I’ve always thought that my Auntie Jan was a little bit odd. Scattered around her house, she has a huge collection of animal sculptures. From what my mom has told me, she’s never had pets, but her collection of dog sculptures probably weighs more than a Great Dane! While I’ve always wondered where Auntie Jan’s fascination with sculptures came from, I’ve also recognized that my mom seems to share some of the same fascination (though to a much lesser extent).
While I was in high school, I took a class on making ceramics and found that I wasn’t half bad at it. In the first couple weeks, I made a sculpture of my dog, Ludo, and the teacher praised me for the detail of it. After recognizing I had a particular passion for sculpture, I talked to Auntie Jan and she told me that all of her sculptures were made by a professional sculptor. I didn’t even know there was such a thing, but professional sculptors are not all that uncommon. I think I even dreamed of becoming one for a time!