Breathtaking Flower Crown Photos Help Adoptable Pit Bulls Find Homes

I had no concept what to anticipate once I stepped into the showcase house for the ebook release of “Pit Bull Flower Power” through creator, artist and animal suggest Sophie Gamand.

The showcase mixed pictures from the ebook with a thought-provoking, emotional set up in regards to the plight of safe haven canine. When I first stepped in, a way of calm but disappointment came to visit me once I noticed massive items of velvety material draped over figures of what seemed to be deceased canine positioned beneath stunning plants striking from the ceiling.

Photo through Jenna Bascom.

A Moving Exhibit

Further inside of, canine collars hung from the ceiling suspended over stands with small playing cards that includes details about the canine’ destiny: euthanized, followed or returned to proprietor. The collars nonetheless smelled of canine.

“I wanted to keep those remnants of what was left of those dogs from their past or their life,” Gamand stated. “Their skin, hair and dirt still attached to the collars after being worn day in and day out speaks to a life. It was very important to have them in the exhibit.”

Photo through Jenna Bascom.

Photo through Jenna Bascom.

To the fitting of the room had been small cushions that hung from the ceiling, every that includes a picture of a pit bull from an open admission safe haven on one aspect, and the canine’s destiny at the again. Every animal that enters those shelters should be documented with a photograph. These footage are typically carried out briefly, and the canine most often is petrified.

The footage are used for adoption and incessantly a “reason why shelters have had such a bad reputation because the dog looks scary, dirty, and the photo is pixelized,” Gamand stated. “They are often terrible photos, so I wanted to integrate that into my installation because of the contrast with my work. Sometimes those photos are the only chance of adoption the dog will get.” The cushions had been carried out to make it interactive so other folks may just contact them and connect with the footage.

Photo through Jenna Bascom.

The Eyes of the Camera

Gamand’s ebook and showcase didn’t occur in a single day. She moved to New York City in 2010 together with her digicam and her fiancé. “I decided to use my camera as a way into my new life, to meet people and figure out what I would do next,” she stated.

As an established animal lover, she was once attracted to taking footage of canine. Gamand grew up short of to be a veterinarian and had a wide variety of animals together with canine. At 10, she had her first digicam and took footage of animals however in the end stopped. Gamand studied legislation, then labored for an NGO, and she or he even studied opera however made up our minds it was once now not for her. She created a pictures artwork mag in France, which she ran for 5 years till she folded it to transport to New York.

“I was ready to pick up the camera again and start my own art journey,” she stated. “My English was not very good, and I wanted to take photos of dogs. This became my way in since it was hard to communicate with people. It was a way to interact with my new life without having conversations, and dogs became my main focus.”

Shelter Dogs Need Photos Too

Gamand briefly realized about animal rescues and the selection of homeless canine within the U.S. and in New York. She made up our minds to lend a hand and shortly devoted her paintings to safe haven canine the use of her digicam to take footage of the animals to lend a hand get them followed.

“I go to animal shelters and promote adoptable dogs and that’s basically my job,” Gamand stated, including that she doesn’t receives a commission and covers all her trip bills.

Photo through Jenna Bascom.

About a yr after she began volunteering her products and services, Gamand began taking footage of pit bulls. However, running with them didn’t come simple.

Photo through Jenna Bascom.

When she was once about 12, Gamand was once mauled through a Briard, a big herding canine. “It was very traumatic,” she stated. “The dog jumped on me and attacked, leaving me anxious around large jumpy dogs.” This later affected her paintings with safe haven pit pulls making it tough to them on account of her terrifying youth recollections.

That together with their “bad reputation” made it worse. “I didn’t want to touch them or interact with them,” she stated. “I would take a quick photo just to get it done and out of the way.”

Dispelling the Myth

However, after a couple of months of volunteering, she discovered her reactions had been unwarranted. “The dogs had done nothing bad to me,” she stated. “It was time to face my unfounded fears and realize that all the bad things I read in the media were not true.”

Pit Bull Flower Power through Sophie Gamand (Courtesy of the artist)

Gamand then created a undertaking all in favour of pit bulls to lend a hand conquer the unfairness surrounding them. “I was curious to see if art would change the way we see pit bulls,” she stated.

In 2014, armed with a glue gun and plants, Gamand discovered how you can create flower crowns to put at the heads of safe haven pit bulls. She introduced a suitcase filled with them to a New York safe haven, however she was once undecided if her concept would paintings. She requested volunteers to first convey out a mellow pit bull. They introduced her a canine named Baby, who became out to be the primary tale in Gamand’s newest ebook.

Sweet Baby

“Baby was very sweet and I was nervous,” she stated. Gamand positioned the flower crown on Baby’s head. “I thought the idea was a longshot. But Baby sat there wearing the crown looking so elegant and dignified. There was something in her eyes that was so deep and moving. From the first portrait, I could see that the project was meaningful, and I thought I could make a difference for that dog.”

Pit Bull Flower Power through Sophie Gamand, Baby (Courtesy of the artist)

Shortly after that photoshoot, Gamand launched the pictures on her web site and social media. The safe haven additionally shared the footage. They instantly went viral with nine million perspectives. The safe haven won telephone calls and lots of feedback. There was once a surge in safe haven guests who expressed a need to undertake.

“It was insane,” Gamand stated. Other shelters referred to as asking Gamand to do the similar with their canine. “Over the past four years, the project has been very successful and really hasn’t slowed down.”

Pit Bull Flower Power through Sophie Gamand, Adam (Courtesy of the artist)

Gamand traveled all around the nation and has about 450 portraits within the collection. “People have said, ‘I saw a dog on your Instagram and went to the shelter and adopted her.’” Gamand has posted last-chance canine who had been followed day after today, and canine looking ahead to years had been followed. “Sometimes people go to adopt one of the models and end up adopting a different dog.”

Changing Hearts and Minds

The undertaking has make clear shelters that no person knew about together with an Alabama safe haven that had little visibility, slightly any social fans and which struggled financially. Following a photograph shoot with Gamand, numerous the canine had been followed.

Pit Bull Flower Power through Sophie Gamand, Midnight (Courtesy of the artist)

“People are drawn to my images because they are easy on the eye,” she stated. “The reality behind these pictures is much harsher. These dogs have gone through so much. I soften the blow a little bit. I get the message across, but I kind of put a bow on it.”

Pit Bull Flower Power through Sophie Gamand, Rum (Courtesy of the artist)

Others have messaged Gamand to let her know the way her paintings has modified their minds about pit bulls. “When people see these portraits, they feel an emotional connection to the dogs and they can’t hate them anymore, which is why this project works so well.”

Each of Gamand’s portraits is other: a special canine with a special tale with a special flower crown. “It’s celebrating each dog as an individual in that particular moment of their life.”

Hope for Pit Bulls

The liberate of “Pit Bull Flower Power” coincided with Adopt a Shelter Dog Month and Pit Bull Awareness Month in October. The ebook contains tales about every canine. “It’s a powerful advocacy tool and I hope it will have a long life,” Gamand stated.

Pit Bull Flower Power through Sophie Gamand, Moose (Courtesy of the artist)

The “Pit Bull Flower Power” undertaking has been going sturdy for 4 years and has had an enormous have an effect on on pit bull advocacy. Gamand is hopeful that the ebook can amplify the succeed in of the undertaking and get the phrase out. “I get messages from countries all over the world, so I think this project has been so impactful,” she stated. The ebook together with the showcase “are meant as a celebration of all the dogs, the ones who made it and the ones who didn’t.”

Photo through Sophie Gamand.

For additional information on Sophie Gamand, take a look at her web site and observe her on Instagram and Facebook.

You should purchase her ebook immediately from her web site or at Amazon.

_

Feature symbol: Nakita (courtesy of Sophie Gamand)