inspiration
Journalists and their Four-Legged Muses
Media professionalErika Bleiberg creates an art project that ’ s peak Montclair WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
COURTESY OF DAN MURPHY
As amedia relations professional and documentarian , Erika Bleiberg had followed working journalists and news sites on Twitter since 2009 . It was around 2015 and leading up to the presidential election of 2016 when she noticed agrowing phenomenon in her feed : posts of cute animals mixed in with the reporting . “ It was all of asudden , and these were the same people I ’ d been following for years ,” she says .
Bleiberg had alightbulb moment when she saw how images offourlegged friends had asoothing effect , and she knew exactly what she wanted to do . Alifelong painter drawn to the pointillism of the Impressionists , she decided to solicit photos of journalists ’ pets , make small acrylic paintings ofthem , and give them back as gifts . “ It ’ smyway of saying thank you to our nation ’ s journalists ( and their muses ) for helping to keep our world informed and armed with facts and truth ,” she says .“ No strings attached — just arandom act of kindness in this challenging world .”
She dubbed the project # journalismmatters .
Her first portrait was of Junior , alarge black and white dog owned by former Washington Post reporter Dale Russakoff and her husband , former New York Times editor at large Matt Purdy . Bleiberg ’ scollection would go on to include paintings ofpets owned by NPR ’ s Sarah McCammon and Giles Snyder ; The New York Times ’ Kim
JOURNALIST ’ S BEST FRIEND # journalismmatters creator Erika Bleiberg poses with her canine muse , Cozy .
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