Calypso

This sculpture was for a very sweet woman. She was a pleasure to work with through the whole process and was very understanding with my situation. She was getting the sculpture done for her mother who had lost her dear dog Calypso.The dog turned out perfect and she and her mother couldn't have been more happier!

                                                              The REAL Calypso

   
                                                                    The sculpture

Calypso made his way to Reynoldsburg, Ohio safe and sound. This is what she had to say...

"OH MY GOD! The sculpture is AMAZING! Its alot bigger than i imagined and the pictures just didnt do it justice..I am SOOOO impressed. We got it about a week ago i just hadnt found the time to e-mail you. Seriously it is amazing. My mom cried..she thinks it looks so much like him that she misses him now. Definitely the best gift shes ever gotten. I will definitely be using your services again. Thankyou soooooo much!"

Thank YOU Melissa! I enjoyed working with you and making such a special gift for your mom! I hope she enjoys it for years to come!

Ace & Copper

Earlier this year I made a gift for my son's teacher who had lost her beloved pug. She showed it off and another teacher was moved to contact me about making her son a sculpture of his dogs for Christmas. An English Setter and a Beagle were the subjects...and here are the pics....

The REAL Ace and Copper

The sculpture

Due to me being sick from my pregnancy...this order ended up being finished right at the end of the line...December 23rd!! I met her and her husband for delivery that night. They were so very excited and pleased with the sculpture. Just seeing their faces made all the hard work I put into it worth it! Then the next day I got a text of her son holding the sculpture and smiling from ear to ear! This is what she had to say,

"Oh my gosh! He loves it so much! He just sat there & looked at it all around and checking it out from every angle. He also agrees that it looks just like his boys! Thank you so much! You are so incredibly talented!"

So thank you Rhonda! It was such a joy working with you!! I am glad that he loved it! I am sure to be seeing you around the school! Thanks again and Merry Christmas! :-)

Chihuahua

This order come to me from my online Etsy store from a very sweet woman. She was wanting a smaller version of one of my past sculptures.



This sculpture now lives in Westtown, NY with a wonderful woman named Debbie! Thanks Debbie for your business! I hope that you come back and let me make your babies for you! Thanks so much!! Merry Christmas! :-)

Alec, Olivia, and Allie

This was one special order! It come from a wonderful woman who I am blessed to have been able to cross paths with in this life!! She is one of those people who you just feel comfortable with and be honest with. She is a kind caring soul who shared many stories of her life with me. She was a joy to get to know. And I know that we will continue to be friends!

She found me via my online Artfire store and that is where it all started. She wanted a sculpture of her "babies". The dogs went rather smoothly...but the cat...oh my! I am NOT good at cats and so it took a couple of times before we got little Allie to look like Allie!

She was very pleased with the sculpture and this is what she had to say,

"Oh my goodness, Arlissa!!!! my babies arrived safely and are cuter than i imagined from the photos. i am so very very happy with them. you truly did a fabulous job! their new home is front and center in my curio cabinet...along with my treasures from europe and my mom! so needless to say, they are very special. i couldn't wait to email you to tell you THANK YOU so very much! thank you thank you thank you a million times. Again, I am beyond amazed at your incredible talent! Thanks again!!!"




This sculpture now lives in Appleton, WI with the wonderful Abigail! Thank you SOOOOO much Abigail for being so sweet! You were always worried about being too bossy! hehee! You are one of the sweetest people I have ever met! I am blessed to have gotten to get to know you! Now we start on the next ones! :-) Thanks girl!

A special gift

Wow....what a story to tell.
I was contacted by this sweet woman, Laura, via Etsy asking about having her dog Elliott sculpted. She told me the story of him and it just broke my heart. They had been looking for a dog for awhile and found one they really liked, but it didn't work out. Then Elliott come up for adoption. They went to see him with no intentions of bringing him home...but they fell in love and he did go home with them. Plus, it was like it was meant to be to find out his birthday was the same as Laura's! She talked about how great of a dog he was and how much he had touched her, especially since she was totally a cat person. Then right before his 5th birthday...they found a mass under his pelvis...it was adenocarcinoma...a type of cancer. He's been through three chemotherapy drugs and a surgery, but he continued to get worse. The side-effects from the chemo have caused internal bleeding requiring multiple transfusions, vomiting and a complete loss of appetite. Then her last sentence spoke volumes and just broke my heart....."We're running out of options and I'm afraid we're going to lose him soon. " I knew I wanted to do something for her....I just had to. She was dealing with him being so sick that she decided to put off the sculpture....but I wanted to do something. So I decided to make her a key chain of Elliott. That way...in case something happened before she could order a sculpt....she would have something. It wasn't much and didn't take me long to do....but I think it turned out well.


I shipped it away to her hoping that it would get there before anything was to happen, as things sounded very grim. It arrived in Bellingham, WA and this is what she had to say about it....

"I have the keychain you sent hanging from the rearview mirror in my car so I can keep an eye on Ell wherever I go. I smile whenever I look at it. I can't thank you enough."

This is why I love what I do. This is what I was made to do. Even if it is something so simple or something completely complex....if I can bring just a smile to someone's day from something that I have made....then I am happy. I can't change the world or stop wars....but I can help those in need....with a bit of creativity.

**UPDATE**8/3/11
GREAT NEWS!!Elliott is doing MUCH better! Laura said the docs were calling him the miracle dog. They have changed his drugs to where he isn't having the bad side effects AND it seems to be working! The tumor has shrunk so much that they can't even feel it on him any more! He has gained back his appetite and weight and is even out running and taking hikes with Laura! I am sooooo thrilled to hear this! And I know she is just as thrilled....obviously! :-) Keep up the good work Elliott! We are thinking of you!
Also, Laura did order two sculptures of Elliott, so be sure to check the post about them. The post is aptly named "Elliott"

Biscuit

Here is yet another Etsy order ( I have had a lot of them recently!) This person wanted her mom's dog, Biscuit, to be sculpted. It was important to make sure and get all the markings. When finished...she was very pleased and had this to say....

"Wow Arlissa, the figurine looks amazing! It is really neat to see how it starts from a ball of clay and transforms into a dog, you really are a talented artist :) Wanted to let you know that words can not describe how much my mom LOVED the Biscuit figurine. Thanks so much again for being so wonderful to work with!"

The REAL Biscuit

Work in Progress

Work in progress

Finished Product

My health issues were really taking a toll on me while working on this one....so I run a little later than expected. But he was finally shipped directly to the customer's mother in Souderton, PA, where I hear that it is loved VERY much. Thank you Kristen for commissioning me to be a part of making your mom such a special gift. I hope that she enjoys it! Thanks again!

International Order

This order come to me via Etsy internationally from a very sweet woman who wanted her "little man" (as she called him) in sculpture form. It was very important to her that I capture his expression. And I think I did....here is what she had to say...

"I just wanted to let you know that I recieved my scupture today and I am beyond happy with your work, it is abousolutly fantastic, thank you so much for caputuring the essence of my little man! He is perfect!!! You have gone above and beyond my expectations!"

The REAL dog

Work in Progress...getting started

Work in Progress

Finished Product

So I got him done and made him a very nice plush bed of bubble wrap and packing peanuts and sent him home....to New South Wales in Australia. Thank you Erin for all your kind words and for giving me the honor and pleasure to make your "little man" for you! I hope you enjoy!

Sookie

This order come from one of the new sites I have started selling on which is www.craftisart.com. She wanted me to make a sculpt of her very loved "Sookie" a pit bull. It was strange at the timing as my cousin had just got mauled by a Pit Bull the day before this customer contacted me. She and I talked about the breed and hearing the story of how sweet dear Sookie was...reminded me that not all Pit Bulls are aggressive. And being the stupid person I am...I had just looked at the name without really reading it and for quite some time, kept calling her dog "SNOOKIE", like from the Jersey Shore. I felt really stupid when I asked if she did indeed name her from the girl on the show or elsewhere! Hehe!
But SOOKIE come together quite nicely. I hadnt been feeling good and run a little behind in finishing....but all in all I think she turned out really well!

The REAL Sookie

Sookie now lives in Chesapeake, VA with the real Sookie and her owner Dawn. Thank you Dawn for sharing Sookie's story with me. I so enjoyed sculpting her! I hope you like her! Thanks again!

Basil

This order come via my website by a woman who lives internationally. She has a very handsome Golden Retriever named Basil. I had never seen a white colored Golden before. He is just adorable! Most of my sculptures are around 6 inches...but she wanted a larger sculpture. So the sculpt itself ended up being 14 inches long and 13 inches wide! A large sculpt indeed!

The Real Basil

Sculpted Basil







Basil is headed to Halifax, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom as a gift for the customer, Susan's, husband. Thank you Susan...he was a joy to sculpt and I think he turned out really well! I hope that your husband loves him and that it is the highlight of his birthday!

Fenster

I had never heard of a Rhodesian Ridgeback before Fenster. What a BEAUTIFUL dog! He was just amazing. I was hoping that I could capture his proud definitive stature in the sculpt...and I think that I did....meet Fenster....







Fenster not now residing with his owner, Christina, in Corvallis, OR. Christina was very open about her experience when she left this feedback on my Etsy profile:

"I cannot begin to describe how thrilled I was to get me sculpture in the mail! Arlissa captured so many of the little things that make my Fenster, Fenster! He looks so perfect! What an excellent talent on Etsy! Her customer service is wonderful (really couldn't have been better), she sent pics to make sure she was getting everything right and responded to all of my requests. What a beautiful way to treasure my favorite guy forever! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Artist!! Cannot possibly say enough good things!!!"

Thank you again Christina! It was my pleasure!