During the time I was making the African animals, I not only made my first frogs, but also made my first dog, Roy DeForest's dog, King. He was pretty primitive but by the time I got to Alice I was making them more realistic, better glazed, but still dogs that belonged to people I knew. Alice was the dog of one of my students.

The cats were different than the dogs. I made cats that either I had or that I imagined. I rarely made other people's cats. It always seemed to me that dogs are owned and come to resemble their owners, but cats are always their own person and only vaguely contact humans.

This was the dog of the secretary in the Art Dept. that I made while back in Davis for the first summer after I graduated. I was teaching at San Jose State and without a kiln. Arneson allowed me to come back and use the facilities during Christmas vacation and summers or else I would've had to stick to poster paint watercolors on butcher paper and papier mache.

Named after a student's dog, Weasel has cat's eye operculums for eyes. These are the trapdoors for South Pacific marine snails which were a popular souvenir jewelery item brought back after WWII. A lot of the first African animals and dogs and papier mache animals had these for eyes.

Brenda was made in San Jose with my first kiln set up in my garage and plugged into the clothes drier outlet. Within a few months I bought a 1969 International Travelall, put the kiln in the middle of the back and the family in the seats and moved to Regina, Saskatchewan.

I got into making the fur by rolling pieces of clay between my fingers, just like I made frog toes only bigger. This made for a way too fragile piece but luckily, in the case of Alice, I sold her right away.

I named all my first animals after my relatives. This was named after my brother. It was my only domestic pig, the rest of the pigs are all wild beasts of the forests and plains. Pigs are actually my favorite animals and the ones I most enjoyed making. The warthog is my favorite of favorites.

I like pigs, not only for their shape and my idea of their personalities, but also for the fact that our bodies most resemble, physiologically speaking, the pig and it is the most intelligent of beasts. They can be trained to hunt for truffles, but if you don't give them their share they will never sniff them out for you again.

Another of my favorite animals are the hedgehogs which I have always favored introducing into North America. If we have to have starlings, why can't we have them, too? There seems to be an ecological niche just sitting there empty for them. They're affectionate and useful and make excellent hors d'oeuvres servers.

Let's face it, I just like any mammal with spines or scales and if they have a prehensile tail, that is just a plus. AND if I can get it to sit on a rock which can be glazed with wonderful rock colors so much the better.

I was especially fond of this African animal because it was reputed to hang from trees at night with its scales sticking out, directly over a human pathway. If you walked into it, you would be cut to ribbons.

The first animal made with slabs of clay on burlap over mounds of wood excelsior was this reptile. I assume he now lives at the bottom of some one's pool or pond.