Sapulpa's ' gargoyle artist'

Tamara Dozier has been an artist since, as she says, since she discovered that crayons were to color with and not to eat. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Rick Wells says Dozier has sculpted animals of all

Tuesday, June 21st 2005, 10:34 am

By: News On 6

Tamara Dozier has been an artist since, as she says, since she discovered that crayons were to color with and not to eat.

News on 6 reporter Rick Wells says Dozier has sculpted animals of all kinds, including bumble bears, penguins and polar bears. Her daughter started her on gargoyles. "My daughter asked me to do a gargoyle for her. My son wanted a dragon." The result was a dragon-gargoyle or gargoyle-dragon. It's name is 'Liadan', which means gray lady. She was the first.

Rick Wells: "So where did that little guy come from, just out of your head?" Tamara Dozier: "Actually I dream a lot of these." And what she dreamed up was a little dog gargoyle, his name is Nipper the Gripper.

People everywhere seem to like them; she has sold gargoyles all over the world. "I've had pieces go to Italy, Australia, France Singapore, Sweden and England." Gargoyles aren't everything. She paints too, and little trading card size paintings and prints are hot right now, but gargoyles are the unique niche.

One gargoyle started as some sort of kitchen spirit. He was going be holding a jar of something and maybe a cookie. "The head worked right but the body wouldnâ€™t cooperate." So now she's not sure what he is, that inspiration will come later perhaps. Then there is â€˜Spatâ€™, frogs eat bugs and this gargoyle is intended to protect computers from bugs.

And she has plans for more. â€œI hope before the summer is over to be working on some larger pieces for the garden." Something that would ward off weeds and crabgrass maybe.

To check out some of Tamara Dozier's creations, she has a web site at www.dowitstudio.com.