2016 Collie Club of America Breed Education Seminar “Illusion or Reality – the Collie Head”

Published courtesy colliesonline.com Article and photos by CCA Breed Education Committee

Congratulations to the Best in Dough and Smile Winners!

Best In Dough Trophies designed and donated by Debra Smith, Monarch Collies

Inspired by the 2007 seminar in Concord, NC where Brenda Miramon and Mike Cheatham engaged participants with skulls and clay; our goal was to build and expand on this concept that had been so well-received with record turnout. “Illusion or Reality” was two years in the making. Funding was a significant hurdle and thanks to private financing from two benefactors, Leigh Cohen and Elena Geldkop, our vision became reality.

When EF Hutton talks, everyone listens.

With this generous commitment, 34 life size durable skulls were created. These would serve as the foundation to which clay could be applied for the head study. The very fragile, actual skull of Debbie Holland’s Ch. Fantasy’s Bronze Talisman, ROM/ROM-P (Brandon) would be used for the model. Debbie, Brandon, Elena Geldkop and Nancy McDonald traveled to U C Davis Vet School in California and began the state of the art duplication process. CT scans of Brandon’s skull produced 3D printouts, from which the mold was created. The mold was used to build an exact lifelike replica that would no longer be subject to deterioration from Mother Time. This entire heartwarming story of their journey was featured in an article published in the “Collie Expressions” February/March 2015 magazine. http://www.Collieexpressions.com/201502ce.asp

We started looking forward to completing the vision.

The Illusion or Reality Theme:

The “Illusion or Reality” theme was seeded at meetings starting in July 2014 and emerged from the ground work that was completed along the way to provide the attendees with USEFUL information and tools they could use to successfully complete a rather complicated task in a short time frame—an attempt to cut to the chase.

We wondered, “Would it be illusion or reality that seminar attendees could use the Collie Standard as a blueprint to follow in creation of the ideal Collie head?” After all, the AKC states from an excerpt from the American Kennel Club By-Laws, Article IV, Section 4: “The breed standard will be recognized by the AKC as the sole standard of excellence for which such breed of pure-bred dogs shall be bred and by which specimens of such breed must be judged in the awarding of prizes of merit.” The AKC Collie Standard

Patt Caldwell (left) and Nancy McDonald presenting

“Expression is one of the most important points in considering the relative value of Collies. Expression, like the term character is difficult to define in words. It is not a fixed point as in color, weight or height and it is something the uninitiated can properly understand only by optical illustration. In general, however, it may be said to be the combined product of the shape and balance of the skull and muzzle, the placement, size, shape and color of the eye and the position, size and carriage of the ears.” - Collie Standard

Would it help if we gave each of our build teams a copy of Lorraine Still’s wonderful book, ‘Illustration of the Collie, His Character and Conformation?’, a book that was considered the next evolutionary step in further clarification of Standard, after the 1950 major revisions to the standard were accepted? Yes it would be very helpful, but would it be an Illusion or reality to tell the attendees this is the IDEAL Collie head that you should try to replicate? As we continued to debate our illusion confusion we discovered some excellent clarity existed in the moldy aroma of publications from past experts that may have been before and after their time.

Quote below from CCA Bulletin – Feb 1990 “The Look” By Dot Gerth

“When you use the finitude of language to try to write on something as elusive as the ‘look’ of the Collie, you’re inevitably chasing limited words to convey a personal interpretation which grows deep in the mind of every student of the breed. Interpretation is the paint brush of the artist. And no two can view OR portray the scene alike. And good, this is. Otherwise, we would lose the stimulating challenge of individual creativeness and be bogged down in unimaginative stereotyped monotony.” Dot Gerth

Articles below from - Parader Book

“As an old teacher, I may be over conscious of the saying that ‘one picture is worth a thousand words.’ Not long ago the Collie Club of America accepted a rewording and clarification (not change)….” “Now I think the time has come to go a step farther and give serious consideration to the advisability of getting properly prepared diagrams (not photographs) illustrating correct Collie type in each and every branch of the Collie anatomy.” Steve Field -An Illustrated Supplement to the CCA Standard – Dog News 1952.

“Knowledge of type, not just words but knowledge combined with good judgment and a good eye for evaluation…” Steve Field – Collie Breeders of the Past and Future – Bulletin “Two of the men whose friendship I value most today are “old-timers” who, fifteen years ago, helped me – one by letters of advice - another by informal, friendly conferences when I frequently visited his home. There is nothing unusual about this and like cases could be duplicated by everyone in the Collie game today. Therefore, if you have been moderately successful or fortunate as a breeder or exhibitor, it appears that the desirable task ahead is clear.” Steve Field – Let’s help the novice – Bulletin 1953

We’ll conclude the Illusion or Reality discussion regarding the AKC Collie Standard by quoting Gayle Kaye from her book, Collie in America. The quote is found in the last sentence of her Collie Standard chapter. “In any case, this is the current Standard…It’s a very good descriptive standard but like others before it, the interpretation is based upon the subjective opinion and the amount of knowledge of the person reading it.”

The Collie Head Anatomy

The seasoned artist will tell you that it is important for a sculptor or painter to understand the anatomy of their subject when creating or replicating a live object. Expanding the statement to include breeders and judges would seem fitting. Leigh Cohen was the Committee’s resident artist and our anatomy advocate on why sharing a basic understanding of anatomy would be essential to the attendees.

Leigh’s skull with clay muscle layering

Leigh solicited Alisha Harbin DVM to develop a great 20 minute anatomy presentation. The anatomical presentation provided insight on the different layering components that attached to the skull influencing the final beauty of the Collie head. The presentation was instrumental in facilitating the appreciation of the volume of muscle and tissue that cover the Collie skull.

Alisha Harbin DVM (Left) and Nancy McDonald presenting

The following excerpt is from an article in Collie Variety Publication January/February 1989 by Bobbee Roos.

“ ….Just what constitutes a better than average or a highly commendable head? My daughter, Shelley and I were discussing this over dinner in October. What is it that some judges and even breeders cannot SEE or appreciate in the Collie head and expression that prevents them from breeding for the qualities or able to judge and select the best from the lot before them in the ring? Shelley’s reply was, ‘You could compare the head to interior decorating or clothing. It’s the ACCESSORIES!’ Think of the simple, basic black dress, then accessorize with jewelry and a scarf. I had never thought of that analogy, but it’s a good one. Basically, the Collie skull is similar to the wolf or several domestic canines, but the accessories make the BIG difference. It is the eye, ears and the smooth clean lines which have been referred to in the past by the old timers as coffin-shaped head. “

NOW EAR THIS – Learn how to use the artist within you.

Working in clay was new to most of the Breed Education Committee members, so Google “how to” searches became our friend. The artist in the following video made a very good point we used. “How to get started with basic sculpting 1 hour.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3wNZSgvsSc

A summary of the first 18 minutes of the video: The artist asked his 2 students to create from memory a human ear using clay. The students struggled with the exercise and the conclusion was, even though you see ears everyday, you really don’t see or don’t focus on the detail. The artist then provided each student a life size model of the ear and asked them to replicate it. With the model awareness of details in the ear became more sharply defined. It was a whole new world they were seeing for the first time. If you try to replicate the Collie head or one of its accessories you too will be forced to engage your eye on the detail. You will begin to appreciate a dramatic difference when you look at your next Collie painting or dog at a show.

To better point out the details, we provided in a user’s manual enlarged images of different Collie ACCESSORIES to the teams. Teams referred to them as they worked on each ACCESSORY. “As an old teacher, I may be over conscious of the saying that ‘one picture is worth a thousand words.’”

The first 10 skulls molded were distributed to the Committee’s members. Everyone was excited to get the chance to play in the clay playground for a couple of months with our new toys. One thing we all discovered was the 3-D canine models in our kennels became the ultimate tools for understanding the subtle contours of the Collie head. Our own Collies must have been a little confused with hands going over them with a more meaningful purpose than before.

A different touch with a new purpose: Realizing the importance of touching live Collie subjects, living

models were present for examination while students were building the clay sculptures.

Tip Toland Workshop human head – 1 hr & 6 min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8Y797g_Jg4 Is another wonderful video we came across. While the hour long video is enjoyable, the way the artist sculpted eyes was very helpful. She starts working on the eye about 26 minutes into the video. Remember, the eye of a Collie is oblique and chiseled into the skull at an angle. The human eye is a good contrasting example of an eye not placed obliquely into the skull—like that of a bull dog….

Sculpting human eyes by Joanna Mozdzen 2 minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW3rYlS8X4E

The Sandbox Syndrome:

We were delighted with the feedback we received from participants. The engagement of the twenty-one 6 to 8 member teams during the head building exercise was amazing and exceeded even our high expectations.

Wow, isn’t that a relief they didn’t miss the donuts.

After reviewing and studying the pictures taken by Mike Conchatre at the seminar the term, “sandbox syndrome” came to mind. What was more fun than playing in a sandbox or on the beach when you were a kid? A box full of sand that you could squish your toes in and try to replicate imaginary sand castles with your own hands. It wasn’t part of our master plan, but maybe it should be going forward.

Click on this link for additional pictures taken in the sandbox. https://www.idrive.com/idrive/sh/sh/j8f2q0p9e9 Click on this link for a short excerpt of students engaged in the process … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeHYmUMs7OI&feature=youtu.be Skulls can be purchased from Collie Expressions http://www.collieexpressions.com/skull.asp. A DVD will soon be available - watch here and on Facebook for ordering details.

CCA Breed Education Committee: Patt Caldwell (Chair), Barbara Cleek, Leigh Cohen , Debbie Holland, Nancy McDonald, Larry Parsons, Mary Robischon, Kathleen George and Debra Smith (Interns) Josh and Alisha Harbin, DVM (2016 Seminar contributors).