Lauren Namer started sculpting pets to help families honour their beloved animals; she turned to the art in the hope of supporting animal rescue centres.
South Africa (07 November 2022) – When our beloved pets leave us, we often struggle to find ways to honour the love and life they gave. Artist Lauren Namer started making small sculptures of animals to help honour their memories.
She started Clay Creatures SA after years of working in animal rescue. Sadly, a shift in Lauren’s health meant she had to take a step back from active work within the rescue world, so instead, she turned to sculpting. The art form has given her the opportunity to help families who are mourning their beloved pets.
“I used to be involved in animal rescue and when I could no longer do that for health reasons, I wanted to be able to make sculptures and help those who had lost their beloved animals.”
She started doing commissions and decided that her way to continue supporting the animal rescue organisations, was to donate some of the proceeds of her work to organisations in need.
“I’m a huge animal lover and this was a way to enjoy being creative, helping rescue orgs by donating some of the proceeds and as mentioned, giving some peace and comfort to those who have lost a special pet.”
Her sculptures typically take between 5 to 10 days, depending on the animal. She works from photos, to make sure the sculpture is as close to the family pet as possible. We chatted to Lauren about which animals she loved to sculpt the most and she shared that is the challenge of exotic animals and long-haired dogs but that all were close to her heart.
“I love making the long-haired dogs as the hairstyles are all very unique but also exotic animals as I don’t sculpt as many of those and they are a challenge.”
Lauren has been so highly sought after, that she has closed her commissions for the year. Her art form is bringing peace and comfort to many broken hearts. Not all of her sculptures are of pets that have passed away, she also welcomes proud pet parents that want to honour their living pets too!
Take a look at some of her work below. You can find out more about Lauren’s work by checking out her Facebook page here.
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