Kandrac & Kole Interior Designs, Inc. Uses My Art to Create a “Life is Ruff” Theme at Atlanta DIFFA Charity Event

Here is the Press Release from Kandrac & Kole Interior Designs or if you are visual like me - just watch the following video or view the photos below:


DIFFA (Design Industries Fighting Aids) held it’s annual Atlanta Dining by Design event at ADAC (Atlanta Decorative Arts Center) on October 10-12, 2009.

DIFFA is one of the country's largest supporters of direct care for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventive education for those at risk. Supporters of DIFFA come from all fields of fine design and the visual arts, including: architecture, fashion design, interior design, photography and consumer product design. DIFFA has granted over $38 million to hundreds of AIDS service organizations nationwide.

The Dining by Design in an over-the-top celebration of all things tabletop! This fundraising event brings together established talent, artists, and celebrated individuals to create three-dimensional dining installations that awe, inspire, and delight. Each dining space (either 11’x11’ or 11’x20’) has a sponsor and a design team charged with creating a dining space for 10 people that will be memorable, unique and creative.

This year in Atlanta, the sponsor Insidesign (www.myinsidesign.com)chose Kandrac & Kole Interior Designs, Inc. to transform their 11’x11’ empty space into a dining extravaganza. In 2 weeks time, this dynamic duo created a space that became one of the highlights of the event. According to co-owner Kelly Kole, “The inspiration for our invent started with a recent piece of art, named “Life is Ruff”, by Arizona artist Ron Burns. With the economy in a state of flux, the recent historic floods in Atlanta, and the challenge of the AIDS virus worldwide, we felt this theme was appropriate. Our interpretation however, was a positive one – filled with glitz, glamour and whimsy as we combined Ron’s art with artistic finishes, silk, velvet and bedazzled Milkbone dog bones!” The perimeters were established using (8) 8’, solid core doors that were faux finished a metallic purple, supporting panels of luxurious crème silk and wide plank hardwood floors. The space was then filled with six pieces of art from the Ron Burns Studio, velvet and silk cushions, red roses wrapped in pearl dog collars and lit by a black and white Italian crystal chandelier. Quite a transformation for a worthy cause!

Thanks to Two Plates Full

A very big "Thanks" to Terri and the wonderful staff at Two Plates Full for a great booksigning and for using our Furever Homes Raffle Program. I stayed an extra hour signing books with a percentage going to help r.e.s.c.u.e.. Over $1000.00 was raised to help find furever homes.

One lucky winner received their choice of any Burns limited edition valued at $2000. And three runner's up won a $100 gift certificate.


Ron and Terri

Links:
Two Plates Full
r.e.s.c.u.e.
Rufus Rhymes Book
FureverHomes Program

Joke of the day.

A guy is driving around the back woods of Montana and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: “Talking Dog For Sale” He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard.

The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.

“You talk?” he asks.

“Yep,” the Lab replies.

After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says “So, what’s your story?”

The Lab looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.”

“I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.” ”I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired.”

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.

“Ten dollars,” the guy says.

“Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”

“Because he’s a liar. He never did any of that shit.”

Halloween is TOMORROW!

Halloween is tomorrow and as one last post to get you in a celebratory mood, here are three final dogs in costume to brighten your day and get you ready for the weekend!

Let me know which costume was your favorite. Plus, feel free to share any of your own pictures with me!

It's Almost Halloween!

Howloween is almost here, which means this week, you'll get two posts with adorable dogs in costume!!

There's no theme this week... just fun!

Hot Dog!

This week's Howloween pics are a series of dogs dressed up as foods. I have it on good authority no dogs were injured in the creation of these pictures. They all got out of their costumes and went to bed safe and sound.

It's a Fish! It's a Turkey! It's a Lion! No... It's a DOG!

Thought I'd start out Monday with another helping of Howloween Fun! This is sort of a dogs being other animals editions. Check out this second batch of dog costumes. What's YOUR favorite so far?

Halloween Inspired

Although I've never dressed up my dogs or cats in costumes, these adorable pics are starting to make me think I should! I have a cluster of cute pics I received in an e-mail over the weekend, so I'll spread them out over the weeks leading up to Halloween. Enjoy!

New Contest!

Now THIS is exciting! To generate excitement about Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, which is the entire month of October, I am hosting a contest called "Reading Rufus Rhymes to Rover." This contest basically asks you to record yourself reading a lullaby from Rufus Rhymes to your adopted dog and record it. Then, post it to You Tube and let me know! The winning video will be determined by a panel of dog lovers. But the best part is the prize... a COMMISSIONED PET PORTRAIT of your shelter dog! Can you believe it? I will actually paint your dog! That's a prize worth about $30,000!

For more info go here: http://ronburns.com/contest/

And good luck all!

Another Morning Smile Post

Saw this just the other day and wanted to share.

Check out these black bears having the time of their lives on an Alaskan swing set! Dangerous, but adorable.

Put a Smile on Your Face This Monday Morning!

I can't find where this originally came from, or I'd post a source. It just made me chuckle this morning, so I thought I'd share with everyone.

A while back an old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar (though no tags) and well-fed belly and the fact he was clean that he had a home. He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep on the couch.



My dogs didn't seem to mind and he seemed like a good dog and I was Ok with him, so I let him nap. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, resumed his position on the couch, and slept for an hour.

This continued for several weeks. Curious, I pinned a note to his collar that I wrote: "Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap. I don't mind but want to be sure it's ok with you."

The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar:
"He lives in a home with ten children -- he's trying to catch up on his sleep. May I come with him tomorrow?"

Announcing the "I Love My Pet" Contest WINNER!

Congratulations to Abbie Fink and her dog Viva, a rescued lab/cocker spaniel mix.



Here's what Abbie had to say about her adorable pooch Viva, "Ron -- I love my Viva. A black cocker lab mix who has lived with me for a little over nine years. I adopted her as part of a fundraising event called Viva Las Vegas (hence the name) to benefit Florence Crittenton Services of Arizona. She gives great hugs and wonderful sloppy kisses. You couldn't ask for a better four-legged friend. And yes, that is her in my profile photo, too.”

Luv that she is a rescued dog and LUV that her adoption fees went to another great cause Florence Crittenton Service of Arizona. According to their website, "Every year, Florence Crittenton provides shelter, education, counseling and social support to nearly 1,500 girls and boys, ages 12 to 21. Many of the at-risk youth we serve are struggling with issues and challenges caused by poverty, abuse, neglect, crime and violence." To read more about them, visit them on-line at http://www.florencecrittentonofaz.org/.

Congrats again Viva and Abbie!!!

Fawn and Bobcat are Best Friends

Because I'm an animal lover, I get a lot of great stuff from my animal loving friends. Here is one of the latest... I think this story broke in May, so I may be a little behind, but the pictures are just adorable. So if you've already seen them, I'm sure you won't mind seeing them again!

The Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara, CA caused these two to take shelter together. The fawn was 3 days old and the bobcat was about 3 weeks. The fawn came from somewhere in the fire and the bobcat from Carpentaria, apparently near Arnold Schwarzeneggers ranch. The poor bobcat was dehydrated and near death. They immediately bonded and snuggled together under a desk in the Santa Barbara County Dispatch Office for hours.



Although wild animals, especially of separate species, are never place together due to regulations, in the emergency situation, they had no choice. Rescuers were forced to put animals anywhere they could, since they had run out of crates large enough for the fawn. The bobcat cub ran to the fawn, it was instant bonding, and that's why we have these pics!

On Montel Across America Today!

I was so excited to be interviewed by Montel Williams today on his national radio show Montel Across America! Although we talked about Sirius, the only known canine casualty of 9/11, I loved that Montel wanted the interview to be on the upbeat side by talking about how the print of my painting of Sirius raises money to help train dogs to be just like Sirius. I want everyone to remember what a true American hero this dog was! To hear the interview go here... http://airamerica.com/content/montel-ron-burns.

Here's a picture of me, the Sirius painting and Emma.


Let's all take a moment to reflect and remember this day and all it means to the people of the great city of New York and our great country...

Win this Contest - I'll Sketch Your Pet!

Example of the sketch you could win of YOUR pet!

Today I launched a contest where all you have to do is interact with me on Facebook and/or Twitter to be entered into a contest with the grand prize of a sketch from ME of YOUR PET!

That's the short version, here's the long version:
The Artist-in-Residence for The Humane Society of the United States, Ron Burns, wants to know how much you love your pet. Why? Because Ron has dedicated his personal and professional life to helping lost, abandoned, and lonely animals find loving “furever” homes. He is no stranger to loving a pet as part of the family. Rufus, a canine companion for Ron and his wife for 20 years, was such a memorable dog that Ron was inspired to create a unique new book in his honor. “Rufus Rhymes, Modern Lullabies for Dog Lovers,” is available exclusively online.

Ron wants to help you honor the pet you love through a unique contest that is easy to enter. One lucky winner of the “Ron Burns, I Love My Pet!” contest will receive a personal pet sketch from America’s Favorite Animal Artist… that’s right, Ron will personally sketch your pet! The social media contest runs from September 8 – 18, 2009.

The pet-loving winner will receive an electronic, pre-sized copy of the sketch for use as your avatar on social media sites such Twitter and Facebook, as well as the signed original 8” x 8” sketch on paper worth $10,000*!

Entering the contest is easy using Facebook and Twitter. *See official rules for details. There are two simple ways you can enter (limit one entry per person on each website):

Twitter.com
You must be following RonBurns (http://twitter.com/ronburns) and submit a tweet via www.twitter.com that begins with “@RonBurns I love my pet” then provide your pet name and description. Limit one submission per person.

Facebook.com
You must become a “fan” of Ron Burns on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ron-Burns/50976005714) and post a message to the fan wall with a short message that says why you love your pet. Limit one submission per person.

*See official rules for more information and examples of how to enter. Good luck, pet lovers! Be sure to subscribe to Ron’s mailing list so you can find out about other contests, promotions, and exclusive offers from Burns Studio Publishing.

Rhyming w/ Rufus

Rufus, the lead character in my series of lullaby books for dogs, has his very own blog at www.rufusrhymes.com. There, every Wednesday he posts a topic and starts out the rhyming with his own witty little rhyme. Last week, his rhyme was about Animal Planet and went a little something like this...

I love to watch me some Animal Planet
Everything seems so real
But when I forget it's only TV
It takes my nose a day to heal



His rhyming ways must have seeped into my Facebook friends too, because I got this great comment from my friend DeEtte Starr in Silicon Valley, California after she received her copy of Rufus Rhymes.

(to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle)
I just got my book today
Read it through and just must say
Love it dearly,
Yes I do.
Looking forward to Book 2.
Forward grabbed my heart away
Rufus lives on to this day.

The Latest

I thought I'd take a moment to do a sort of week end wrap-up for all those interested parties.

The first part of this week was spent in Flagstaff, Arizona with my girls (my wife Buff and our two girls Loganberry and Emma). The weather was great and the house we stayed at had a great porch for Emma, who LOVES the outdoors, to lay on almost 24/7. We did a lot of hiking, which our whole family really enjoys and took some much needed R&R time.

Now, though, it's back to reality and there's some really great things happening in the world that I want to share with everyone.

First, Rachael Ray is doing a REALLY GREAT thing. She's donating about $200,000 to shelters from the sale of her Nutrish(TM) dog food. Animal welfare organizations can sign up to be a part of a bracket-style contest, and potentially win the $50,000 grand prize, while collecting $1,000 at each tier of the contest. The program is called Mutt Madness, and you can read about/enter by visiting http://blog.rachaelray.com/index.php/2009/08/06/announcing-mutt-madness-a-rewards-program-for-animal-activists/.

Secondly, North Carolina just did a REALLY GREAT thing. According to the article posted by ohmidog! the state just passed a bill that "calls upon the Department of Agriculture to establish basic humane care standards. It requires facilities with more than 10 female dogs and more than 30 puppies to register with the state, undergo yearly inspections and provide proper veterinary care." To learn more about it, visit: http://www.ohmidog.com/2009/08/07/nc-senate-passes-puppy-mill-bill/

Third, I just found out that I have a couple of RV-loving "buddies" at RV Buddies Online. The team is a few people rolling around the country talking RVs in their original on-line series. And, they must be good people because they support Prize, Not Fighter - my partnership with The HSUS to stop dog fighting and make sure that everyone knows dogs are to be prized, not fought. They're also a-okay in my book, because they are accompanied by a couple of dogs, Tobias and Alexander P. Bull (Tobias just passed away about a month ago and my thoughts are with his family). To check out the whole crew and a moving tribute to Tobias, visit: http://www.rvbuddiesonline.com/buddies/.

And lastly, I can't let Rachael Ray and North Carolina show me up! So, I'm giving away a Rufus Rhymes book, set of note cards, and a SIGNED LIMITED EDITION print to one lucky Facebook friend. So go join, befriend me, and I'll tell you how to win!