An Improbable Alliance

I made this model as a Christmas gift for my sister as she is a great lover of Greyhounds and Lurchers and has fostered and owned many rescue dogs over the years.

Greyhounds are gentle dogs but are sighthounds and therefore hard-wired to chase anything small and fast that enters their line of vision. As Hares (albeit mock ones) are often used in their race training as a way to fire their natural urge to chase, I felt it was fitting to include one.

By positioning them back to back but turning their heads to look at each other, I wanted to convey the message that it is possible to find common ground and friendship in the most unlikely circumstances if the will is there.

Their limbs and necks are deliberately elongated to describe the equal agility and grace of both animals. I also omitted the use of eyes as I wanted the position of the heads to convey the emotional ambiguity in the piece.

It is a work using DAS air drying clay over modeling wire and then sealed and finished with layers of coloured tissue paper and acrylic paint and mounted on a pine wood board.

Click on any of the images below to view the process of making both animals.