Dog Day Afternoon

The best part about working for yourself: taking your work with you on errands. My new favorite thing is working at the dog park while Zeus runs around and plays. It's like bringing your kid to the park and letting them run around with their little friends for a few hours while you read a book. That's what I do, but he's a dog. I met up with my friend Katie yesterday, and her pup Klaus, Zeus' buddy, and worked on a bigger piece for my new collection.

Klaus and Zeus run around like detectives, smelling every inch of the massive park together. Then they bother us for a few minutes, and then they go back to running around.

Katie and Klaus, a pitbull/lab mix and the sweetest boy. He and Zeus are buddies. 

Pendleton King Dog Park is the best dog park ever! It's huge. The city of Augusta mulches all the branches they cut down from overgrown trees around power lines and dump it here. Volunteers spread the mulch; notice Monday's drop off still behind me. Thanks Augusta for recycling! The ground is always covered in wood chips and perfect for dogs that would normally tear up any grass from playing. Plus grass is very hard to maintain in Georgia.

I love this dog. He is too funny. We have the best time at the dog park. I try to bring him at least twice a week for an hour or two. Since I bring my lunch, and now I can work there, it's really not interfering with my work. And he isn't cooped up all day indoors when it's a beautiful day.

This new piece, untitled as of now, is based on a photograph of a model from my last show. Except she doesn't have clothes on in my version. It's embroidered on the back of an 80s button up cotton shirt. I love the stripes and spots and all the colors. I thought about having a little fun with it and giving her whiskers, but instead I think she'll be blowing a kiss. I'm finishing up her face today. Her hair took a good 6 hours yesterday, layering and layering the thread to create a more realistic look to her hair.

Now I'm going to go finish her face. I did the lips yesterday when I got home, but I'm not satisfied with them, so I'm ripping them out and starting again. All my embroidered pieces for my next show are done on recycled fabric or old clothes, and the thread is donated. Nothing new!

Where do you like to bring your dog or work away from home?