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Potters And Pets


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Pursuant to a side conversation with another forum member, I got to thinking about whether I know any potters who don't love animals in general and their pets in particular, and I can't think of any.  So I decided to do a little informal survey of you good folks.  My working theory is that creative people by their nature, love animals.

 

OK, so, I'm asking:  Does anyone out there in forum land NOT love animals?

 

And, then, as an adjunct question:  Have your pets influenced your creativity?

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The longest amount of time I have gone without a dog is 2 weeks, my current dog is 7 years old.  We are thinking about getting a dog for him, he's starting to slow down a puppy will get him up and running.  Wish I could get a cat but I am allergic.   Denice

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I think that it's pretty obvious that I'm an animal freak. ^_^ I have a pretty deep prejudice against dachshunds and jack russels, though. I think they just like biting and barking at me. I LOVE PUGS, though!! Omg the smooshie faces and snorts! ♥

I'm mostly a guinea pig and rabbit person, but I love cats. I don't have a lot of time or energy to keep up with schedules and training for dogs. Just too much for a poor and tired guinea. Cats are more ideal because they're pretty independent and sort of just train themselves. :)

My fella wants to get a country home someday and have goats. I would love to have them, as goats are just precious, but he's gotta do the hefty work with them! ^_^

As for influencing my work...well...

My entire gallery is nothing but animals, heehee! ♥

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My two big Labradors were the best. It was one of my saddest days when I had to put my big dog down.

Grendel (the bratty little sister) is my avatar.

 

I don't know whether they influenced my creativity, but they helped me keep going and smile more often than not. Given that creativity rarely comes from anger or hate, I guess they indirectly influenced me.

 

We've been dog-free for a couple years and are now in the market to add a little joy to our home.

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When we came back from a techer exchange to Australia, my wife said;"Time to get a dog."Our three kids were old enough that they could take care of a pet.

We have a standard poodle named Kalista after a town in Australia that we liked. NOT named after Kalista Flockart, Clint Eastwood's no talent wife.

I am allergic to cats and dogs, so it had to be a poodle.

TJR.

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Welllll do I love animals? Hmmmm I Love PUGS! But they don't consider themselves D O G S. No Pugs are not dogs they are little furry people. LOL

 

When they are naughty I tell them they are lucky they are so cute otherwise it'd be off to the workhouse for them! Not really but they don't know that or maybe they do and that's why they are such terrors.

 

I almost had a cat when our neighbor moved and abandoned hers but someone came along and scooped her up. Callie, one of my Pugs, was devastated, she and kitty were besties or at least planning to be besties. I'm not sure Callie ever asked the cat if she wanted to be friends or not but Callie is of the opinion that anyone would be honored to be her friend.

 

My Pugs invade every aspect of my life, my studio is named PUGaboo, my pottery signature stamp is a little running Pug, I have a whole slew of Pug related items.

 

T

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I don't hate animals but don't have any of my own. When my kids were young we had every possible caged Guinea/hamster/gerbil/rodent, rabbit, snake/other random reptile, and parrot/keet/finch as long as they weren't something running around loose and unsupervised I was happy with it. My son has a pug who is nuts, but extremely cute, who I watch for a few days at at time and he needs constant attention. I also babysit my daughter's ferret from time to time who is the sweetest little thing until she feels like attacking my toes then it becomes like a raptor scene from Jurassic park where I'm being stalked in my own house.

 

My pottery is not generally influenced by the animal kingdom although I sculpted an owl once and I occasionally think about pug hair raku because of all the shedding.

 

Harrison Ford is married to Calista Flockhart.

 

Paul

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I have not been without a dog in the last 25 years.  It was the first thing I did when I got rid of my first husband ... just legally not mortally!  Along the way I got involved in dog and wildlife rescue.  Our current pack stands at 8 (1 great dane and 7 assorted tiny dogs) which is my limit.  Had to stop fostering because we just can't let them go.  Added to which all but 2 are seniors and 1 has pretty significant health issues so it won't be long before we have some hard decisions... absolutely dread it.  My husband and I both work from home so I'm surrounded by them 24/7.  I have a double decker dog bed setup next to my desk plus another bed on the floor next to that ... at least 4 and sometimes 5 dogs are within arm's reach at all times.  I haven't been to the bathroom by myself in years.  I don't have anything against cats but have become allergic to them over time.

 

As to influencing my work ... I'm an amateur still learning but among the first things I made in class were two planters ... pig and frog.  It was jokingly stated that you couldn't be in the Wednesday night sculpture/handbuilding class if you didn't have dogs/cats but it was pretty close to true.

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My last cat died at the age of twenty. Now I don't have to feed anyone, ever again, if I don't want to. But women seem to have the instinct to feed something. I don't want a pet because I want to travel. So I feed the bandicoots that live in my yard. And the birds, too, of course.

 

If I still had a cat, I would photograph her playing, and decorate my mugs with cat silhouettes, because cats form attractive shapes. But I have no cat. What I do have, is a visiting kangaroo. I have static photos of him grazing and a couple of him jumping away from me. He is jumping because I am chasing him with my camera. He makes interesting shapes too, but I am afraid that, except for the jumping pose, the silhouettes won't be recognizeable as kangaroos. I would love a sprig of a kangaroo.

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I lost both of my dear dogs last year.  So some of the cats in the pasture moved themselves in and I am now at 5 cats. Where do I sign up for the crazy cat lady membership badge?  I like to make animal figurines but not very artistic so they are still a bit childish looking, but fun to make.  One of my cats "Helper Kitty" is constantly supervising my work, his nose is my avatar.

Here is a photo of my wheel thrown cat, very lifelike :D

post-58820-0-77522100-1443548952_thumb.jpg

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I don't hate animals but don't have any of my own. When my kids were young we had every possible caged Guinea/hamster/gerbil/rodent, rabbit, snake/other random reptile, and parrot/keet/finch as long as they weren't something running around loose and unsupervised I was happy with it. My son has a pug who is nuts, but extremely cute, who I watch for a few days at at time and he needs constant attention. I also babysit my daughter's ferret from time to time who is the sweetest little thing until she feels like attacking my toes then it becomes like a raptor scene from Jurassic park where I'm being stalked in my own house.

 

My pottery is not generally influenced by the animal kingdom although I sculpted an owl once and I occasionally think about pug hair raku because of all the shedding.

 

Harrison Ford is married to Calista Flockhart.

 

Paul

You mean Clint Eastwood divorced her? Ha,ha! Still don't like her acting ability.

T.

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New here and hope it's okay to chime in!

 

I have been an avid animal lover my whole life and currently have 8 pets: 4 chickens, 1 turkey hen, 2 horses and a cat. (plus the abundant wildlife in my area). They absolutely do influence my work. I do almost exclusively ceramic livestock sculptures, mostly horses, with some cows thrown in for good measure.

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