If you are of my generation, you grew up loving Great Danes- whether you knew it or not. Astro from the Jetsons, Marmaduke, and the most famous of all… Scooby Doo. Loyal, goofy, and downright lovable- and when they showed up, so did the weekend! Remember the days of watching cartoons on the NETWORK’S schedule? Sitting cross-legged in pajamas on the pile carpet with a bowl of sugar cereal, Saturday morning cartoons were a ritual to be revered- not a mind-numbing perpetual loop forming the white noise of one’s day.
I had my very own Great Dane to caper with, well, my grandparents had one. I gifted my grandpa a Great Dane puppy one year for his birthday. The puppy I presented was nearly as big as me. He answered to the name of Tiny, and proved to be a fierce protector and a great friend. He grew quickly- the coffee table remained the same size! As did the recliner and the sofa.
Gate Keeper is an homage to Tiny and my memories of my grandparent’s home. The Sweetgum Maple in the backyard dropped a barrage of the pointy weapons each season. The yellow speckled Aucuba shrubs lined the front porch, and the Honeysuckle vine reminds me of the year the red wasp stung me while trimming it off the fence line.
Like memories, it is an assemblage of a few details- details that are disjointed and perhaps even anachronistic. But memories don’t follow rules- they warp over time, they blend and smudge, some fade out, and others take on a surrealistic definition.
Last year I took the time to scan all the old photographs from my grandparent’s home. Years before, I had taken on the task of “organizing” them; placing stacks in business envelopes with a subject and date written on the outside. I took so much joy in discovering details and remembering places, stories, moments. I found so many fantastic photographs of Tiny- as a puppy, as a young dog, and as a guardian of the property. This is the photograph that inspired the Gate Keeper. Seeing his lovable mug hanging over the warning signs makes me smile. If he didn’t know you, he would probably let you in- but he wouldn’t let you out!
Part of my process while creating these dog inspired collages is creating my own infinitely repeating patterns, such as this one featuring the Sweet Gum Maple. You can see it in the background up above.
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