Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Art Nouveau (20th Century) Pet Guardian Angel


The six Household Pet Guardian angel ornaments Kandace Merric designed in the early 1990s all wear costumes from various centuries. There's the Medieval Cat, the Renaissance Rat, the Tudor Dog, the Georgian Rabbit, the Baroque Fish and the Victorian Parakeet. The colors and stitches Kandy selected are typical for each period. I've deviated quite a bit on some angels (Holi is not Tudor, she is a mix of Hindu and Mexican cultures) but the original guardian angels all are solidly grounded in historical costume and color. What you see above is the new 20th Century pet guardian angel-- the Art Nouveau Suger Glider.

When I wrote asking permission to use the pet guardian angels for the ANG Auction, Kandy immediately volunteered to stitch two new angels for the set. What you see above (minus the background) is the first of the two new angels. The 21st Century angel will appear when she is ready as we get closer to the ANG Auction date.

You can read about sugar gliders here. My nieces had one and it was really cute, but I don't think they are terrific pets as they are nocturnal. They are active when we are not. But they make superb pet guardian angels!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Glider


The Art Nouveau sugar glider adds a great deal to the appeal of the ANG Auction pet guardian angel ornaments. Unique and made with love by the incredibly talented hands of Kandace Merric herself, this pet guardian angel is not diagrammed in the magazines. Thank you, Kandy, for creating a new angel to raise funds for ANG and to delight us all.

Jane/Chilly Hollow

Main blog at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

6 comments:

Beth in IL said...

The sugar glider is wonderful! I want to do one in purple!

NCPat said...

This is gorgeous! These are going to all be the hit of the auction!!

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

I agree. I am very curious about the two color circles and the overskirt's varied and intricate boxing stitch. What fun!

Thank you, Kandy. You are a peach to do this for us.

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Beth, sadly this is a one-of-a-kind but it is spectacular and perhaps you can use some of the ideas on another piece one day.

Michele said...

Hello, almost 2 years later! My friend and I placed the winning bid for the wonderful pet guardian angels. We love them! Her husband is a veterinarian, and she displays her half in his clinic each year, while my friends and family enjoy mine. It is fun to read about your process of creating them. Thank you for stitching these adorable animals!

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Congratulations, Michele! We had great fun creating Kandy's angels for the ANG Auction and I am thrilled that the pet guardian angels take care of your and your friend's husband's patients. I will be sure to let Kandy Merric know as she is a great animal lover and will be happy to know they are in settings where they are loved and appreciated.

Give them all a happy look from me. I loved them all!