“Squirrel Season” Wire 1:6 Scale Bookends • Joy Beckner

The idea for “Squirrel Season” came to me when my husband Brian and I walked our dachshunds Lizzie and Edgar in our neighborhood, AKA “Squirrel Alley.” Squirrels stimulated two entirely different approaches to hunting: manly Edgar simply stared at a squirrel as if he could “will” it down from the tree, while his eternally optimistic grandmother Lizzie leaped and leaped, hugging the tree and nearly wearing the hair off her chest each time she attempted to reach the squirrel.

My departed dachshund anatomy mentor, Judge Weldon Long, once commented about my “Dream Chasers” series that I had done the impossible; I had made a dog look as if it is “on the move.” It was Weldon’s comment that encouraged me to create Lizzie leaping.

In addition to Weldon, I must thank the breeders who generously helped me with correct form and grooming. They are Midge Martin, Sue McClelland, and Fred Vogel. I also thank my friend Hanna Foraker for introducing me to her beautiful Annie who was bred by Sue McClelland.

As with my other 1:6 scale works, I modeled these dachshunds directly in wax and created the bases to fit the action. Designed as a pair, they may be used as bookends or as a two-part freestanding sculpture.

“Squirrel Season” Wire looks great as “art”! Simply play with them until you find the perfect positions as if they are each interested in squirrels in a tree!