At first, I did not want to look. It was so painful and overwhelming, yet it stirred a deep well of emotions for me, and that was enough for me to want to find a way to use my talents towards their salvation. Shortly after, An Act of Dog was born and I was on my way to illustrating the approximate number of dogs destroyed, everyday in shelters. (5500). My intention is to save all healthy and adoptable shelter animals, not just dogs, and to bring awareness of our relationship to all animals and inspire a deeper reverence for them. LM: Tell us about your upcoming PBS Special MB: PBS has partnered with documentary filmmakers, Sagacity Productions, from Boston, to tell the story of our journey and mission. They were so moved by our “putting it all on the line” for the voiceless they felt compelled to want to share it with the world. In particular, they wanted to witness the first artist ever to paint 5500 of anything, and how we were using art for social change. They document our struggles and how we are using art to paint visual records of our current state of consciousness towards animals and the way we are using the artwork to raise funds to save the animals and working with schools kids to show them the most effective ways to use their art for social change. LM: What are your most favorite art pieces created within act of dog? MB: I don’t have any favorites from the 5500. Even though I painted their individual souls. I am making one statement with the work, that is, to illustrate their collective and needless fate and our own lower state of consciousness and lack of compassion. LM: What do you think it will take to turn the kill shelters around? MB: Compassion is the most important ingredient in the formula for life saving success. It must be woven into our foundation and become the driving force behind all of our decisions.
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