In 2012 I discovered that both of our dogs were dying. Lulu had aggressive lymphoma and Schlomo had congestive heart failure. Unsure of what to do with my sadness, I began capturing as much information about them as I could before they left. They seemed to enjoy the activities as well. I documented it all on a schlomoandlulu.net. Lulu left us in October 2012 and Schlomo in July 2013. Follow the link to read all about the project, or see a synopsis below of some the artifacts from the activities we shared.
Ink Paw Prints
Our first activity was to capture their paw prints in ink and I seriously underestimated the difficulty of this. Neither dog wanted to put their paws in the ink or on the paper. They ran around trying to get away. While I’m very glad I captured their paws, I really had to rethink what the activities would be.
Clay Paw Prints
I then decided to do paw prints in clay, but knew it had to be easier and more enjoyable than the ink prints. I turned to Facebook for advice and was overwhelmed by the response. In the end, we made impressions in sculpy and baked them in the oven.
3D Captures with the Kinect
I then decided to make some 3D captures. I once again turned to Facebook and got lots of advice. Additionally, my lovely friend Jackson Snellings came over with his windows machine and kinect and we spent an evening capturing them using ReconstructMe.
3D Captures with 123D Catch
Based on the same Facebook thread, I began to 3D capture the dogs on my iPad using Autodesk’s 123DCatch. I found the results to be remarkable under certain conditions: napping dogs on a sunny day. Fortunately, I had several hours to work with and fell in love with the process. I ended up making 3D powder prints at the NYU LaGuardia Studio (thank you, Taylor Absher!)
Their DNA at Genspace
I then decided I wanted to sequence their DNA, and through the guidance of the wonderful Nurit Bar-Shai, Oliver Medvedik, and the Genspace community biolab, I got to work.
Paper Sculptures
I decided to make 3D paper sculptures of them. Working with both photos and designs I found online, I created paper sculpture prototypes of them.
Early videos (these are videos shot and edited in their youth)
Schlomo gets the wastepaper basket lid stuck on his head from Marianne Petit on Vimeo.
Lulu learns to swim at the glen from Marianne Petit on Vimeo.
Why are you doing this to me? from Marianne Petit on Vimeo.
thats amore from Marianne Petit on Vimeo.
Schlomo and his Hedgehog from Marianne Petit on Vimeo.
Schlomo Howls from Marianne Petit on Vimeo.
Lulu Sit from Marianne Petit on Vimeo.
My Elmo My Ball, The Carpet My Balls, and You from Marianne Petit on Vimeo.
Marianne R. Petit 