Viva Brighton Issue #63 May 2018

ART
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Sally Muir
Alma Haser
portraits. I’ll be showing my clay dog sculptures
and Sally is doing her portraits. We’ve got work by
‘Felted Fido’, who has thousands and thousands of
followers and lives in Ayrshire with her eight dogs,
and Bridget Baker and Robin Parker who both
make wire sculptures. There are others too, we’ll
be showing around 200 pieces by twelve of the best
dog artists. Most of the work in the show is beautifully
restrained and realistic, they’re not cartoon
versions of dogs.
How do you go about planning the show? It’s a
huge undertaking, starting about six months before
with collecting the artists together. Then it’s a case
of completely clearing the downstairs of our house
(I have a very willing husband), which reveals a
great deal of yellowing paintwork, so we paint and,
this year, we’ll take up the carpets and have the floor
sanded so it’s more like a gallery. It’s a great impetus
to clear out the room and get rid of all the old junk.
How many visitors are you expecting? I think
we had around 3,000 people last year. There is
never a moment when there’s not somebody in the
house and, most of the time, I absolutely love it.
We do teas in the kitchen and there are loads of
dogs. My husband, Orlando, makes dog biscuits to
give out. This year we’ll have a real dog show in my
neighbour’s garden (on the 20th of May). I’m slightly
panic stricken about it… I’ve never done one
before. The prize for Best in Show is a sitting with
Sally. Interview by Lizzie Lower
33 Silwood Road, venue 10 on the Brunswick Town
Trail. Weekends from the 5th-27th May, plus Monday
7th. 11am-6pm. thedogshowbrighton.com
Felted Fido
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