit Richard Whittaker.

I'm thinking he held back a bit on the sardonic edge that shows up in so much of his work. At least, the dog's not devouring anything and we don't see a swinging pair of hairy balls flying high behind him. Such restraint deserves to be commended, although it must've been an exercise for this arteest. We love it and smile at it every day. "Hello Crazy Dog. There's a little bit of you in me."



(Double clink the photos to size them up a bit.)

Thanks again Mark!

cow dogs

Clive Alive and Olive, out on the range

it's Jondi's turn

Meet Jondi's new mom, Stephanie. Like old friends, they just seem to melt into each other. She goes home next Sunday. Home.

You'll have to excuse me if I slack on the emails and phone calls this week. I've got me some cuddlin' kissin' squeezin' to do in the barn this week.


(Thanks for the photo, Janet!)

Olive Haiku

Like a brand new pup
running zoomies and dancing.
She devours her day.

She's levitating
again. Working for breakfast -
It's SO exciting.

"I'm in my soft chair.
The dryer spins. People laugh.
I sleep like a babe."

"What's this on the floor?
A dog bed. A BED FOR DOGS!?
I flop down and roll."

"His butt smells so good
and best of all, he lets me
smell it all I want."

"The dog they call Blink
yells at me a lot. She's nice.
We dance and have fun."

do you miss Bouncer?

we do, too.

sort of.



don't forget to visit his blog for that weekly-or-so Bounce fix. Bounce House

wood stove

it's so HOT, it feels so good ...



thank you kind donors for helping get this little stove in the barn. it's NIRVANA for the dogs, especially a certain red head.

tree dog

From Ayse's parents..

Just wanted to share with you that we discovered Ayse is an arboreal pit bull. She absolutely loves to climb trees. We found out one day when Rudy was walking Ayse past a tree, and all of a sudden, Rudy's arm (attached to Ayse's leash) suddenly raised up into the air.

Ayse apparently spied a squirrel, and ran up a tree before Rudy knew what was happening! This was during Ayse's fun time on her walk (not obedience training at that moment). Well, Ayse has been climbing trees ever since. Thank goodness we always keep her on a leash, otherwise, she would keep going up and up and up.

We love Ayse. Thanks again for her!

Rudy and Jarvia
___

(We like Rudy's face as much as Ayse's face here. YeHaw!)

And now, her back story.

Because Olive's back story encompasses everything from no-kill philosophy to dog evaluations to sanctuaries, I thought it best to post on our Original Blog so a wider audience can chew on it. Not sure if we're ready to go to facebook with this topic (eek! - doghelpme) but for now, here's the low-down, nitty gritty, scoop de jour on our favorite new girl from SoCA:

Olive, interrupted.

hello ... and who are you?

Sneak Peek here of a dog that came to us a few weeks ago from near-tragic circumstances. She's been in recovery from what looks to be 'post traumatic stress' related behavior issues that accumulated at her former address, and she's just starting to show us who she is. Such mysteries in the barn - I know.

We hope to spill some beans soon. They won't be happy beans, but as far as this girl is concerned, things have gotten much much better now that her days are spent with new friends - like Donyale here, who snapped this photo during a get-acquainted snuggle on the sofa. More later...

Cabin Fever

Get your camp clothes ready. Thanks to the spiffiest calendar of the year, a new addition to the barn yard is in the works, and it's sure to bring new opportunities for the dogs as well as their admirers. For the low-down, head over to our original blog: Cabin Fever!

morning crazy with Blink the Thing

chillaxing.....

What do the barn dogs do on a winter's evening after exercising, training and dinner? They CHILLAX, that's what.

Here's the princess (also known as Jondi) napping in her palace; she's all pooped out after a long afternoon walk and a fun game of fetch. She can barely keep her eyes open - sweet dreams little princess.




Little Blink romping on the rug, pauses her little game of unstuffing her Christmas stuffie just long enough to pose for a picture.

Thanks Blink.










Hey, it's Clive Alive - chillin' on the couch with HIS favorite stuffie and watching Blink's antics with interest.

Such a handsome fella.








Yes, after dinner is a good time for some major chillaxing at the Bad Rap barn.
Hope y'all enjoy your evenings chillaxing too.

Rainy Afternoon with Jondi

Shake the Jondi Ball! Even in the rain!

A walk with a view of wild turkeys in the distance? Sounds nice.

Ok, lady, its really raining now, and I am a princess and I need to go back to my palace.

See how cozy and warm the palace is?

This is much better!

Look Ma, no hands!

"I'm certainly not going to let this crazy contraption around my neck prevent me from enjoying a perfectly good bully stick."

"I've almost got it. Don't fall, don't fall."

"Ah, success. Hey, this thing around my neck might not be all that crazy. If my bully stick falls, it'll fall right into the cone. Aren't I just the cleverest thing?"

The new boy, Clive, demonstrating that he's not going to be outsmarted by any e-collar. He's probably going to be showing us over time he's got a few tricks up his sleeve.

(Reason for the e-collar: just neutered.)

waiting for breakfast

pit bull imposters at work

The wee Blink - a near casualty of one Ohio shelter's nincompoopery - is earning her kibble as 'barn socializer' of sorts. Rita Mae thinks she's uber-cool. Jondi is entertained. And Elliot ... he just wants in on the action.

Old Faces and New Faces

We relish starting out the New Year seeing the familiar faces of the dogs we've come to know and love, and look forward to spending more time with them working hard and having fun, and speculating about the perfect family that hasn't quite found them yet.

The cute face of Jondi, while enjoying one of the multitude of new toys she received over the holidays. Who wouldn't look forward to seeing this sweet girl each and every shift of each and every day?

We especially love to see this girl content and blissful as she relaxes in her decked out kennel. Yep, she's enjoying a nice chew on her new piece of furniture.

Certainly though, we are just as excited to see new faces in the barn, especially when they're as pretty as Rita Mae's.

Rita Mae is already showing that she's made an exceptional addition to the group of barn residents.

Here's our new girl already settling in to her new temporary home, as relaxed as though she's been there for much longer than her few days. What a treat it's going to be to see her face each time entering the barn!

Here's to old and new faces alike, a perfect blend of the comfort of familiarity and the fun of getting-to-know-you.

A Very Fresh Start to 2012

The barn dogs are enjoying an extra clean barn today. Valerie and Erin contacted the barn crew to offer their time to the barn dogs as a holiday gift to each other and the dogs. They offered to clean, organize, pick up poop, or do whatever tasks the dogs needed. On New Years Day Jondi, Rita Mae and Dan enjoyed some very special visitors and some very clean kennels.

Val and Erin came with a brand new jolly ball for Jondi, tug toys, bully sticks and long lines to help with new dog intros. And they were ready to clean the dogs' homes from top to bottom.

It wasn't all work, of course. Rita interrupted regularly to thank Val and Erin for her extra clean kennel.

Toy junkie Jondi kept a close eye on the hamper holding her new toys hostage to express her thanks for her new "Jondi Ball".

Thank you so much to Val and Erin for the very clean barn. Your hard work lets the barn crew spend more time with the dogs instead of doing chores. The dogs thank you too for their fresh clean homes and the excellent toys.

flea market happy

Money can't buy her a home, but sixty bucks bought Miss Jondi some homestyle comfort for her kennel today. She's been so patient about being homeless and such a good girl about not chewing up her kennel furniture that we thought she'd earned an upgrade with this flea market score. Elliot seems to think the sofa's a fine idea, too.

Hmm. Maybe we can rent out her room for traveling dog lovers? We're sure she wouldn't mind sharing her new dog bed with new friends.

touch junkie jondi

your ship will come in too, Jondi. 'til then, keep on doing what you do best.