Insert title here /title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name="keywords" content="Insert keywords here"> <meta name="description" content="Insert description here">  </head> <body> <div id="Layer2" style="position:absolute; left:191px; top:175px; width:800px; height:4415px; z-index:2; background-color: #FFFFFF; layer-background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px none #000000; overflow: auto;"> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript">  </script> <div id="Layer1" style="position:absolute; left:13px; top:16px; width:423px; height:670px; z-index:1"> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Canine cards Picturing bulldog a snap for photographer By Cate Terwilliger Denver Post Staff Writer Sunday, August 19, 2001 - Jan Oswald took flight from the known world on the back of the most Earth-bound creature, an English bulldog with a willing attitude and a face only a mother could love. Oswald's ability to find beauty in the beast resulted in VivyLand, a line of greeting cards featuring her 6-year-old pet in humorous fine art portraits, from ballerina and gargoyle to teacher, bride and party girl. The cards are available locally at the Tattered Cover Book Store in Cherry Creek and online atwww.vivyland.com. </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"In the back of my mind, I had always wanted to have a greeting card company," says Oswald, 54. "That and a coffee shop: Cafe Vivy." </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">But walking away from her acclaimed and lucrative work as an advertising photographer was no mean feat. During a 26-year career in San Francisco and, since 1980 in Denver, Oswald had accumulated all the trappings of success: a swank house, her own studio, a black Porsche, a sterling reputation and plenty of well-paid assignments. </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">But the commercial work was slowly sapping the soul of a woman who had long wanted to be her own artist. </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"I didn't want to go to work anymore," she recalls. "I'd done so many things and wound up doing so many things over and over - I just didn't want to do it anymore. I thought, "There must be something more.'" </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">So Oswald did something many people dream but few dare: She threw off the traces. She sold the house, the studio, the Porsche - everything connected with her success as an advertising photographer. </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"When she decided not to do it anymore, it was a bit of a shock to everyone," says Bunny Martin, a longtime friend and San Francisco food stylist who has worked with Oswald for 21 years. "That was a big leap of faith, and I think there was a time when some of her friends wondered what she was going to do </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"But it was obvious she really loved fine art photography. Jan is very intuitive; she works from within, like all good artists do And you really can't do both. You either have credibility as a commercial photographer or you have credibility as a fine art photographer."</font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> So Oswald walked away from her career and everything that went with it. "I just wanted to dissociate from everything and find out who I was without all those trappings," the photographer says. "I didn't have an agenda. I didn't have to go into the office, so I traveled a lot. I told a friend, "I feel like I fell into a void,' and she said, "People spend their whole lives trying to get into that void.' </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"My intent was to get rid of all of the old stuff and see what fell in." </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In dropped 391/2 pounds of bulldog. </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Oswald had been photographing Vivy since adopting her as a puppy in 1995; the dog always accompanied her to the studio and, during slack moments, became the focus of Oswald's creativity. In a spoof of the ubiquitous Raphael angel image, Vivy donned feathery wings; her natural resemblance to gargoyle statuary inspired Oswald to create Vivy as gargoyle. Oswald learned Photoshop, allowing her to digitally meld the dog's image with items photographed separately - the gargoyle's cement wings, for instance. Clients who visited Oswald's studio were so enamored of the results that the photographer produced T-shirts of the Vivy angel and gargoyle images to promote her business.</font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> So it wasn't entirely surprising, some years later, that Oswald's new life as a photographer should take a certain muscular, low-to-the-ground shape. </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"Vivy enjoys getting into character," Oswald says. "Whenever the lights are set up and the background is rolled out, Vivy just trots on over and waits for her picture-perfect moment." The dog's cheery disposition and comical mug birthed VivyLand's slogan: "happy all the time." </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And the future looks bright indeed for woman and dog. The VivyLand line of 24 cards was a hit at the National Stationery Show in May, where a mind-numbing volume of new products are rolled out.</font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> "People were looking at thousands of booths; they get this sort of glazed look," Oswald says. "I had huge graphics of Vivy - the gargoyle at 7 feet tall, and two others at 5 feet - and they'd spot them and just start laughing." Compliments and orders followed, leaving Oswald with her current challenge - expanding the line with new images and finding effective distribution routes. </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">At the same time, her reputation as a fine art photographer is spreading: A retrospective of Oswald's work recently was exhibited at The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum in Oklahoma City - an honor that surprised and thrilled her. The recognition bodes well for life beyond VivyLand; Oswald is savvy enough in the ways of the marketplace to know her current success won't last forever. But she has her own artistic vision - and experience reinventing herself. </font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"I'm not sure where she'll go from here," Martin says. "But I think she has faith that whatever else comes along, she can do that, too." </font></p> <p> </p><meta name="keywords" content="english bulldog cards, bulldog photos, Vivy, Jan Oswald, humor, photography"> <p> </p> </div> <div id="Layer2" style="position:absolute; left:440px; top:16px; width:324px; height:771px; z-index:2"> <p><img src="Card_Images/PostPix_1.jpg" width="182" height="286"></p> <p><img src="Card_Images/PostPix_2.jpg" width="260" height="189"></p> <p><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">final card:</font></p> <p><a href="Cards2.html"><img src="Card_Images/008.Ballerina.jpg" width="180" height="234" border="0"></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="Layer5" style="position:absolute; left:550px; top:526px; width:0px; height:44px; z-index:5"></div> <div id="Layer1" style="position:absolute; left:800px; top:31px; width:0px; height:35px; z-index:6"></div> <div id="Layer4" style="position:absolute; left:190px; top:20px; width:600px; height:120px; z-index:8"></div> <table width="162" border="1" bordercolor="#6666FF"> <tr> <td width="152" align="left" valign="top" ><p><img src="Icons/logo100x.jpg" width="100" height="100"><br> <a href="EnglishBulldogCards.html" target="_blank">greeting cards</a><br> <a href="custom.html">bulldog designs</a><br> <a href="english-bulldog-gifts.html" class="style6">gifts & figurines </a><br> <a href="holidayOrnaments.html">holiday items</a><br> <a href="artworks-oilpainitngs.htm">artwork<br> </a><br> <a href="books.html" class="style6">books</a><br> <a href="teeShirts.html" class="style6">t-shirts</a><br> <a href="postersBulldog.html" target="_blank">posters</a><br> <a href="bulldogHealthBook.html"><br> </a><a href="video/love-my-bulldog.html" class="style6">why I love my bulldog</a> <br> <a href="EnglishBulldogPhotosPage.html">Vivy's friends photos</a><a href="EnglishBulldogPhotos.2.htm" class="style6"><br> . . . page 2<br> </a><a href="EnglishBulldogPhotos.3.htm">. . . page 3</a><a href="EnglishBulldogPhotos.4.htm"><br> . . . page 4 </a> <br> <br> <a href="training.html">training</a><br> </p> <p class="style6"><a href="bulldogloss.html">loss of bulldog<br> </a><a href="stories.htm">bulldog stories</a> </p> <p class="style6"><a href="http://mybulldog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">bulldog blog</a><br> <a href="newsletters.html">newsletter archive</a> </p> <p class="style7"> <span class="style6"><a href="aboutvivyscards.html">about Vivy's cards</a><br> <a href="aboutVivy.html">about Vivy</a><br> <a href="AboutJanOswald.html">about Jan Oswald</a><br> <br><script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </span></p> <p><span class="style6"><a href="paymentOptions.html">payment options </a></span></p> <p><img src="images/logo-xclickBox.gif" width="152" height="29"><img src="images/ccards_sm.gif" width="149" height="34"></p> <p><a href="http://www.vivyland.com/links.html" class="style7">links</a><br> </p> <span class="style8"><a href="linktous.htm">link to us</a></span> <a href="siteMap.html" class="style7"><br> site map </a><a href="mailto:speak@vivyland.com" class="style7">email vivy </a></td> </tr> </table> <div id="Layer6" style="position:absolute; width:900px; height:115px; z-index:9; top: 4600px; left: 150;"> <div align="center"> <p align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="index.html">home</a> <a href="EnglishBulldogCards.html">bulldog cards</a> <a href="aboutvivyscards.html">about Vivy's bulldog cards</a> <a href="aboutVivy.html">About Vivy the english bulldog</a> <a href="AboutJanOswald.html">About Jan Oswald</a> <a href="gifts1.html">bulldog gifts</a> <a href="gifts1.html">bulldog toys</a> <a href="custom.html" target="_blank">custom bulldog gifts</a> <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/vivyland" target="_blank">new bulldog gifts</a> <a href="holiday.html">bulldog ornaments</a> <a href="bulldogHealthBook.html">bulldog health book</a> <a href="stories/bulldogMoon.html">bulldog tributes</a> <a href="EnglishBulldogPhotosPage.html">bulldog pictures</a> <a href="links.html">bulldog links</a> <a href="figurines.html">bulldog figurines</a></font><br> <a href="postersBulldog.html"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">bulldog posters</font></a></p> <p>©www.vivyland.com English Bulldog</p> </div> </div>  <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </body> </html>