Danger Dog Blog

Big Foot in Nepal - Return of the Yeti

The mythical Yeti is omnipresent in Nepal.   Apparently you can be served by a Yeti with a tray in a restaurant...

You can stay at the Yeti Hotel (still that Yeti has a tray and that big foot sticking out)...

Or you can go paragliding with a Yeti!

Crazed Lhasa Apso by Ram Mohan Patel 2008 SOLD

Anyone want a Danger Dog that looks a bit like a Yeti?   This young Lhasa Apso (photographed at Bergamot Station) looked normal until Ram Mohan got ahold of her !

This painting is part of the Nepal Art Dog fair trade art project.   These talented signboard artists are losing work to digital graphic designers and rarely hand-paint signs now.  

Immortalize your pet on metal!

HOW TO ORDER

To order your own pet as a Nepal Art Dog, please send me a photo of your pet.   I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of paintings and three people will get work.   Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint.   These can be hung indoors or out, be framed or unframed.

Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case.   Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!

Send your photo to [email protected] or find out more at www.NepalDog.com.

Let's keep these artists painting.

ORDERS OPEN FOR NEXT TRIP (OCTOBER, 2011).   I'll be back in early December with your order.

American Dogs = Nepali Jobs.   Micro-finance through art patronage!

 

Goodbye from Dogmandu!

 

 

 

 

Why I Love Nepal: Hardware in Mustang

Nepal is justifiably famous for the fabulous woodcarvers of yore, but today I will focus on their locks, hasps and latches on the doors and gates along the Kali Gandaki River in lower Mustang.

The Chhairo Gompa is near the Tibetan Refugee Camp just outside of Marpha village in lower Mustang.  It is slowly being restored to its former glory.    Chhairo is a Nyingma Gompa and is dedicated to Sakyamuni Buddha and Guru Rinpoche.
The Tibetan camp, which was built on land donated by Chhairo residents, has it's own Gelukpa Gompa, and the Dalai Lama is the main focus there.

I'm not sure how old the hardware is on this door, but it is in the style of the Kingdom of Lo Manthang.

This gompa was built sometime in the 1600s.   Once the religious center of the Thakali people, the salt traders of the area relocated after the Chinese closed the border to Tibet and the Chhairo Gompa fell into disrepair.  The last of the monks left Chairro in the 1970s.

John Sanday was the architect chosen by Lama Sashi Dojto help with Chhairo Gompa's restoration.

We have been watching the progress every year and things are progressing albeit slowly.

A lovely old hasp at the Gompa.

Just down the road a bit, in Tukche, where I have been photographing this lovely old abandoned house for many, many years, there are quite a few old hasps and latches.

From the same house in Tukche.

A more primitive latching system.

Even more primitive hinges, again made with what's on hand.  

I would have like to have seen this old house in its heyday, when Tukche merchants cornered the  lucrative salt trade from Tibet. 

Starting in the early 1960s, these magnificent old houses were abandoned when the road from India to Pokhara was built -- making the traditional salt from Tibet more expensive than the Indian salt.   By the early 1970s many houses were abandoned.   My husband met a lady who grew up in Tukche at an African/Nepal film festival in Kathmandu.   In her mid-60s, her aunt lived in this house and she often visited.  She is now a doctor and her children have emigrated to New Zealand.

There are clues that this house is not completely abandoned however... Laundry on the lines and prayer flags adorn the inner courtyard. 

Just to compare, this is the courtyard of the lovely Tukche Distillery.   The house was 207 years old when this photo was taken.   Their brandies are delicious!   But that story is for another post.

This hasp is from the town of Philing, just across the bridge from EklaiBhatti in Mustang.

A hasp of an entirely different sort.   Also from Philing.   Yak hide hardware.

Using what is at hand is an art in Mustang.

Looking through photos really makes me miss Nepal.

Stay tuned.  

 

 

 

O Canada! Canadian Danger Dogs

Makandal the Haiti Rescue Dog by Amar Shrestha, 2007 SOLD

Makandal emigrated from Haiti to Canada.   Mak`s full name is Makandal, who was the slave that perfected the art of poisoning the white masters and started the revolution!   I'm betting he enjoyed Canada.   Amar did a fine job on this one.

Batboy the Mastiff by Dilip Niroj 2010 Available    

Batboy is a (waning?) Canadian dog.   A huge enlightened Mastiff, I hope he is having a good time this  Canada Day.

Batboy the Mastiff by Baba 2010 Available

From the same photo as above, here we have Batboy by the always fabulous Baba.   The signboard is signed Surya as it came from the Surya Studio in Kathmandu.

Bruiser the Stinky Dog by Ram Krishna 2010 available

Apparently Bruiser smells!   So much so that he got the Enlightened Stinky Dog treatment.   Ram Krishna captured his sidelong glance.  He also lives in Canada.

Bruiser the Stinky Dog by Sufraj Khadka 2010 Available

Both of Bruiser's Nepali script translate as 'Dharma Dog' (religious Dog).

Flick the Golden Retriever by Jit Gurung 2008 Available

This portrait of Flick is a particular favorite of mine.   I was told that Flick 'would not say boo to a ghost' (a Canadian phrase?) and they did not choose this one as he looks a bit crazed.   However, it is another of my favorites.  He appears to be watching ants.

Duke the White Lab by Baba 2011 Available

Duke, while technically NOT a Canadian, is owned by one, so this charming portrait is included here.  

Duke the White Labrador by Sagar 2011 Available

Duke here is decidedly more menacing.   As a matter of fact, the owner chose the portrait that most captured his sweet nature.   Here Duke looks a bit like Humphrey Bogart as a dog.   Sagar enjoys painting exotic backgrounds on some pieces.   Is that an apparition in the background?

Hope all of my Canadian friends are enjoying their day off!  

These paintings are part of the Nepal Art Dog fair trade art project.   These talented signboard artists are losing work to digital graphic designers and rarely hand-paint signs now.  

HOW TO ORDER

To order your own pet as a Nepal Art Dog, please send me a photo of your pet.   I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of paintings and three people will get work.   Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint.   These can be hung indoors or out, be framed or unframed.

Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case.   Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!

Send your photo to [email protected] or find out more at www.NepalDog.com.

Let's keep these artists painting.

ORDERS OPEN FOR NEXT TRIP (OCTOBER, 2011).   I'll be back in early December with your order.

American Dogs = Nepali Jobs.   Micro-finance through art patronage!

 

Goodbye from Dogmandu!