DURING a memorable Saturday football victory party at the Tiger Inn, this usually demure, self-possessed little blonde celebrated by performing a sensual, exotic tabletop dance. The effect was electric and her legend was born. She spent the rest of her time at Princeton trying to live it down.

   Such is the tale of the “Accidental Femme Fatale,” one of 16 tiger sculptures by George Thaddeus Saj, on view at the Cranbury Station Gallery in Princeton May 28 through June 30. If she wasn’t made of wood, one can imagine the femme fatale batting made-up blue eyes, shaking her blond mane and making a grand entrance as her gold claw-like necklace jingles.

   Coinciding with the kickoff of Princeton University’s Reunions, Princeton Tigers features artworks that were inspired by real and apocryphal campus personalities, such as the “Graduate Tigress,” “Pantera Tigris Alumnus,” “Tigris Sophisticatus” and “Tigris Emeritus.” Each mask is introduced by its own legend, which Mr. Saj hopes will spur viewers to construct the rest of the story according to their own experience and imagination.

   The works aren’t meant to portray specific individuals, but rather they are formed from characteristics observed in various personages. “They might remind you of the student you were, the adult you became, or the caricatures you hope not to embody,” Mr. Saj writes in the exhibit catalog. “They might evoke the memory of a particular professor, a special friend, an admired sports hero, or an almost forgotten heartthrob... or even let you recall your splendid achievements and your small disillusions. But mostly, I hope, they will make you smile and remember your college days.”

   As a former surgeon who practiced for 31 years, Mr. Saj brings to his artwork a deep understanding of human nature at its best and worst and the varying personalities that exist in our world. He pulls from a wealth of stories and traits of patients he has taken care of and colleagues he has worked with during the course of his career. There’s no question that Mr. Saj’s experiences as a surgeon have shaped and benefited his approach to art. “It gives you an understanding, an appreciation of graceful things and of nasty things,” he says.

   Mr. Saj’s formal art education started at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts and continued at Dartmouth College. However, having always planned to be a doctor like his father, he enrolled in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. After residency training and service as a staff surgeon at a U.S. Army hospital in Danang, Vietnam, he settled in New Jersey.

   About a year and a half before leaving his position at Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, Mr. Saj had his first solo show at the Montclair Public Library. To his surprise, it was a huge success and he sold a number of pieces. Even though his next couple of shows “bombed,” “All in all, it showed me I can have an activity beyond surgery that would be meaningful for me,” he says. “I didn’t want to be just a pure hobbyist.”

   Since his retirement from surgery in 2005 at age 65, Mr. Saj has returned to art full time. Over the years, he served as the hospital’s director of surgery and as president of the medical staff. He has also held the post of president of the combined staffs of the Atlantic Health System and served on the board of trustees of Mountainside Hospital and Atlantic Health System.

   Having the steady hands of a surgeon and meticulous attention to detail also serve Mr. Saj well in his artistic endeavors. He uses a scroll saw and a sander to make his wood sculptures, and paints them with bright acrylics. Found objects add flair to each piece, ranging from discarded surgical instruments and household furnishings to garage sale finds.

   Take a look at “Sophomore Tiger” and “Bengal Tiger,” and you’ll notice the animals have prominent, orb-like ears. The stainless steel objects dotted with circular holes are actually from a surgical tool that’s used to clean a hip joint. The tigers’ eyes are often made of wood pebbles or marbles and the whiskers from electric wire. The googly eyes of “Ivory Tower Tiger” — a learned, somewhat self-absorbed professor of arcana in the biological sciences — peer out over Mr. Saj’s old glasses.

   Mr. Saj typically crafts his wood sculpture first, then spins a tale to match the personality that emerges from it. Other times, he concocts a personage, then creates a face to match. The pieces take about a week to make. He often sets them aside for a bit, then comes back and photographs the works to gain a new perspective before formulating a backstory.

   Although he doesn’t strictly sculpt animals — he also has a series of historic figures and portraits — Mr. Saj is particularly drawn to creatures like owls, bulls, bears and wolves. “It’s a way of having animals say things that if you have people say them could be more offensive,” Mr. Saj says. “This way you can use the personality of the animal.

   ”I once made a fox and called him ‘Political Consultant’ and tried to send him to Mr. (Karl) Rove’s office, but he had no interest at all,” he adds, laughing.

   Through the Princeton Tigers exhibit, Mr. Saj hopes he captured the Princeton alumni’s sense of experience at the university. He cites how the University of Southern Florida was very responsive to his bull series, and now has a collection of the masks in celebration of its sports team, the Bulls. “If this (tiger exhibit) flies, maybe I’ll try to make owls for Bryn Mawr (College),” he says with a chuckle. Mr. Saj’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Cleveland, Chicago, New York and New Jersey.

   It comes as no surprise that children relate to his whimsical, brightly colored artworks. When Mr. Saj’s grandchildren visit, he arranges and cuts masks for them to paint. The artist also recalls a time when a library exhibit of his masks stopped a group of children in their tracks. They ran outside to bring their friends in to see the display. “When nobody would look, they would touch one,” Mr. Saj says. “That to me is very gratifying. It means I connected with them.”

Princeton Tigers by George Thaddeus Saj is on view at Cranbury Station Gallery, 28 Palmer Square East, Princeton, May 28-June 30. A reception for the artist will be held May 28, 5:30 p.m. The show is free and open to the public. Hours: Mon.-Thurs., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Sun. noon-5 p.m. 609-921-0434; www.kmmorolda.com; www.georgesaj.com