It's been a busy summer and fall, full of transition and lots of changes in my life and the lives of people I love. I'm enjoying a for-once-not-totally-drop-dead-busy day. (Though, to be fair, I was up at 5 am and worked 3 jobs so far today.) It's a great day today.... Fall weather, I'm in Romance Mode with a man who is either a serial killer or the man of my dreams, and the 2010 Pinups for Pitbulls Calendar is at press!!
My Pinups for Pitbulls news, which you can scroll past if it bores you):
I've been working hard and well with some great women from all over the country, some of whom I've been working with for over a year and have never met face to face. These women in Pinups for Pitbulls have really enriched my life and my experience with being part of PFPB. The great news is that we are now officially 501(c)3, with Non-Profit status. I am also now on the board, something new and happily "adult" in my life.
Probably the best thing of the past year has been working with my friend Deirdre, known publicly as Little Darling, PFPB's President and Founder. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends, closer than a sister even, is someone that I really admire. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have cared to get involved in this in the first place, not being a Pit Bull owner. It started out as just me helping out her grassroots, myspace-based, ghetto-fabulous dog rescue calendar and website, tweaking her website in the wee hours on my loud PC about 5 years ago.
Her passion and energy and spirit, her creative drive and her brilliance with PFPB has made it what it is today, mostly because she has the gift of MAKING people care enough with her. She would probably never allow anyone to gush this way over her, she's just give it right back to the dogs, her team, me.... but I've worked with her for years, now, and there is rarely I time where I have not reached my limit and given out, or given up, or snapped, at some point due to exhaustion, stress, or worry over a deadline, and she is a freaking rock. A rock of molten energy that can exist on like, 3 hours of sleep and still greet the day being beautiful and positive, drive to work, save people's homes from financial ruin, come home, be an awesome mother to her dogs, an awesome woman to her man, and then spend another 5 hours saving dogs, planning events, and drumming up publicity for saving more dogs and raising more funds. It truly boggles my mind.
I guess I'm thinking about all of this because I was listening to her on a call-in radio station plugging the huge PFPB 10/25 event in Philly this sunday (if you are there, you MUST go to this event, please see the website for details, it's all day and all night). And I was just so proud of her, and so glad to know her and be a part of this with her. It's really been a fulfilling part of my life. Last year it got me through the toughest time in my life, and this year it enhances my total experience as a woman - giving me the chance to use my talent, my beauty, and my brains, as well as my heart for animals and my love for working with people toward a common goal that makes things better here.
This year, in addition to being on the board and Creative Director, I am Miss June, posing with Roxanna the Pitbull from Newport, CA and Trevor "Mister Man" Renee Nanuk.
Look for the calendar after this Sunday, 10/25, on www.pinupsforpitbulls.com (I just revamped the site), or you can just trust that it's going to be Way Awesome and order one now!! The theme of this year's calendar is "A Tribute to Classic Pinup", where 12 lovely ladies and their bully breeds are paying tribute to such classic artists as Gil Elvgren, Art Frahm, Peter Driben, Alberto Vargas, Al Buell, Joyce Ballantyne, Pearl Frush, and more. As always, proceeds benefit Pitbulls and Bully Breeds in need, and fund education about breed discrinimation and BSL (breed-specific legislation.)
This year we opened the calendar up to anyone who wanted to submit an image, and as a result had about 100 teams of photographers and models submit images nationwide, and many of the images will also be on the website and used for merchandise and prints for the year. That was a fun process, meeting women who love what we do and want to be a part of it, though choosing the images with a team of non-biased people was ROUGH. That part sucked.
At least we will be probably doing things that way every year from now on, so people can submit over and over. And I'm excited to make new merchandise with all the images we have now! Maybe models are sad about not being "calendar girls", but the calendar is just a part of what we do - hopefully later on, when they see us using their photos in promo materials and stuff, they'll feel less "rejected", if they feel that way now...
Speaking of photographers and photo shoots, my shoot with Mitzi of Mitzi & Co. at the beginning of the month to shoot my 2010 calendar month (June) and my About the Designer shot was so much fun! If you would like to get a pinup portrait done or attend a great pinup workshop, I highly suggest you visit her website and contact her! She is a talented, sweet woman with a heart for animals, and she's great at what she does. Being in her studio is like being a kid in a candy store for anyone who loves pinup or playing dress-up. Liz Carrillo did a great job on my makeup and hair, too. I was just really thankful that Mitzi stepped up, because I had been at my wits' end finding someone who fit with the calendar's goal, and the project as a whole. I'm excited to work with her again, and work with her selling the calendars, beginning with Mooneyes in early December (details will be on the PFPB website).
We also just got our very first grant, which I applied for, from Animal Farm Foundation, to honor our 4-Legged Founder, Carla Lou. Which feels pretty good!!
Oh, and one final note: PFPB will be featured in an episode of a new show on Animal Planet this winter! Visit our website for details.
Toys and Paintings:
It's been a slow few months since everything has taken a back seat to PFPB, but I have been making some toys here and there, most recently a cloned Kitty and some sharks, and this week I am starting on an order for a Christmas stocking of a Cloned Kitty. If you are interested in ordering a christmas stocking, either with a cloned kitty or other furry-friend embellishments, now is the time to contact me to order one or several! Prices run $30 for order of 1-2, more are $20 each.
No new paintings of late, besides a watercolor for a possible children's book but it fell through. Here's to hoping, though, and I had fun with it. I HOPE to do Pitbull Story Books this fall.
Websites:
I've been working on Permanent-Results.com for my sister's weight loss coach and nova-lash business, and mushrushart.com for my amazing ink artist, Seth Mushrush of Baker Street Tattoo in Media, PA. If you would like a website done, please contact me, as I love doing them and can get them done fast; and I work for trade or for competitive prices.
Romance & Recreation:
:) Happy woman here. I think I've done my time....
