Monday, June 1, 2009

Welcome!


OK, why Armadillo Burrows? If you know me, you know that I have an extensive collection of armadillo figurines and other replicas. When I was in graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin, armadillos roamed the campus (yes, really). It wasn't my first time seeing an armadillo. As a little girl, I saw one drinking out of the dogs' water bowl at my grandparents' farm in southwestern Oklahoma. It scared me because it put me in mind of the monster in the movie Gorgo that I'd recently seen. I was used to furry animals like dogs, cats, rabbits, skunks out in the country but that little armadillo was hard and tough looking like some type of big lizard.

If you've seen Gorgo, you know that the monster that gets captured turns out to be the baby, and when Mama comes calling, she smashes London up pretty good. I therefore equated that strange little creature out by the dogs' was the baby and its mama would come and squash my grandparents' house and barn! My mother chased it away and dried my tears.

So, after I left Austin, armadillo imagery stayed in my mind. When I took up quilting while living in Albuquerque, I became inspired to use them for my primary design motif. On one of my drives from Albuquerque to Oklahoma, I stopped at the famous steak house off I-40 in Amarillo to stretch my legs, not try the 72 oz. steak dinner challenge (even I am not that much of a carnivore). The restaurant has a gift shop where I discovered any number of armadillos curios and that's when I got started. Gifts from friends, my own purchases when in Latin America, and fierce bidding on Ebay continues the collection.

Armadillos dig into the ground to create the burrows they live in so this blog is my burrow in a manner of speaking. Wait for images!

1 comment:

  1. Hi!

    I see you like armadillos (and have visited both London and Peru)! I am a London-based author and illustrator of children's books, and I thought you might like to look at (and possibly even review) my book "Armadillo". You can view it on line at www.twinkleshark.co.uk, and there is a description of how I came to write it, and how I created the illustrations. If you like it, you can even order a printed copy (it does look fantastic on paper!).

    Best wishes from London,
    Simon Beck

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