Photo by : Soni
Forsman
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Photo
: Me, Dave & Lainey ( 2023 )
Click to
enlarge !
My art career began
as a painter of portraits, landscapes, and, of course, animals. In my youth, I was consumed with
a passion for horses. I rode them, I trained them, and I painted
them. A changing lifestyle meant downsizing the obsession.
Papillon dogs worked well in
this category.
I bred Papillons under
the Nanstar Prefix for 22 years.
In that time, I raised 28 litters and co-bred a handful more.
From those litters have come 45 Champions.
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I
married Dave Pinke in 1970. He has always
been so supportive of my artwork.
Since I began
the sculpture work in 1985, he
has hauled many, many bags of hydrostone to
my lower level art
studio without
complaining !
My
last litter of Papillon was born in 2007
after breeding them for 22 years.
In
2021 we were fortunate to get our current
Papillon Coria Timeless Reflection,
"Lainey"
who’s got a bit of my old Nanstar bloodline
in her pedigree.
She
is a very treasured companion.
Studio L'image began in 1985 as a partnership between
myself and Susan Cassem. We sold a few of my original stoneware
dog sculptures at a show, reinvested in some molds, and a
business was whelped ! Sue critiqued as I sculpted to complete
most of the breeds you will see in this site. Sue has since
retired from the business and I have now retired also, but still
like to keep up my artistic ability as a hobby.
The first step in producing a figurine is to complete the
original. This is done in polymer clay. After the original is
completed, a mold is made by painting on silicone rubber in
layers over the original. When that is dry, a plaster "mother
mold" is formed around the silicone. This is then opened and the
original removed. Casting material is poured into the mold and
allowed to harden. The casting is then carefully removed from
the mold and hand cleaned and detailed. After drying for a week,
the casting is painted using several types of paint in a two day
process. A final sealer is sprayed on and the bottom finished
with pads. Because each piece requires considerable hand work,
no two are exactly alike.
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