Well, after buying 3 different sweaters on Temu and not a single one of them fitting Vincent, despite me having measured and double checked the measurements… I finally decided to make him a sweater myself from a couple of polar fleece throws I had at home.
I generally buy these thin throws to make cat bed covers, filling them with old pillow stuffing, or making covers for dog beds which are removable and washable. I’ve done this for years since I’ve always had multiple dogs with dirty feet, using any sort of fabric I can find – old sheets, old doona covers, throws, scarves etc.
I had two throws this time. One I’d bought to make a cushion for Vincent’s crate and one I bought to put over my white bed linen in summer to protect it from dirty feet coming in from outside and jumping straight onto the bed (not just Vincent, but almost all grooming customers since they have to go through my bedroom to the grooming area. Nope. My setup is not ideal.)
I made two sweaters (you know, one to wear and one to wash…) I used the blue throw for the outside and lined the inside with the pale striped one to give it a bit of extra warmth and contrast.
Vincent modelling the longer one… a bit too long…
This is one of the two I made. One is smaller than the other, both were made the way I usually make stuff – without a proper pattern, just sketching a shape out on paper, what I think the shape should be, measuring using my fingers, hand sewing cause I couldn’t be bothered moving furniture to get to my sewing machine.
The difference in back length.
I love blanket stitch!
The baby doll version of his sweater.
I used velcro on one side for the tummy flap so its adjustable, and used bottons on one to decorate the sweater.
The added bib in front makes this sweater much longer so it hangs out over his tail.
The other simply has stitches, but I though the neck needed more room so I extended it with a contrasting bib in front.
Despite my woeful sewing skill, they worked out pretty well. Not perfectly… one is a bit longer than necessary. The other one is a bit shorter than necessary.
I belong to the school of ‘close enough is good enough’.
Another commission to share today, one which took me forever to do. I mean, I started them fine, back before summer… but then it was summer. Busy with grooming and mom being sick and visitors and all sorts of busy summer things.
Up to that point I had only done the structure of them, ie cardboard, masking tape and wire so I needed to move onto the clay or papier mâché part. Since the buyer didn’t want these finished in fabric, I decided to use air dry clay for the whole thing.
And I’m glad I did cause I love the way they turned out.
Given the brief for these guys was ‘something easy to dust’ I opted to spray them with white gloss paint, something I’d never done before as a finish for my work. But I’m really happy with the result.
This is one dog I especially loved doing. He belongs to a friend of mine and he’s a beautiful boy with a lovely personality and serious ball addiction.
He’s some kind of terrier mix with huge ears and a crazy coat.
Here is a close up of his face and those massive ears.
And a little 3D visual.
So, how did I achieve that coat you ask? Well, I thought the best thing for it would be to use gauze. I raided my medicine cabinet and took out some gauze which I dyed by soaking in coloured water: the black was diluted acrylic paint, and the tan was… you guesed it! Black tea!
I then cut up the gauze strips into sections and laid them over the figure in a way that matched Dizzy’s colouring and the direction of the coat.
I then brushed the gauze to loosen it up and give it a more ‘hairy’ appearance.
It worked out pretty well even if do say so myself.
Mind you, the coat is not soft and flowing. I had to fix him with PVA glue to make sure he stayed intact, but he’s a sculpture, not a toy, so I figure that doesn’t matter.
The friend that commissioned him asked about his eyes. I don’t do eyes on my dogs. I’m not really sure why, they just seem better that way. Maybe its because I don’t feel I can do them justice this way, not like I can in my paintings. Maybe its cause without eyes you can project your own eyes onto them, your mind automatically fills in the blanks and imparts the emotions that you want to see in the figures.
Maybe I’m full of crap. But I’m the artist, so I have creative license. Ha.
Its been a busy couple of weeks. First trying to get myself organised to go to Athens for the dog shows. Then the days in Athens at the dog shows, grooming etc. Then coming back home to the mess I’d left behind and working on bits of the house at a time so get sorted.
Imagine if I actually had a big house!!! It takes me days to clean/tidy/organise a single bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room in one…
I give up.
Well, actually, I don’t. I keep trying to make this space as practical as possible and to keep all my art supplies and projects accessible and neat with a place for everything and everything in its place.
Right now, the place for most things is on the kitchen benchtop, the kitchen table, the floor around the door and in front of the bookcase…
Anyway… thats regular life. Here are some photos of my little man at the dog shows. He went really well as always, showed his little heart out and got the certificates and excellent ratings as expected.
I love the hair, the brushing, the banding, the feel of it under my hand when I cuddle him. I adore the look.
But summer is coming and it will be hot. And I’d like to be able to take him with me to the beach sometimes and let him swim if he wants to.
Not to mention there are SO many fleas around these days. Every second dog I groom has fleas. Vincent caught fleas.
Lately I’d gotten Vectra top spot for him as I couldn’t find the Frontline TriAct I wanted locally. Before the Vectra top spot was due for a repeat, Vincent had fleas. Not impressed. So, before going to the shows I gave him a flea pill. Thats working so far. But I really want to go back to what I had for Lainee – the Seresto flea collar. Lainee never had fleas and that’s all she had.
Now we come to the problem – a poodle in a full show coat can’t wear a collar all day, every day. The hair will matt terribly around it. Its not like I can put a satin sleave on it to protect it from rubbing the coat as I do with his regular collar (which he only wears when we go out).
So, what to do? Cut him off? I’m not sure I’m ready to do that just yet, though I do think about it a lot. I just can’t bring myself to cut off that glorious coat. He has such a beautiful coat, its got body and stands up by itself even when its conditioned heavily.
I’ve decided that after this wash (today/tomorrow) he will be trimmed back a fair bit, to a much more tailored T-trim so I can keep the coat at least a little longer. See how that goes. I have another 2 weeks till he needs flea treatment again… maybe I’ll decide what to do by then. Maybe not. Who knows?
Basically, he’s in a Swedish T-trim now. I adore the Continental, but he’s really long legged and rather thin so I don’t think it would suit him.
Picture this with his hair in bands, cause that’s how poodles in show trim live their lives…
By the way, in case you’re wondering, I can only find photos of standards in some of these trims.
Another option is the historially correct continental (or in Vincent’s case it would be more of a non-shaved leg version), but I dislike it very much. I find it the most inelegant of all poodle trims.
So the only real option is the moderne trim. Here are the variations on that. Clipped tail and ears:
Scissored ears but the rest more of less the same.
Long ears and boofy tail.
Personally, I like the scissored ears and trimmed tail best. I think the fluffy ears and tail are more a lamb trim than a moderne trim.
But I still can’t bring myself to cut off his coat…
Stay tuned… One day Vincent will appear without all the hair and bands. And no one will recognise him!
I figured that now I have a poodle who actually plays (Lainee didn’t play…) and who actually loves toys, so I’ve been buying toys… I needed a toy box.
At first I considered buying one online. Something pretty.
Then I considered a lovely basket from a local store…
All good choices.
In the end I opted for the free (right now) option. I made a toy box out of a cardboard box I had lying around and gathering dust (and orphaned items).
I began by hot gluing the flaps down to give it strength. Then I decoupaged inside and out using old brown paper bags I’d been keeping for some unknown reason.
You can still see the logos of the shops in parts of the box… I had planned to paint it, and maybe I will one day, but I was in a rush to finish it and watch Vincent* pick his toys out.
*Yep. He is now Vincent. Calling him Vega or Vegas just didn’t feel quite right. Vincent does. It means a bit more than Vince Vega, it’s got connections to the art world as well as to hit men and the mafia. Vince, Vinnie, Vincent, Vincenzo, Vince Vega at odd angry mother times.
So, in the vein of hit men and mafia, and because Toy Box seemed too obvious and banal, I give his toy box a name:
I am easily amused.
Once dry, I filled it up with some toys and then watched as he chose the fish first.
He gave that little sardine a good ol’ chewing.
Please excuse the mess behind… a big old cardboard box full of stuff to put away, my old sewing machine, a lot of sand and dust bunnies (thankfully invisible to the camera) and my favourite Blunstones.
The box is now on the porch being enjoyed by the cats till I take it to the recycling bins.
The old sewing machine, which needs a new motor cause it blew up, is waiting to be taken to storage. I might be able to get it fixed one day if I’m lucky. Apparently, I can get a new/old motor in England… But I live in Greece. Whatever.
The boots are pretty much still there, just under the bookcase and no longer in the way. Hey, it’s my house and I can keep my boots wherever I want them.
Guess what I found lying in the corner of a parking lot this morning?
A ton of old doors, windows, shutters and other useful stuff!
Turns out it was from a family friend’s renovation, so I just asked if it was ok to take it, and took it. It was as simple as that.
Well, actually it took about 6 phone calls. First to see if a guy with a three wheeler could collect it. Nope. Too big for him. Then to my cousin who works for a transport company, then to his boss (who happens to be my great uncle), then back to my cousin, then to the family friend, then back to my cousin…
Easy!
Luckily they were having a slow day (and the doors were right opposite the depot!) so they were able to go collect the pile straight away. Since I was having coffee with a friend, I couldn’t go pick and choose what I wanted, so they loaded it all up. I got there right after and lead the way to the container.
They put it all inside to keep it out of the awful weather and now I’m ready to adapt any doors and windows which might work for the container!
I’m so excited, you’d think I was given the best present ever. I really didn’t want to miss out. I saw the best green house project made by a fellow Paros inhabitant last week and was so envious. I won’t be making a greenhouse, but I definitely needed doors for the container and some of these will be ideal.
The rest will come in handy for other things – like a temporary shelter for the dog bath among other things.
Cool.
Meanwhile, here’s a photo of Vincent at the cafe.
Vincent: ‘And I’ll have a bacon and egg sandwich please. Lots of crispy bacon!’
I have been calling him Vincent lately. Vincenzo when I’m being ‘continental’ and Vincentius when he’s naughty.
It just sounds right.
He’s still Vince Vega, but now he’s a bit more proper.
He’s doing really well. Toilet training is progressing well and we are working on the separation anxiety…
You all know how much I missed having a poodle in my life since Lainee died. I still miss her like I miss all the poodles I’ve loved in my life.
In the beginning it was too painful to think of getting another poodle. Then, as time went on, I felt the absence more and more, till I began to look for another poodle to share my home with.
There are tons of gorgeous dogs looking for a home and I felt bad when I saw them on FB and didn’t go get them, but I’ve had a love affair with poodles since I was 13yrs old. Yes, poodles are my life and I make no excuses for that!*
I have a good friend in Athens who breeds and shows toy poodles. She’d offered me a boy right after Lainee died, but it was way too soon for me. I contacted her again before Christmas and we discussed options. While I was in Holland she made a decision to re-home a boy she calls Vegas with me.
I like the name Vegas, but it didn’t quite feel right… so now I introduce him as Vince Vega from Pulp Fiction (love Travolta!) and call him Vegas, Vince, Vinnie and BunnyBoy – cause when he runs and leaps about he looks just like a bunny!
So, who is Vince Vega?
He is a 2 year old silver dwarf, a russian import, a greek grand champion, and I am honoured to have him. His pedigree says he’s a toy, but he grew over the measure.
Under FCI, there are 4 poodle sizes – toy, dwarf, miniature and standard. A toy is up to 28cm at the shoulders. Vegas is 30-31cm. So, he has been reclassified and shown as a dwarf. You can do that in FCI, not in Australia or the USA from what I know. There, there is a gap which oversize toys fall into and disappear, unable to be shown.
Also, he didn’t get along with the other male in the pack. And he leaps about like a jumping jack on steroids and injured his perfect knees. Hence – he needed a home where he could live his life as a pampered pet instead of a show dog.
He is still going to do his duty as a stud dog, but he will be my constant companion on walks, at cafes and restaurants and at the beach. YAY.
And guess what? There have been no more sleepless nights now I have a poodle on my bed with me again!!!
z
Where did my love affair with poodles begin? At 13 yrs old when I read Jacqueline Suzanne’s book Every Night Josephine. The book I had was the one with the cover on the right. Wish I’d kept that book…
I realise that I haven’t been posting regularly for a long time now. It seems that when I’m ‘up’ I’m creative and fun and have lots to share, but when I’m ‘down’ (or frustrated, or stressed, or life just gets too much for me) I’m quiet and don’t feel like sharing.
I often get critised by non-greeks who move here to live in the beauty of Greece and its islands – the brilliant blue skies, the light, the sea, the culture, the people. These people get annoyed at me for not absolutely loving it here and for complaining, for not appreciating how lucky I am to live ‘in paradise’. In fact, years ago my brother and cousin didn’t want me hanging out with their wives cause my bias against Greece would rub off on them.
Don’t think I just plain hate Greece – I don’t. Greece is part of me. I lived here for years when I was younger, but Greece and I have a love-hate relationship. More hate than love some of the time, but its inside me. I especially love Paros, there are parts of Athens I love and other parts I appreciate. Its just that life here is not easy if you have to work under greek conditions in order to live… for someone who was used to living in a country where most things made sense. Here nothing seems to make sense – and perhaps I’m just too stubborn to accept it and live with it.
I could go into the story of my life and the deep down reasons I’ve disliked (and even resented) Greece since first moving here as a 10 year old many years ago, but its a long story involving a child who felt like she was ripped from a town, a life, and a family she loved, moved to a foreign country far away against her will, where she knew no one and who’s people were cruel to animals. And who sincerely believed she would never again see the people and places she loved.
Right now I’m fighting to keep it together and find a way to be who I am/want to be and live the life I want to live, while living and working in this country.
Wages here suck. I’d never be able to get anywhere as an employee. Not on a single wage, even owning my own house. I’d survive, but thats it. No extravagant shopping, no trips, nothing. If I was content to just go to work, walk my dogs (more on that later), cook, eat, catch up with friends now and then, and have no hobbies bigger than fit in my lap, I could be content in my little house in a small life on a beautiful island.
But I have hobbies, interests, passions, and ambitions, that require space. I paint on canvas, rocks and marble, I draw on paper or any other surface I find, I make sculptures, I make art from trash, I groom dogs, I sew, I make jewelery, and baskets, I remake dolls, I want to work with clay, I want to get back to remaking furniture and I miss my power tools. So I’m frustrated because I don’t have the space. Not many people understand that – my house is fine ‘for a single person’.
I am happiest when I’m making things. I am most happy when I’m making stuff I want to make for myself, and then being able to sell them after. But unlike most countries, Greece doesn’t have weekend markets or other avenues for sellers to sell stuff. I miss being able to make stuff and take part in a market now and then!
Working in a job 6 hrs a day 6 days a week (aka a part time job), then grooming as often as I can in the warmer months, fitting in whatever painting I can when I’m not too tired, is not what I dreamed living on a greek island would be like. For one thing I envisioned living here once I’d retired – no need for a job to hem me in – so I could create and do things I enjoyed.
Living the dream means not having to work for under 5 euros an hour in jobs you don’t like.
In Australia I built up a grooming business slowly, making a name for myself by grooming 3 days a week and working part time, till I took the leap to make it my full time job. I could do that cause it was considered a hobby and, since I was paying taxes on my real job, I didn’t have to declare my hobby income. Ditto with anything I sold at the odd market or online.
Here, unless you want to risk a huge fine for earning black money (there is no such thing as hobby income here), you have to register a business, which has monthly costs whether you earn anything or not, not allowing you the luxury of building up a business slowly. For now I have registered a business and, having no space, I go to people’s houses to clip their dogs…Its not ideal. I feel like I’ve taken a big step backwards to how I started years ago. Even then I had the space for a grooming room in my own home… I don’t have the money to jump in and rent a space here, fit it out and tide me over till the business can support me.
So I stress over how to balance the need to earn a living while building up a grooming business without a space to do it in, and still be creative.
Dealing with taxation, government rules and regulations etc is frustrating. Add in dealing with the medical system for mom, and getting just about anything done… everything in Greece is frustrating – as my post about mom’s drama with the ferry showed. UGH.
Can you believe that we have to vaccinate our dogs every single year for rabies? The same vaccinations they give in other countries in Europe last 3 years… but here, its every year. Why?
I mentioned dogs. Plural.
You’d never guess this to be the face of a monster.
I adopted a purebred miniature poodle who’s mother (an 88yr old woman) had a stroke. He is 7 years old, white, his name is Phoebo (my version of his name, cause I laughed when Phoebe on Friends wanted to name one of the triplets after herself). Phoebo is loving and cuddly and cute, he gets along with everyone, people and other animals, then turns into Cujo if you touch him where he doesn’t want to be touched. He’s a disgrace to me as a groomer…
This is how he looked when I got him… goobers the size of walnuts under each eye.
I adopted him cause a biting dog will end up being tossed aside or euthanised. And he bites hard. He means it. I suspect that he’s been beaten for biting and thats just made him worse.
By the time I got him he’d been away from his home for at least a month, living in a boarding kennel where the people in charge were fearful of him. He’d been adopted and returned twice cause he can be quite vicious when he doesn’t want you to do something to him.
Second day I had him I thought I’d clean his eyes with a damp tissue and he attacked me, not just biting the hand which held the tissue like a normal bitey dog, but launching himself at me, biting me in the crook of my elbow.
OUCH.
I was not the one who risked life and limb to trim even this much of him!
Its been two weeks now. I’m in training by a trainer I’d never have been following normally. But then I’ve never had a dog like this before, and I’m a groomer with a rep for handling difficult dogs! The rules are different to anything I’ve ever done before. With this groomer/trainer its ‘no lap. no sharing the bed. make sure he knows you’re the boss. he needs to know you have the power but won’t hit him.’ Perhaps he’s right. My way of loving and gentle ways isn’t working. I thought it was the few times I did something he didn’t like he went bezerk but didn’t bite. Then this morning he bit me again.
Sigh.
I can’t let him win. He’s such a sweet dog. I need to make him a better dog.
Remember the teddy bear I found in the roof space above the hallway? My first ever teddy bear, Charalambis? Pictured here with pyjama puppy Bobby in all their grime?
Well, I put them both in the washing machine (without putting them in a pillow case first) and they suffered some minor damage. At least teddy’s was minor. He only lost one eye. But yesterday I got to work on restoring him. I created a new eye for him using two buttons and I think it looks pretty good.
Anyway, this is what his coat looked like after his bath – to be honest it was pretty much like that before as well. Kind of curly and mashed up.
Turns out Lainee’s slicker brush is good for more than just poodle coats. I used it to brush him out all over. You can see the difference on his chest where I brushed half and left the rest as it was.
Here he is finished and all fluffed up. Looking good Charalambis!
I was already thinking he needs to come home with me and not be put back in storage, then Lainee climbed onto the bed and snuggled with him and the decision was made. Lainee needs a teddy to cuddle with! I mean look at the pic below. We were visiting friends and the first thing she did was curl up on their couch with their teddy bear. The girl deserves her own bear.
I am loving these guys. They take ages to make but its very satisfying to see them come together. Problem is that during summer there isn’t quite as much rubbish on the beaches as there is in winter so the pickings are slim. I’m almost out of rope bits I collected in winter now so once I use them up I’ll have to get creative to make more baskets.
I’ve had some of my baskets placed in a local gallery now (1 sold already!) so I’m afraid I can’t list and sell any on Facebook till the season is over. Ditto with my marble paintings. I have opened my FB shop to see how it goes and I may re-open my Etsy shop as well. Every little bit helps!
I’m still only working part time (ie I work full time for a bit, then stop for a bit…) great for having fun in the sun, not great for the wallet.
So, Lainee and I have had some fun times. Here she is having a fancy dinner at a beach bar.
And here at a beach side restaurant.
And enjoying a sleep in at home.
I’ve had a lot more time to myself this last week as I wasn’t working, but I used a lot of it at the beach. However, I did use some to finish projects I hadn’t touched in ages, just to be able to set them aside, put them in a gallery, or whatever.
So. That’s my news for now. More later as I share projects finally finished.
junk4joy 