The Dog Blog

Earl and Pearl get to meet Shalev!

Sun, 7 Dec 2008 21:37:35 -0600

“I came all the way from Israel to meet Earl and Pearl,” Shalev says as he introduces himself at the art event at Peoria.
Shalev Ad-El, who came to Peoria via Macomb via Israel, plays the harpsichord and is a very talented and highly respected musician. He gives concerts around the world. And he’s a fan of Earl and Pearl Barker — how cool is that!
“We are so honored that we had the opportunity to meet Shalev,” Pearl says. “As soon as Shalev walked through the door, I had to give him a big hug! I would have given him a big lick across his face, but I didn’t want to scare him.”
Shalev drove from Macomb, where he is teaching this semester at Western Illinois University. It was such a nice gesture that he would drive more than an hour to see us.
“I also got to hug Shalev,” Earl says. “However, I’m awkward at hugs. I think it’s a guy thing.”
It’s fun to know that Shalev will take a little piece of us back with him to Israel — we’re pretty sure we got fur all over his sweater. But we think (we hope) he’s OK with that.

The Big Dogtown artworks holiday sale runs from Nov. 22 to Jan. 2!

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:03:36 -0600

Greetings and may you and your loved ones enjoy a joyous holiday season. Kirby, Cindy, Earl and Pearl want to wish everyone the happiest of holidays!

We also want to let you know about our holiday schedule and some great specials we will have starting Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008, and running through Jan 2, 2009. We will offer free shipping in the United States on all purchases made through our website, www.dogtownartworks.com. That’s a savings of $4.80 on book purchases and $5.80 on prints! If you live outside the United States, please contact us for your international shipping discount.

We’ve also got some new photographs in the “gallery two” section of our website. They are located at the bottom of the gallery. Please check them out! They are very “fruity.”

In addition, for those who would rather make their purchase in person (and we’d love to see you!), we are attaching a coupon good for 20 percent off any purchase. Just print out the coupon, bring it to us and save 20 percent on your purchase! Sorry, the coupon cannot be combined with the free shipping and is good only for purchases made in person. Custom dog portraits are excluded. Only one coupon per customer.

Here is our remaining holiday schedule:
Nov. 22 and 23 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday), The Craft League of Champaign-Urbana 26th annual art fair, Urbana Civic Center, 108 E. Water St., Urbana, IL.
Nov. 29, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Holiday Market at Lincoln Square Village, downtown Urbana, IL.
Nov. 30, 2 to 5 p.m., Newman Christmas Kickoff, Newman Grade School Gymnasium, Newman, IL.
Dec. 4, 5, 6 and 7, A Victorian Christmas Celebration, Junior League of Peoria, Ballance-Herschel House, 256 NE Randolph Ave., Peoria, IL.
Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., book signing in lobby of The News-Gazette, 15 Main St., downtown Champaign, IL.
Dec.13, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Holiday Market at Lincoln Square Village, downtown Urbana, IL.

Print out this page and bring us the coupon below and save 20 percent on your purchase!

We like Bill

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:21:47 -0500

From Kirby: The best thing about art fairs is the people you meet. That includes customers and other artists.
At the Knox County Scenic Drive at Walnut Grove Farm, near Knoxville, IL., we had the pleasure of being next to William DeSelms, who goes by Bill. I think. He is one special person and an excellent wildlife sculptor who specializes in birds (beautifully done; he can do about any species). Sometimes you meet a person and there is an immediate bond or connection. It was that way for me and Bill. He was like a best friend from high school, even though I had never met him before. We share a love of small towns, nature and a similar sense of humor, although I am not as quick on my feet at the funny line as Bill (although Cindy is pretty close).
Bill lives in Roseville (go to his website at www.pheasantrystudio.com to see his work) in western Illinois. He’s an accomplished gardener, ragtime piano player, singer and first-rate Jacuzzi-maker (made his own Jacuzzi out of a stock tank). He’s a unique, uplifting and very fun person to be around. This is one of those instances where I wish we lived closer so we could see Bill more often. I mean, I REALLY want to learn how to make a Jacuzzi out of a stock tank and have a no-weed garden (pulling weeds is not my style, nor is it Bill’s).
From Cindy: I enjoyed watching Bill demonstrate to the customers how he could form a bird with his eyes closed! He would take a small piece of clay and with a few quick turns and squeezes, a duck would come to life. He amazed everyone. One of his childhood friends who came to the art fair told us how in grade school Bill would create birds from chewing gum. I would love to see one of those “early birds” created by a self-described night owl. And I wouldn’t chew it, either!
At one point, I told Bill, “Kirby and I were talking about you, that you have the soul of an angel.”
He gave me a slight smile and said, “People have told me that I would have a lot of jewels in my crown when I get to heaven. I think those jewels might be cubic zirconia — but those are pretty, too!”

WE BACK BARACK ALL THE WAY

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:49:05 -0500

I don’t have to bite my tongue anymore. I proudly, and loudly, support Barack Obama. And so does Cindy. And Earl. And Pearl. And so do millions of other Americans.
As a reporter for 30 years, I could not, and did not, openly espouse my political party affiliation or openly support candidates for political office. Those days are over. OK, so now you know. I’m a lifelong Democrat and believe strongly in Barack Obama’s platform: A healthcare policy that works for everyone; corporations and the wealthy paying their fair share to support the country; smarter policies in the Middle East and the rest of the world; an economy that soars instead of taking a scary nosedive; good-paying jobs for hard-working Americans; transforming our oil-based economy into one that makes better use of solar, wind and other alternative, clean power sources; and putting a strong emphasis on protecting, and restoring, the environment.
With the last eight years of the George W. Bush Disaster — I don’t understand how anyone can say otherwise — and with an economy teetering on the edge and a trillion-dollar war that has no end (and was a stupid mistake from the get-go), it is time for a CHANGE. A BIG CHANGE. A REAL CHANGE.
We might lose some sales because of our unwavering support of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. But that’s OK. Hopefully we’ll gain sales from others. I waffled, at first, about blogging for Barack. But one of the companies that I most admire, Small Dog Electronics, and its owner, Don Mayer, have made social responsibility a way of doing business. Don sends out a weekly newsletter with a soapbox and he always lays it on the line. He’s says what he believes, and if you don’t like it, well, that’s your right.
And so this is much too important a time in our nation’s history, not to speak up and let your voice be heard. We all go out side together once a day and howl out our feelings “BAR-ACK! BAR-ACK! BAR-ACK!” However, I must admit that when Earl and Pearl do a sound-out for Barack, it comes out more like “BARK! BARK! BARK!” Go figure.
I met Barack Obama several years ago, when he stopped by the newspaper I worked for to talk to its editorial board. The visit was short. I got the opportunity to shake his hand and introduce myself, and that was about it. But even in that fleeting moment, I could tell that he was a special human being. Smart, charismatic, honorable, passionate in his beliefs — you can tell a lot by how a person carries and presents himself. And in listening to his speeches over the last few years, I’m more convinced than ever that he is the best person to lead America. He is, indeed, on the right side of history.

Free kisses for all!

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 13:06:07 -0500

Howdy, all! I’m Earl Barker, also known as Buster Pringle. This is my first blog entry. On Aug. 9, Cindy and Kirby and I made a trip to the Illinois State Museum Store in Springfield, Ill., to sign copies of our books. I greeted everyone who came in with lots of slobbery kisses. As you can see, I am getting ready to give kisses to a little girl. I took a tour of the store and sniffed around. I especially enjoyed finding some fur-covered thingy hanging from a rack. Everyone was so nice to me that I can’t wait to come back when Cindy and Kirby release book three!

Cindy and Kirby wore “dog” faces, trying to be part of the pack, during much of the book signing. On the drive home, we all stuck our heads out the car window and barked like crazy. We crave attention!

My words of wisdom for today: “One kiss is worth a thousand barks.”

We love fans of Earl and Pearl

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 14:08:06 -0500

Perhaps the most rewarding thing about writing the “Happy Tails” books is hearing from our fans — especially children.

We’ve had parents and grandparents come up at art fairs and book signings and tell us that their children or grandchildren have learned the alphabet from “Happy Tails: Earl and Pearl on the Farm.” Or they tell us how much their kids love the book and that the pages with our “dog people” soon become dog-eared. But when we hear from the kids themselves, that’s really special. Because no matter how much fun we have doing our photographs and books, it doesn’t mean nearly as much unless others enjoy the work, too.

And so we are kicking off a new section to our website effective today, “Fan Page.” We will include photographs that fans have sent us of them reading one of the “Happy Tails” books. Images will be posted with first names only. So if you are a fan of either “Happy Tails: Earl and Pearl on the Farm” or “Happy Tails: The Call of Nature” (or both books!), please e-mail a small jpeg (600 X 400 pixels, 72 dpi suggested size) to: Fans of Earl and Pearl. If you would rather send us a print, please mail it here.

LOL (Lots of Licks!), Earl and Pearl, Cindy and Kirby

Kirby’s very odd last day at work

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:50:25 -0500

I’ve waited a while to post this photograph because it still weirds me out.

This is my last day at work, July 1, 2008. I really did not make the final decision to take the buyout offered by The News-Gazette until the very last minute — June 30. And so once I told my editor and signed all the papers, it was a very odd day. I worked at The News-Gazette for over 23 years and for the most part enjoyed my job. I’ve been a journalist my entire adult life, working at newspapers since I was 21 (19 if you count college). To not be working at a newspaper still doesn’t seem quite right. Luckily, I have this other love — goofy, “dog people” photography (and my wife, Cindy, who is watching me write this) — that will hopefully keep me sustained and satisfied. Oh, and I am available for freelance projects if you are in need of a really excellent writer.

The whole last day, I kept thinking, ‘Am I making the right decision? Have I screwed up royally?’ And forget about getting any tangible work done. I did all the small things I could, but writing a big story was just out of the question because I felt so, ummmm, odd.

Anyway, Cindy took this photograph late at night on July 1 when I was still cleaning out my landfill of a desk. I am one messy dude. I believe it is the Celtic slacker in me. Or some messy gene carried over from the Pringle caveman days, when we ate our haggis straight off the limestone floor of the cave, ate salmon and threw the bones in a big pile in a corner, trimmed our beards and let the whiskers fall where they may. You get the idea.

The desk did eventually get cleaned out very late that night. I was really pooped. I took all the stuff from my desk that I deemed essential and now it is sitting in a big pile in our library/office, amongst all the other piles of stuff that I deem necessary to my existence. As Neil Young said, “A man needs a maid.”

Cindy gets surprise trip to paris for her birthday

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:49:47 -0500

I’m a big spender, especially now that we have no regular income. And so on Cindy’s recent 50th birthday celebration, I just had to splurge big.

“Cindy, today I’m taking you to Paris. You don’t even have to pack your bags. Just hop in the car. We’re going,” I said.

About 50 minutes, and one braunschweiger sandwich later at our favorite little grocery, Thompson’s in sunny Camargo, we were in Paris — Paris, Ill. Cindy loves Paris because it has her favorite boutique, Goodwill.

“Shop ‘til you drop,” I told her. “Go ahead. Spend, $3, $4, even $5 on that slightly used dress. Knock yourself out, girl.”

About 30 minutes and one dress later, we went to the Twin Lakes Park in Paris. Somehow we missed the Eiffel Tower. Go figure. We did go past the grain elevator, which is probably quite similar. We walked the dogs, everyone went to the bathroom, and before you know it, we were back home. Oh, the romance of a day in Paris!

A new day dawns for dogtown artworks

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 13:21:06 -0500

Cindy and Kirby Pringle have really happy tails.

The husband-and-wife team are now fine art photographers on a full-time basis. Although the Pringles have been professional photographers for the past 18 years, it has not provided their sole income. Effective today, it is.

Kirby has been a feature writer for The News-Gazette of Champaign-Urbana (IL) for 23 years. In fact, he and and Cindy met while Kirby was working on a story. Newspapers across the country are feeling the pinch from the Internet, with declining readership and ad sales (The N-G has actually held up pretty well in those areas, however). At any rate, The News-Gazette — again, like many papers across the country — offered longtime employees a buyout option. Kirby took it effective July 1, 2008 (we took a short trip to celebrate, so today is their first real day of work). Kirby will continue to freelance for the paper and take on other writing projects.

“Almost from the day we were married we have talked about going off on our own. Even though it’s really scary having to generate our own paycheck and buy our own health insurance, this was an opportunity we could not pass up,” Kirby says.

“We’re going to take a positive approach and look forward to this new chapter in our lives. We have a lot of confidence in our abilities as photographers and writers. People really enjoy our work and that’s a such great feeling. Everyone we talk to has been very encouraging. It’s really fun to create books and photographs that make people smile,” he adds.

Cindy is just as excited about what the future may hold.

“It’s exciting to think about all the possibilities,” she says. “Dreams really can come true. Climbing the mountain begins with the first step.”

On the other major news front, The News-Gazette and reporter Meg Thilmony were kind enough to do a story on the Pringles and their new book, “Happy Tails: The Call of Nature” (available online and at bookstores everywhere!). The Associated Press picked up the story and a number of newspapers and websites across the country picked it up, including the Chicago Tribune, the Quad City Times, the Southeast Missourian, the Baltimore Sun, The National Examiner, the Kankakee Daily Journal, the Morris Daily Herald and others.

“That’s fantastic publicity for us and our work. The most difficult part of being an artist is getting the word out about your work and this is a great boost that will hopefully lead to other things (especially more sales!)” Kirby says.