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CRESTEDS ARE A WORK OF ART
Animal Art from Taffy Peckham
website:http://www.taffyspettreasures.com/
email: support@taffyspettreasures.com
As an eight year old, studying art at Pratt Institute in
N. Y., I had dreams of being a successful artist someday. But reality set
in and the gamble of trying to live as an artist gave way to the lure of
a more stable career. Even though my dad was a successful commercial artist,
my mom still encouraged me to go into teaching, which I did and loved for
23 years.
As the wife of a former Air Force Officer and a mother of
five children you can understand why my art interests were put on the back
burner for a number of years. Only the occasional Officers Wives' Club project
would allow me to access that back burner - art always made me feel more
alive. One time the Langley Air Force Base Hospital Commander asked me to
paint murals on the walls of the Pediatric Ward. I had visions of all that
work being painted over in a few years so I declined but recommended painting
story book characters on plywood instead. They could be sealed, sterilized,
rearranged and moved when necessary. My husband cut each one out with a
jig saw and I hung them on the walls, transforming the once dull surroundings
into an adventure through storyland for the young patients. That was in
the 60's. I am proud to say that they are still in use even after 40 years.
My children were growing up and leaving home. At age 47 I
went back to school to avoid "empty nest syndrome" and entered a new career.
In the 70's, over 22 years ago, I became an activity professional working
with a geriatric population in a health care setting. I enjoyed working
with the young but truly love working with the young at heart. We took the
silver toy poodles we raised to visit the nursing home where I worked and
it was amazing to watch the therapeutic results of these visits.
In the early 80's the Veteran's Administration published
the benefits of pet therapy and broke down the barriers for us to legally
have a dog in a health care facility. I loved the idea of being the first
to have our own live in pet therapy dog. In 1982 we acquired a female Cairn
Terrier we appropriately named "Happy" who lived in our facility. She was
the first live in pet therapy dog in the state of Virginia. After eight
years we lost both "Happy" and her daughter "Mini" to cancer and we began
the search to find the perfect small pet therapy dog for my residents.
With the help of my daughter Cindy, who lives in Nashville,
we connected with Jean Scott and The Nashville Chinese Crested Club. Cindy
picked out a Crested Puff we named "Candy" who became a very important part
of our lives and that of my residents. Several years later we came back
to Nashville for our second puff, Cookie. Jean always said, "You can't stop
with just one. Two is even more fun." She was right. This breed is so unique
and loving. Although Cindy already had a Sheltie, she also added a Crested
to her family.
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Somewhere around that time Jean decided that having Cresteds
painted on the club trophies would make them really special. She asked Cindy
if she knew anyone who could do this and Cindy naturally said, "Ask Mom, she
paints." The rest is history. For the last seven years I have been challenged
by the club to find new and interesting ways to exhibit Crested on trophies.
I am proud to be an associate member.
Three years ago one of my residents asked me if I could draw
a picture of her Schnauzer. The old saying of "either use it or lose it" came
to mind but I tried it anyway. She was so pleased with her portrait that she
gave me pictures of her other family dogs to immortalize in pastels. During
that time I was dealing with severe back pain from multiple surgeries. While
re-discovering the joy of art combined with my love of animals, I also found
the therapeutic benefit of greatly diminished pain while engrossed in an art
project. This was better than any medication and fed my spirit as well.
It didn't take long to find out that I was able to do all breeds,
and & animals, cats, horses, etc. I even had an order for a Guinea pig with
an American Flag. In the last three years I have completed over 100 pastel
portraits. Last year the retirement community I work for downsized my department.
After 22 years in the field I became a part-time employee. This became the
perfect time to seriously pursue my pet art. It really is exciting to reconnect
with my childhood dream as a 67 year old senior citizen. My residents have
heard me say many times that they should not lose the child within, for it
is probably the best part of them. I am definitely a kid at heart. Last year
we raised our first litter of Cresteds and shared them with our residents
on a weekly basis from the time they were three weeks old. How wonderful it
was to watch them handle these tiny bundles of love. Watching their childlike
expressions of joy was so fulfilling for all of us. We have the most marvelous
pictures of this glorious experience.
We kept the female named "Cupcake" and now there are three.
Yes, our Cresteds are truly God's work of art. Now your Cresteds have become
my work of art. I thank my God and my pet loving customers for giving me a
whole new and challenging career, especially at this time in my life. Please
be sure to follow the link to my website and share any ideas you might have.
See you at the Nashville Crested Specialty. Hope you win one of my trophies.
Good luck and God Bless!
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