Pat Walter is an artist with interest and enthusiasm in many things,
but her heart belongs to dogs. Six Dog Studio, her Marietta home and
workplace, is evidence that Pat has some animal issues. It is actually
up to a nine dog studio now, and the walls are covered with paintings
and photographs that testify to her animal artistry.
Pat ruefully admits that nine is a little much. “I’m not
exactly sure how this happened”, she laughs, gathering up the
Corgi in charge of the household. “I meant to stop at six.”
She has been an animal lover all of her life, but never took art classes
in college and took her first painting lesson just eight years ago.
By profession, Pat was a mechanical engineer. “I like to take
things apart and see what makes them work.” She has a Masters
degree in business. “It would have never crossed my mind to take
art in college. I play saxophone, flute, clarinet and accordion, but
my parents considered music an uncertain career. They never would
have accepted art as an option!” Engineering wasn’t an easy
choice, either. “Back then, Carnegie only let twelve women into
their engineering section at a time.” Pat worked as an engineer
for about 15 years. “I did a lot of drafting and I think it helped
me develop ‘my eye’ for art.”
In Marietta, the Walters are still remembered for their Cedar Egg
Factory shop. Pat was interested in wood turning so her husband Ted
got her a lathe. “I wore out two of them! I liked making the
fancy stuff.” They both worked at the shop, making cedar hearts,
ornaments and bracelets “But, eggs were everyone’s favorite.
The shop was successful, but exhausting! We had orders from everywhere;
we were working day and night. We got ‘egged out.’ It was
the same thing over and over again. That isn’t what I wanted
in life.”
After they sold the shop, Pat tried glassblowing. “I really
liked that, but I got blisters on my eyes, so I had to stop.”
She took an art class at the Betsy Mills and ended up taking painting
lessons from Lee Fritch for a year. She has merged her artistic talent
with her passion for animals, especially dogs. Besides water colors
and photography, Pat has developed techniques like wood burning and
pyroacrylics, on wood and paper, to showcase her favorite subjects.
Her glazed Christmas ornaments of 57 dog breeds sell quickly, but
she says, “It is rather like the eggs” and she doesn’t
like to do them too often.
Her newest artistic expression is computer enhancement of photography.
“I take hundreds of digital photos, then spend hours making them
look just the way I want. The changes are usually subtle, shading
the background or adjusting the angle.” Finished products are
turned into greeting cards or prints. “Sometimes”, she admits,
“It’s just fun animating my art.”
A couple of years ago, “It dawned on me that every picture had
a story. I decided to try and tell that story.” She began writing
poetry and free verse to accompany the pictures. “People seem
to like it and I enjoy the writing.”
Working on the computer led to the creation of her website, a project
that has taken hundreds of hours. The site keeps growing. “Why
should I keep what I do tucked away or hanging in a gallery? This
way I can share my art with anyone who might enjoy it.”
Pat designed e-cards featuring her animal art for visitors to her
website. Her Six Dog Studio site is a cyberspace hit. “People
love their animals –I’m not the only one who can’t
imagine life without a dog or two. Or more!”
Pat used to take pictures at the animal shelter. “I had to stop.
Each month, most of those animals would be killed. I couldn’t
stand knowing they were going to die, that by the time I finished
with their picture, they would be gone. Now, I go to the track and
take pictures of retired greyhounds and help them find homes.”
Pat works most of the time. She works at the computer, sculpts, still
has a lathe, and keeps her welders torch and scroll saw handy. She
and Ted play often with the Doug Hess Band. She says, “I’ve
never been very domestic.”
She may not be domestic, but she is handy around the house. Nine
adopted dogs, a cat or two, and Ted, all treasure her home making
skills. Plus, Pat has a world of friends that assure her a well kept
place in their hearts. Some of them bark. The rest have been touched
by her loving artistry.
Visit www.sixdogstudio.com
or email Pat at pwalter@sixdogstudio.com.
