"Her Life's a Ball!" MW
“Life’s a Ball!” MS Awards:
Hannibal DeBellis & Richman Sculpture Award, plus $500. 137th Annual Members Exhibition, Salmagundi Club of New York, NYC
Mary Kay & Paul Jeynes Memorial Award for an Animal Bronze Sculpture, Allied Artists of America 104th Annual Exhibition, Allied Artists of America, Salmagundi Club, NY
Elliot Liskin Memorial Award for Academic Realism, Audubon Artists 77th Annual Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, NY
Silver Medal Sculpture, 33rd Annual Bosque Art Classic, Bosque Art Center, Clifton, TX
ANIMAL GROUPS, an invitational exhibition curated by David J. Wagner, LLC at The Dane G. Hansen Museum, Logan, KS, and, The Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS
“Life’s a Ball!” SS Awards:
American Women Artists Gold! Best-in-Show, 2013 Master Signature Members Show, Fredericksburg, TX
Honorable Mention, SCNY Members’ Online Summer Potpourri Exhibition 2013, Salmagundi Club, NY
“Her Life’s a Ball!” MW
Life-size Miniature Wire-haired Dachshund, 26”L x 12”H x 8.5”D, Bronze Ed. 5 & 1 Artist’s Proof ©2023. Approximately 37 pounds.
“Her Life’s a Ball!” MW, Life-sized Miniature Wire-haired Bronze Dachshund
In 2022, a gentleman commissioned me to make a life-size “Her Life’s a Ball!” MW, Miniature Wire.
Following is the story of my original “Life’s a Ball!” SS
My standard, smooth dachshund, Ch. Retdachs Brwneyed Hansomboy, AKA Edgar Allen Nose, or J. Edgar Pooter inspired this life-sized bronze. As a puppy, Edgar often played with his Buster Cube™. He would twist and turn his body while trying to wrestle food out of this toy. His contortions, strength and determination fascinated me. The cube evolved into a ball, “On the Ball.” The pup evolved into a “man” and the ball into a bigger ball. Weldon Long, my dear departed dachshund anatomy mentor, nicknamed the dog in the sculpture, Herky for Hercules, because he is so big and strong. Edgar was a happy, outgoing boy; HE inspired the title!
A grand, twisted S-curve, “Life’s a Ball!” SS was juried into The Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition 2000. It is my first work to be juried into two National Sculpture Society exhibitions: the 1998 NSS 65th Annual Exhibition and Everyday Life, a 1999 exhibit. “Life’s a Ball!” SS earned three awards in the Art Show at the Dog Show in Wichita, KS. Life-sized casts, numbers 9/20 and above, include my mark, JKß. Each is made by hand, one at a time, in Colorado, USA. Each is signed and numbered.
Many thanks to the couple who commissioned this bronze in the size of a life-sized miniature smooth dachshund. Enjoy!
Each is signed, numbered, and made by hand, one at a time in Colorado, USA. Each includes my mark, 
. Enjoy! Photography by Jafe Parsons.
“Life’s a Ball!” MS was included in the invitational exhibition, ANIMAL GROUPS, curated by David J. Wagner, LLC. Exhibition venues: The Dane G. Hansen Museum, Logan, KS, and The Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS.
©2023 JOY KROEGER BECKNER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
