Hoosier Corn Dog
Well another creative grooming show came up in Knoxville, TN and since this was a new show and at a better time of year for me, I decided we needed a little working vacation so the whole family and one dog loaded up and headed to Knoxville last weekend to compete.
After the last show in Chicago, I swore off creative grooming and said I'd be money ahead to do a design, have a photographer snap a photo and buy my own trophy. While this is indeed true, there’s just something way too competitive inside me and no sooner did I get home from Chicago, inspiration hit me.
A groomer friend of mine, Gloria in South Carolina e-mailed me and suggested a design that hadn't been done before that she thought of and wanted me to do it. A corn dog!
No, not a brown dog with a stick coming out of you know where, but a dog that is dyed and carved to resemble an ear of corn! Well, this was shear brilliance in my mind, and I took the idea and ran with it.
Trying to find dark green hair dye was no easy feat, I came upon three different shades of green, that by themselves were either lime green, or Easter egg green and too pastel. Not exactly what I had in mind for stalks of corn so I got to play Dr. Frankenstein and added some black and a dash of orange to it and hoped for the best. What I ended up with was a sort of sage or olive green, not perfect but good enough.
This was the first contest I had ever done “live”. Other contests you already had the dog cut and colored and just set up in the ring and were judged. This one, you had 2 hours to cut the dogs design in, going in with only a dyed dog, and maybe a design you had carved in several weeks before. Talk about pressure!
The contest began in the back part of large conference room at a hotel in downtown Knoxville. There were 4 divisions to enter in; First Timer, Novice, Intermediate, and Open for more advanced stylist. You had to have at least 3 first placements to advance to the next level. Well that made me an easy “novice” competitor since I've gotten only 2nd and 3rd placements in my creative grooming career thus far.
I went in thinking two hours is a long time, I'll be easily finished by then, after all she’s already washed and dried…all I have to do is cut hair, I guess I never timed myself. That was the fastest two hours of my life!
Periodically we'd hear the judge tell us, “thirty minutes left”, then “fifteen minutes left”, then “five minutes”. I found myself not way ahead of the game as I had planned but cutting corners and just trying to finish as best I could.
My “Hoosier Corn Dog” theme turned out pretty well all things considered and I used my boys as scarecrow props. My husband came to this show and it was his first grooming show, oddly enough he seemed to be enjoying himself. He sat there the entire two hours, eyes glued to the stage, and when time was up, he jumped up and started putting my background and props together while I got myself and the boys into our costumes. We made it and the cameras were busy flashing photos of us while the judge went down the line inspecting our work.
My hopes were high but alas, it was not to be. Bypassed again! DRAT! Nevertheless, we were a crowd favorite and I heard many groomers say to me “you were robbed!” That at least made me feel a little better. The judge gave me a good critique and I knew where I needed to improve. After it was all over, we took Jasmine outside for a walk and then we were mobbed! I can't tell you how many people stopped cars, snapped pictures and posed with her! (You'd think they never saw a green and yellow corn dog before.) Three young teens saw her and instantly fell in love; one boy said “I'll bet she cost $10,000.00!” I told him, “Nope, her adoption fee was only $300.00”, then he said, “Want to sell her?”
“No, I'm afraid not, she’s priceless to me” I replied. Greetings like that made it worth the trip. Besides the next day was our vacation portion and we headed to Dollywood, and Jasmine had a room booked at the kennel there “Doggywood”.
Walking in from the parking lot and getting on the tram to go inside Dollywood with our “corn dog” created quite a stir! Even worse was after we had spent the day there and were heading out to go home, we were completely mobbed, people were hugging her, feeding her their sandwiches, asking all sorts of questions about her and making me feel like quite a celebrity all in all. If I had a nickel for every photo taken of her I'd have more money than Dolly Parton! Patrons of Dollywood got a treat that day and didn’t have to pay extra! What’s not to love?
After coming back home without a trophy, I decided we deserved one anyway so I ordered one online. I bought a nice gold cup with a poodle on top, it reads:
After the last show in Chicago, I swore off creative grooming and said I'd be money ahead to do a design, have a photographer snap a photo and buy my own trophy. While this is indeed true, there’s just something way too competitive inside me and no sooner did I get home from Chicago, inspiration hit me.
A groomer friend of mine, Gloria in South Carolina e-mailed me and suggested a design that hadn't been done before that she thought of and wanted me to do it. A corn dog!
No, not a brown dog with a stick coming out of you know where, but a dog that is dyed and carved to resemble an ear of corn! Well, this was shear brilliance in my mind, and I took the idea and ran with it.
Trying to find dark green hair dye was no easy feat, I came upon three different shades of green, that by themselves were either lime green, or Easter egg green and too pastel. Not exactly what I had in mind for stalks of corn so I got to play Dr. Frankenstein and added some black and a dash of orange to it and hoped for the best. What I ended up with was a sort of sage or olive green, not perfect but good enough.
This was the first contest I had ever done “live”. Other contests you already had the dog cut and colored and just set up in the ring and were judged. This one, you had 2 hours to cut the dogs design in, going in with only a dyed dog, and maybe a design you had carved in several weeks before. Talk about pressure!
The contest began in the back part of large conference room at a hotel in downtown Knoxville. There were 4 divisions to enter in; First Timer, Novice, Intermediate, and Open for more advanced stylist. You had to have at least 3 first placements to advance to the next level. Well that made me an easy “novice” competitor since I've gotten only 2nd and 3rd placements in my creative grooming career thus far.
I went in thinking two hours is a long time, I'll be easily finished by then, after all she’s already washed and dried…all I have to do is cut hair, I guess I never timed myself. That was the fastest two hours of my life!
Periodically we'd hear the judge tell us, “thirty minutes left”, then “fifteen minutes left”, then “five minutes”. I found myself not way ahead of the game as I had planned but cutting corners and just trying to finish as best I could.
My “Hoosier Corn Dog” theme turned out pretty well all things considered and I used my boys as scarecrow props. My husband came to this show and it was his first grooming show, oddly enough he seemed to be enjoying himself. He sat there the entire two hours, eyes glued to the stage, and when time was up, he jumped up and started putting my background and props together while I got myself and the boys into our costumes. We made it and the cameras were busy flashing photos of us while the judge went down the line inspecting our work.
My hopes were high but alas, it was not to be. Bypassed again! DRAT! Nevertheless, we were a crowd favorite and I heard many groomers say to me “you were robbed!” That at least made me feel a little better. The judge gave me a good critique and I knew where I needed to improve. After it was all over, we took Jasmine outside for a walk and then we were mobbed! I can't tell you how many people stopped cars, snapped pictures and posed with her! (You'd think they never saw a green and yellow corn dog before.) Three young teens saw her and instantly fell in love; one boy said “I'll bet she cost $10,000.00!” I told him, “Nope, her adoption fee was only $300.00”, then he said, “Want to sell her?”
“No, I'm afraid not, she’s priceless to me” I replied. Greetings like that made it worth the trip. Besides the next day was our vacation portion and we headed to Dollywood, and Jasmine had a room booked at the kennel there “Doggywood”.
Walking in from the parking lot and getting on the tram to go inside Dollywood with our “corn dog” created quite a stir! Even worse was after we had spent the day there and were heading out to go home, we were completely mobbed, people were hugging her, feeding her their sandwiches, asking all sorts of questions about her and making me feel like quite a celebrity all in all. If I had a nickel for every photo taken of her I'd have more money than Dolly Parton! Patrons of Dollywood got a treat that day and didn’t have to pay extra! What’s not to love?
After coming back home without a trophy, I decided we deserved one anyway so I ordered one online. I bought a nice gold cup with a poodle on top, it reads:
“The "SMILEY" Award” (which stands for)
"See My Incredible Losses Each Year"
Sandy Blackburn
Creative Grooming
"See My Incredible Losses Each Year"
Sandy Blackburn
Creative Grooming
At least I kept my sense of humor. My husband really surprised me by giving me ideas for the next contest, and I thought he wasn’t interested in what I do, I guess the competition bug has bit him too. Maybe she’ll have enough hair by September for Hershey, Pennsylvania...
She's gorgeous! And so patient. (Stony thinks it's bad enough when I put sparkle dust on him after a bath.)
ReplyDeleteMary Anne in Kentucky