Check out this sweet little guy. As I was working on his portrait, I just wanted to squeeze him, he's so cute. Unfortunately, that won't be possible. Like so many of my portrait subjects, he has departed this world. It happened just a few months ago. He was 16 (like Sophie!). He was a much loved dog, with an owner that was crazy about him. I enjoyed meeting his owner, and she and I shared lots of stories about our recently departed loves. I think it was a little bit of therapy for each of us, and I was thankful for the experience. My job is about more than painting portraits, and I am grateful for the people I meet while doing what I do, and the bond I share with them that comes from not only loving our pets, but also knowing the pain of losing them. The owner was given a paw print of her dog by the funeral home that assisted her when Nicho passed, and she inquired about having a pendant made with his print on it. I had never done one exactly like this before, but I knew it was possible. I scanned a copy of the print and reduced it, then transferred it to a special kind of paper that is used to transfer the design to the silver and create a resist for etching. After a soak in an acid solution, a very meaningful piece of jewelry emerged. (See below.) You know that as soon as I finished it I was wishing that I had a paw print of Sophie's to work with, but not so. I do have a personalized pendant with a stamped paw print on it, and the pendant that's a little figure of her, which I shared with you on 4-29-13, which I'm very happy with. But still....the etched paw print was very cool.
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Have you seen my tennis ball? The yellow one...I feel like stripping the rest of the fuzz off of it, then biting it 'til it busts almost in half. I started the process a few days ago and lost interest, but today's the day I'm gonna finish it off. I'm just in that kind of mood... "The yellow tennis ball? I just saw Maggie with that..." Maggie has it? That's funny!! What would Maggie do with a tennis ball? Tennis balls are retriever things...it's in our blood, the whole retrieving thing...carrying stuff with our soft mouths. Tearing the fuzz off is my own twist on the habit, but definitely still a 'triever thing. Maggie's a dachshund, and a mini one at that. She would probably need a mini tennis ball to even get it in her mouth, but she would probably just look at it, anyway. OH MY GIANT POODLE! Maggie has my tennis ball! And what is she doing to it?? She's pulling the fuzz off of it, then nibbling the rubber part into tiny bits! Not fair! She doesn't RESPECT THE BALL...Where's the tradition in a dachshund destroying a tennis ball?? It's painful to watch, yet I cannot look away..... Finally! ...but now there's only a half left, and what's left is all spitty and wet, and not in a good way... Never mind. I'm over it... "Teddy...I scraped up your tennis ball. You're not going to l like it. Sorry, buddy. I'll get you a new one at the store. Here...have a piece of cheese...better?" I'm okay. Cheese makes everything better, but could you keep Maggie away from my sock monkey? I don't often set out to make a piece of jewelry for myself, specifically, anymore. That's not to say that I don't occasionally think of a design, make it with the intention of offering it for sale, and decide that I need one like it, then make another one for me. That does happen. But I don't often design something with me in mind, then make it, knowing that I'll never make another one exactly like it. Well, I did just that, and I am very pleased with the result. I made a Sophie pendant for myself. And because Sophie was one of a kind, it's probably the only Sophie necklace I will ever make. I included her name on the chain on a little tab of silver that I stamped, and I added three little pearls to dangle from the chain, as pearls represent tears, because, yes, I'm still crying. I love dogs. Yep, all of them...big, small, cute, ugly. The little yapper that you could pick up with a pair of tweezers to the drooling mastiff that slings spit with every step. I even feel for those aggressive dogs that I'd rather avoid, because I know it's probably not their fault. I can usually find some redeeming qualities in any dog that comes my way. I always think mine are the greatest (cutest, smartest, sweetest, etc.), of course. When it comes to finding fault with a dog, I usually can find a dozen ways to blame the owner, but not the dog. Here's an example. This is Katie, by brother and sister-in-law's dog. The snarl that you see there is courtesy of my brother. I got to look in on Katie this week while my brother and sister-in-law were out of town for the day, and this look, at left, was my departure snarl. I waved good-bye, she snarled. Like clockwork, every time. I even left to get my phone out of the car so I could take this picture. I came back, waved again. Snarl. Click. Picture taken. The thing is, she actually likes me. She just hates any kind of hand action, like a wave good-bye. This is something my brother has taught her. Not intentionally, but just in the way he "plays" with her. She doesn't trust hands around her, or even at a distance, because she has come to expect some teasing from them. She snarls when you reach to pet her on the head, or when you remove your hand after petting her on the back. Tummy rubs are safe, unless you get too close to her face. She's sweet otherwise, and I have never felt threatened by her, although a paper towel I was using to wipe some eye goop off of her face took it hard....I think that we train our dogs every day, whether it's intentional or not, so I think we should be aware of how our behavior is shaping their behavior. I did a portrait of Katie last year (to the left). I captures her sweeter moments. Maybe I'll do another one for my brother that portrays her snarlier side...And maybe I'll suggest they give her a new name. How about "Snarls Barkley"? Look who's here...Maggie! Maggie belonged to my parents for about nine years. Health matters interfered with their ability to care for her, and, while it was always my intention to take her if something like that occurred, the timing of it was way off on the day they decided they needed to let her go. (Months of caring for my parents and Sophie, spending nights at the regular hospital and days at the vet hospital, pretty much overwhelmed me and wore me down for a while.) Fortunately, Maggie had an angel who came and got her and took her home and cared for her for over a year. After my parents got better and after some of the anguish of losing Sophie lessened, I started thinking about Maggie. I knew I couldn't really think about bringing home another dog without taking Maggie in, so I did! Maggie's angel was also her breeder, and she gave Maggie the best care you could imagine. Maggie's time away, living with about eight other dachshunds, taught Maggie a lot of dog skills she didn't really have. I think it made her transition to living here easier for her and us. She used to be overwhelmed by different situations, including being away from home, other dogs and wide open spaces. Now, she's only a little scared by Teddy when he tries to initiate play (he is ten times her size), but she patrols the backyard like a pro, she learned all about doggie doors and using ramps while she was away, and she even dropped a few pounds while she was gone. She has been here just over a week, and she has mastered going up and down stairs (but don't get in her way, as she develops a lot of momentum in both directions), and she totally enjoyed the Saturday morning car ride routine. And just as importantly, my parents are very happy to be able to visit Maggie again. I can't thank Maggie's breeder enough for being so kind and generous with her care of Maggie. She really, really loves her dogs, and we were so lucky to have her help. I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post (sorry!), but I have been busy with all kinds of things. One thing I've been trying to do is bring some order to the room I use as my studio. In the process, I came across an "illumination" that I got at an arts festival years ago, long before I started participating in festivals. I liked it so much, I framed it and hung it up in my studio. It's a take on illuminated manuscripts created by monks when they had to record scripture by hand. They would go way beyond the painstaking task of just writing page after page; they would also decorate the pages with illustrations related to the text they were copying. The most famous example of an illuminated manuscript, I believe, is the Book of Kells, located at Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland. We made a point of seeing the Book of Kells several years ago when we were in Ireland, and it was lovely. If you visit, you can only see two pages at a time. By that, I mean that the book is open in a display case, and every day, someone turns a page to display for that day. So, if you visit on Monday, then return on Thursday, you will see different pages. Anyway...my little discovery was a prayer for animals by Albert Schweitzer, which someone reproduced in calligraphy, then added charming little watercolor illustrations. It even has a gold-leaf looking "H" at the beginning. I don't know why I stashed it away and left it for so long, but I'm glad I found it, and I thought I would share it with you. I only wish that I had taken the picture of it before I framed it, because the reflection on the glass required me to take the photo at weird angle. I hope you like it:
Teddy loves to be outside, regardless of the weather. I often wonder if our neighbors think it's sad we make our dog stay outside in cold, windy, snowy weather, but we don't make him go out at all (except for necessary business). Much of the time we would prefer he stay in because it's a lot of work sometimes to dry his paws/underside/legs. He seems to forget that he has four paws. He sits patiently while we dry the first three, then he's done. So we're left wrestling with the fourth paw while he's wanting to walk away. That's why you should always go for the dirtiest paw first...Here he is basking in winter's chill: He finally decided to come back in, leaving a warm little silhouette on the deck. You would have never, ever caught Sophie doing that! It was three months ago today that we lost Sophie, and we've missed her every minute. Best. Dog. Ever.
Teddy's looking swell in his new collar. Handsome boy! I've been using much of my time making room for and setting up some new tools and equipment for jewelry making, including a laser printer (for transferring designs to a special kind of paper which is then transferred to metal to act as a resist for etching), a roll mill (for rolling metal and making designs in it by pressing a metal plate into the silver or copper), and a light box, which will hopefully help me take some better (at least acceptable) photos of the jewelry I make. Lots of things need some general organization, too, including my jewelry desk and the drawing table I use for pastels. Organizing isn't my strong point, but I'm distracted when it isn't done, so it's a must....at least I have to try. For a while.
We had a good Christmas. Especially Teddy. Here's the evidence: I hope you had a good holiday, too.
We missed being able to indulge Sophie this Christmas, and we always miss her sweet presence (and her willingness to wear a Santa hat.) By the way, not all of Teddy's gifts were from us. My brother and his wife gave Teddy some of them. Unfortunately, they were the ones that took the harshest treatment. But Teddy thoroughly enjoyed them, and the orange octopus has been re-stuffed (which will only be temporary, I'm sure.) Anyway, we wanted to do something in remembrance of Sophie, since this was the first Christmas without her. So, we donated a bed to the Richland County Dog Shelter in Mansfield, where we found her and adopted her just over eight years ago. I wondered how it would work, as there was a link on the shelter's website, and the bed ships there directly from the manufacturer. It turned out that it worked really well, and I received the nicest acknowledgment message from the shelter the very next day. I'd like to share it with you, just in case it may motivate you to send a bed to a shelter you know about. Here's the email I received: Dear Dana, We received word from Kuranda that you and your husband are donating a Kuranda bed in memory of your precious Sophie who you had adopted from the shelter 8 years ago. Please accept our heartfelt sympathies for your sweet Sophie. She is lucky to have had your love and care for those 8 wonderful years and I am sure you feel the same way about Sophie. That is quite touching that you want to reach out to another dog at the shelter and make their stay a little bit more bearable with a comfortable bed while they wait for that special someone to adopt them. Thank you for being so considerate and so generous. The dogs truly do love these Kuranda beds and they are very well made and durable. Whenever you are ready to start looking for another family member, please let us know if we can help you in any way. Thank you again for wanting to help our shelter. That is such a wonderful tribute to Sophie and we appreciate your kindness more than you know. Susan Kochheiser for all the dogs at Richland County Dog Shelter I really appreciated that, and I did respond to her. Just in case you ever want to donate a bed, check the website of the shelter you have in mind, as it probably has a link to Kuranda on it. If it doesn't, just visit www.kuranda.com and go from there. I hope that makes my little Sophie smile. We wanted to do something in her memory that had a lasting impact, so I hope that very soon a dog at the Richland County Dog Shelter is a little more comfortable thanks to Sophie. |
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All images and designs are copyrighted and the property of Dana Keating Marziale and may not be used or reproduced without express written permission. Copyright 2011