Way back in the summer of 2009, I created a piece, entitled Body Guard, that was inspired by a photo that I found on the Internet. I was working on a series of sculptures of people and their companion animals. In the photo is a girl, Phoebe Zickefoose, holding the family’s much beloved dog, Chet Baker. The photo was taken before then, since I think Phoebe was 11 at the time and is all grown up now. Chet continues to be the apple of everyone’s eye, and rightly so.
Phoebe and Chet
After receiving permission from Phoebe’s mom, Julie (an amazing artist, writer, naturalist, the list goes on), I sculpted the piece and posted about it.
The photo was for inspiration and I was not trying to create a likeness of anyone. Funny thing, when my brother saw an image of the piece before glazing, he said, “That looks like you in high school!” So I changed the colors, etc. and the piece doesn’t look at all like the young lady who started it all.
What struck me was the mutually protective stance of the girl and the dog, hence the name Body Guard.
Me in high school Body Guard
One of the many things I loved about the photo of Phoebe was her gorgeous hair and, for all of this time, I have wanted to create another sculpture based on this photo. In the new piece, I gave the girl big hair to accentuate this beautiful accessory, and changed other things–filling out her face and altering the dog’s markings. Not that Phoebe and Chet aren’t wonderful just as they are, but I was not trying to sculpt perfect likenesses of them. I wanted to capture the essence of the photo, as it spoke to me.
Here are some images of the work in progress:
In the kiln, preparing for first firing. In the background are test tiles for a future piece.
First firing a success!
I love the gesture (and the big hair!), evident in this photo
More layers of underglaze applied and ready for second firing
Soul Mates
photo by Jason Dowdle
I’ve never met the Zickefooses, hope to someday, but, from what I know in reading Julie’s blog and website, Kindred Spirits seems an apt name.