Libby Jones, the founder of Barking Madd clay creations, is anything but barking mad. She has a perfectly reasonable explanation for filling her children’s pockets with bags of clay and sending them out to play. And her endless pursuit of glass jars and a good deal on an assortment of domesticated animal treats can likewise be explained. Jones, a resident of Annandale, is the creator of those cute pet treat jars on display at MBD Merchant and Faith-Filled Gifts in Maple Lake, and soon to be for sale at Annandale’s Stone Creek Original Art and Gifts. The containers are merely converted cherry and meat spread jars, and the treats are nothing special, but gracing the top of each is a miniature sculpture of some of Annandale area residents’ favorite pets. "I do a lot of labs," admitted Jones, whose research involved asking the local veterinarian what animals are favored by people around here. As a result, her treat jars also hold very realistic looking replicas of dalmations, beagles, dachshunds, spaniels and terriers to name a few. Cat lovers can find little tabbies; rodent owners can buy jars with delicately made hamsters and little grey mice eating cheese on them, and Jones has even made a treat jar for gold fish. The jars come in all different sizes and shapes, and each one is filled to the brim with goodies only an animal could truly enjoy. "I’m animal ga-ga," Jones said. "We used to play a game in elementary school the kids called think of a dog and Libby will tell you what it is." The idea for a treat jar started three years ago with a road trip to Texas. That’s when Jones fell in love with a flea-ridden bloodhound puppy that became her first clay sculpture. Jones and her mother, Carol Dalman, were on their way home when they happened on an ad for the little puppy in an Oklahoma newspaper. The women fell instantly in love and loaded the dog into the car for the long ride back to Minnesota. That Christmas, Jones made a clay likeness of her puppy and turned it into a tree topper. Her sister, who makes handcrafted painted glass, saw the sculpture and asked if Jones could make other animals. Then she suggested the treat jars. Seven jars a night These days Jones has perfected the art to the point where she can produce seven jars in one night. She started out using classic clay, which had to be softened before it could be shaped into the delicate pieces she wanted. That’s where her three boys – Steven 11, Wyatt, 10, and Casey, 6 – came in. "I shove it in their pockets, let them play for a while and when they come back, it’s usually soft enough," she said. These days she sticks mainly to polymer clay, which is much softer and easier to mold. Once the sculpture is complete, she bakes it in a conventional oven until it is hard. After a little liquid polymer glue, the treat jar cover at least is almost unbreakable. She’s seen them dropped and chewed on by a dog and still remain intact. She can remember only one in-store accident since she started. In that instance a child picked up the treat jar and banged it on a shelf. The animal’s tail broke off. "They are just as hard and sturdy as if they had been put in a kiln," she said. These days most of her work is custom order. Customers send her pictures of their beloved pets and Jones tries to shape a sculpture as near in physical likeness to the actual animal as she possibly can. "I did the neighbor’s three cats," recalled Jones. "I wanted to try and get them as close to the animal as I possibly could, but they are all tabbies and recreating the stripes on a tabby cat is one of the hardest things to do." Jones will do stand-alone statues – such as miniature clay horses – on request and business card holders as well. Gourd houses Lately Jones has thought to expand her business with hand-crafted fairy houses. She makes them out of dried gourds and sells them at Stone Creek in Annandale and at www.etsy.com. Art has always been a part of Jones’ life, though it has often taken a back seat to motherhood and work. Now she tries to fit her passion for creativity into her life wherever she can, even if that means sculpting when the kids are at school or in bed for the night. When that doesn’t work, she gives her boys their own clumps of clay and they are usually all too happy to join in. "When they were little the boys played around so much with the clay I gave them, at the end all I had was this gray ball," she said. "That’s how the mice (treat jars) were born." For more information or to inquire about a custom order, contact Jones at 274-7444 or by e-mail at babs_cowgirl@hotmail.com.
