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I noticed Jere's work on Flickr one day and knew we were kindred spirits. Not just because of our location (I'm a true Southern girl at heart) but also for our love and dedication to keeping puppies safe and making sure each one is loved. I love that every stitch of every piece of work she does, tells a story.

Who and what is spotted dog farm?
Spotted Dog Farm is just me, Jere Alexander, and a motley brood of dogs, donkeys, chickens, rabbits and my little handspinner's flock of sheep. It's a real place but it's also a pastoral dream that I'm trying to express in life and in art. I like how the name confuses some people - sometimes folks think I'm a dog breeder - so it kind of hints at how different animals are constructed since in this place and time, most people don't think of dogs as farm animals.

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Your embroidered pieces have so much depth-what's your favorite and why?
Thanks so much!! So far I love the piece "I give you my tomorrow" the best. It's of my Rosie, who if i had to choose the most beautiful dog I've ever known, she would be it. She's just perfectly adorable with her underbite and her thick little body. It's hard to embroider a pit bull face straight-on. Their heads are such interesting shapes that I was afraid would lose expressiveness if I flattened it out in 2D. And at first she was looking more like a pig than a dog, but I used different stitches to make something of a sampler on her face. The triangle pattern in the vintage linen reminds me of a chain link fence, and the title is a lyric from a 70s song by Tim Hardin.

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Who inspires you?
I am endlessly inspired by the handmade revolution, and textile artists like Nicole Licht/Astulabee, Beefranck, Porterness, Iviva Olenick, Sandrine Pelletier, and so many others. The cheeky, subversive angle of contemporary embroidery just kills me. I'm awed by soft sculpture artists - again Astulabee, Hisa Kato, Jennifer Murphy and Jennifer Muskopf. I am also seriously fascinated with some of the sculptors working with taxidermy, like Emily Mayer, Iris Schieferstein and Polly Morgan. I know it's creepy to lots of folks, but since i'm already used to working with animal fiber, it's not such a stretch to use furs and skins (although I would only use thrifted or roadkill, not hunted).
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 What advice would you give to the masses?
Oh, I'm not in much of a position to give advice to anyone! But my hub has this little joke that we always laugh about, and I think it's very instructive. It's from some police movie with Sean Penn although I don't remember the name. It goes something like... Two bulls, father and son, are standing at the top of a hill looking down at a pasture full of cows. The son says to the father, "Hey dad, how about we run down and fuck a couple of 'em?" The dad replies, "Naw son, how about we walk down and fuck em all." So when I get all manic, I'll just think "walk don't run... fuck em all..."

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Do you have a website?
Well, yeah, I have a love/hate thing with my internet presence. I love making online friends and connections in the craft world, but there are so many crazy pit bull haters, and I have no tolerance for that negativity. Some day, I hope to learn css and flash and those other obscure languages to make a beautiful website. Right now I have spotteddogfarm.com to describe my work, and then I blog over at Pit Bull Patriarchy, pitbullpatriarchy.blogspot.com.

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Bonus Question!
Best name for a pet
The most magnificent name I've heard is Iris Ladonica Deville.

Worst name for a pet
I knew a shelter dog with a head injury that had been dubbed "Wee Toddy."

Gah! I think I want to be Jere when I grow up! Her attitude, spirit and just plain ol' kick butt good nature makes me smile on a daily basis. Her work is so inspiring. It makes me sleep a little better knowing that there are people like Jere out there in the world.