Inspired By . . . Vintage Doggies

Wandering down the aisles of an antiques and vintage venue, I have my laser focus on. I’m scanning the shelves, tabletops and random piles for “my” things. As I’ve touched on before — this is a pretty broad category. But one of my all time favorites, sure to spark joy, is a sweet little doggie statue. They might be tiny Wade pottery “whimsies” or crude bisque figures of unknown provenance whose paint has all but worn away. I’m looking for a figure that tells me a story, that when I look at it I can immediately picture a setting, maybe a title, the kinds of adventures and misadventures this particular little charmer might have once and could still get up to.

Not Staffordshire Spaniels . . . this little box is simply stamped “Made in Japan” on the bottom and I would guess dates to the 1930’s or mid 1940’s.

Dogs seem to be as popular in replica as they are as pets. Potteries have been producing dog figurines since the 18th century. Staffordshire Spaniel pairs, de rigueur on the Victorian mantelpiece, are one example of how highly collectible dog figurines can be; a matched pair in good condition from the early 19th century is going to be pricey. Not the kinds of doggies I’m looking for. A much more affordable but still sought after collectible are figurines made in occupied Japan. 

A Little History . . .

Japanese imports of ceramics (as opposed to fine china) began flooding the emerging mass market in the second half of the 19th century. In 1891 the McKinley Tariff Act required all imports to be marked in English spelling with the country of origin, in 1921 a new customs law required those marks to be in actual English. So items imported between 1891 and 1921 were  stamped “Nippon” (Japanese for Japan). After 1921 and up until exporting ceased due to WWII in 1941, items were simply marked “Japan” or “Made in Japan”.

When the Allies defeated the Axis in 1945, General Douglas MacArthur was entrusted with reviving the Japanese economy. MacArthur focused on ramping up industry and mass-market exports were key to this effort. But the US market was not very receptive to items made by their former enemies, so the word “occupied” was added to the stamp. The occupation period extended from 1945 until 1952. While some figurines stamped simply  “made in Japan” slipped through customs during this time, collectors are adamant about the “Occupied Japan” designation. It’s the stamp mark, not the figure itself that is collectible. But these collectibles tend to be very moderately priced, especially if they are under 8” tall — the most common size. In the picture below, the figure marked “Made in Occupied Japan” (actually a musician, another popular motif, not a dog) was $8.00 at an antique fair. Without the “Occupied” mark, it might have been $2 or $3.

Terriers were very popular breeds in the mid-twentieth century, both as pets and ceramic knick-knacks. This little decorative holder for — cards? a small plant? would probably have sold for under $1 at a five and dime.

Neither of these two figures has any kind of identifying mark, so it’s impossible to know when and where they were manufactured. The poodle (who is missing a paw) is made of a resin-like material. The puppy is ceramic, and given its scale, may have been marketed as a dollhouse miniature.

Low price points are very good news to me, since I’m gathering these little characters to play starring roles in mixed-media assemblage art, not as collectibles. I also pick up dog-themed ephemera (postcards, dye cuts) and embroidery to play supporting roles.  This wool little boy’s suit is a good example. You can see in the picture that moths have done some damage, so it was only a few dollars. But the puppy dog-embroidered felt pockets and matching collar, too cute! I’m not sure yet exactly how I will use the fabric and embroidery in an assemblage, but it fit my theme too perfectly to pass up.

This series has been on my mind for so long, I’m very eager but also a little nervous to get started. Will the completed projects even come close to realizing my lively and abundant ideas? I’ve chosen seven figurines — well, one is a mother and puppies, so technically 11, for this first series. Each one will be placed in a three-dimensional, box-type assemblage. I’m making this my focus project for March. But given how long it’s taking me to complete the Sanibel-themed projects I started in January . . . well, fingers crossed this group will be done by June. Look for an update at the end of March, and wish me great productivity!

A Very Custom Gallery Wall: The Laundry Room

When we remodeled and enlarged our house two years ago we added a laundry room. Previously — in our circa 1970 house, the laundry had been in the garage. A lot of thought went into planning this space because it needed to have multiple functions. It’s for the laundry, but also acts as a butler’s pantry and extension of the adjacent studio space. I wanted a large table in the center, a stainless steel sink and lots of cabinetry. (I may have overcompensated slightly for having done laundry in the garage for a decade, but it’s now one of the most useful spaces in the house.)

I also had an aesthetic feel in mind for this space. I’ve always loved 1920’s and 30’s style, particularly the kitchens, but the look is very different from what’s going on in the rest of our house. So this space would be dedicated to that era’s style (if not appliances.) There are some very distinctive blues that appear in illustrations and decor from that time, a robin’s egg blue but also a darker shade — maybe you would call it a “Dutch” blue. I had the cabinet maker paint the cabinets in a custom blended color reminiscent of that darker blue. I left some of the shelves open to display glass jars, vintage ceramics and tins. I knew that I would frame and hang pages from a 1920’s Royal Baking Company recipe booklet that belonged to my grandmother in a gallery wall, but there are two large wall spaces that needed art.

Laundry Day by J.C. Spock

Scrolling through Instagram early last spring I saw that mixed media artist J.C. Spock had posted a new series of collages called Life in the 30’s. Her work features a washed out mostly monochromatic palette often with swatches of faded sky blues. I immediately fell in love a collage featuring a black and white photograph of women hanging out laundry. What could be more perfect for my laundry room? But a 6x6 panel could not carry an entire wall, so I had the pleasure of creating a small collection of pieces to complete the grouping.

Elements for Housekeeping2: The Oak Park

I have a Dover reproduction of a Sears Roebuck House catalog and had wanted to create a collage based around one of the illustrations for a long time, the housekeeping theme I was working with provided the perfect opportunity. Silhouettes of a maid from an advertisement in an old Ladies Home Journal magazine, a dollhouse broom and dustpan set, a bit of a hand-stitched linen napkin, a button card with just one precious mother of pear diamond button remaining and other small pieces of ephemera completed the piece. The elements are blended into a cohesive whole with washes of milk and mineral paints that with their mat and somewhat granular consistency suggest old plaster.

Next up, a tiny toy iron I picked up on an antiquing excursion. In kind of rough shape, it seems to have been well loved and pairs nicely with a black and white photo of little girls ironing doll clothes. Another silhouette ties this piece to the first collage and looms like a shadow of the mother the girls are imitating and a roll they will most likely fill in adulthood. I used a small wood tray picked up at a local thrift shop as the substrate for this shadowbox.

Laundry Day by J.C. Spock, Housekeeping 1:The Oak Park, collage on basswood panel and Housekeeping 2: Ironing, shadowbox assemblage

Elements for A Chicken Story

These two pieces with the JC Spock collage made a complete but small grouping that really only filled one side of the wall. Time for some chicken art! I had an old children’s book illustration that I’d been saving for just the right piece. The colors leant themselves to a painted blue frame; and since keeping chickens was common in early 20th century households, the subject complimented my period “homemaking” theme. I paired the illustration with a happy chicken family (from my stash of vintage figurines) on the inside of a basswood artist panel. As a companion to this shadowbox-type assemblage, I created a collage inspired by JC Spock. I made a semi-transparent transfer of an old photograph as the central image, and added bits of period textiles and text and illustrations from a children’s dictionary and old agricultural magazines. This piece is on a stretched canvas panel.

A Chicken Story, shadowbox assemblage and Girl with Chicken, collage on canvas

In the center of the this wall is a built-in, fold-down ironing board. which was also a common feature in early 20th century homes in the kitchen. It makes the board easily accessible but out of the way — very convenient.

And that completes one wall. I was going to include the second gallery wall in this post — the one inspired by my grandmother’s 1920’s promotional recipe booklet, but this post has already gotten kind of long. So I’ll save that for another time. The takeaway?

One personally significant piece can be the jumping off point for an entire room full of art.

And it doesn’t have to be “art” — it could be a framed book page, a shadowbox created from a favorite object, or a photograph. Let the subject matter, colors or time period guide you toward a theme. Once you have your theme, type it into Google, Etsy, or Pinterest for items to buy or ideas for pieces to hunt for or create yourself.

(In future posts I’ll go step by step through some simple projects for doing it yourself.)

Our girls, the feathered ones anyway