This Little Piggy

It seems like I’m always playing catch up these days – on the farm work, in the garden, in the studio; there are never enough hours in the day. I can’t really complain, though. Compared to our horrible spring of sick sheep and lambing disasters, summer so far has been a breeze! The garden is beautiful, all the livestock are healthy, my hens are laying, and the turkeys are getting fat. Oh, and there is art galore, too!

I have a few group shows coming up in the fall (yes, I know it is only July, but tempus fugit!), so I have been busy preparing work for those. I’ve got lots of panels ready
and lots of ideas. I also have a couple of large scale collages in the works (more on those later), but mostly I’m trying to put together a collection of small pieces which are quick and fun to make, and which, by virtue of their lower price tag, give people the opportunity to buy something beautiful and unique at a reasonable price.

I’ve just finished the first small collage for this collection. This little cutie is one of a litter of piglets I photographed at the Ormstown Exhibition this past June.

“This Little Piggy” – 4×6 painted paper collage on mdf panel, ©2011 Alyson Champ

The piglet’s mother is a sow named Fluffy, who is quite possibly the biggest sow I have ever seen. Fluffy isn’t exactly cute, but she is impressive, and her piglets are just adorable. If you are curious, there is a photo of Fluffy on the Ormstown Exhibition website here. And if you live in the Montreal area and you have never been to the Ormstown Exhibition…SHAME ON YOU!! Be sure to check it out next year. And if you go, be sure to check out Fluffy, too. When you are in the barns, if you see a strange, blond woman photographing pigs…that would be me!