On Cloud Nine

Finally got Brownie and the Harness Pair done, just in time for the All Equines Great & Small show this weekend. I'm so excited to report that not only did my harness setup qualify for NAN, but the Brownie I painted took overall foals champ in both breed and workmanship! He was so much fun to paint, and I just can't believe that I will have something I painted that I can take to NAN this year. :) I had a blast seeing all my region friends again... it's been too long! And finally, here's some pictures. Pictures just don't do either justice, alas. I plan on adding more dots and brasses to the harness pair, but this is as done as I was able to get them for the show. Both photos are clickable for a larger view.

Collars

It feels like such little progress considering how long and how much fiddling they took to get right, and honestly I'm still not happy with them. But I'm done fiddling, as I'm running out of hair to pull out. Fellow tack makers, I strongly advise against using such tiny hot-fix studs on patent leather... especially something that is going to be jammed on and off of models so many times. The good news is that I will probably have to keep the set. I *love* the look of them, but man is it annoying when those tiny dots pop off! And to think, I wanted to do 6-8 of them. I hope to have better progress shots later in the week, when the sun decides to come out again. Other good news... they fit my Punjabi & Poudre, so some day perhaps they will get to wear the set. :)

Progress!

Yes, it's true, I'm actually making some progress in the work room. :) I've cleared out enough storage junk to make room for myself, and have been plugging away at a Brownie:



He's far from done, but finally far enough along to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know it's not what everybody wants to hear about, they'd rather I be working on tack. Have no fear though, I have a few tack fuels in the fire as well. And well, I've made reservations for NAN this year, so that means I have a *ton* to get done before then. :) Here's a teaser... couple projects that are at least in the "cutting out" stage:





Neither are traditional scale. Both projects are those that just keep getting put off for other easier projects, but the more difficult ones are always the most memorable and hard to part with. More info to come!

Long overdue

No excuse is a good excuse, but here is a long overdue update. I've not made anything new in a long time, but I'd yet to get any shots of this set. I made it for RXR back in '08, showed it once, and it has been sitting in a box ever since. It has a few flaws which deems it worthy for my tack collection only. What a shame, I have to keep a saddle set! :) This set was an experimental piece using ideas taken from a few different barrel racing saddles. Smarty was painted by one of my favorite artists, Ann Harris. The pad is by Ingrid Mattes.





Currently on my workbench I have a LB/Pebbles scale parade set and a Brownie resin that I'd like to get done. I plan on attending some shows in the spring, so hope to have some more updates by then.

Goodbye my pony

Only a few posts in, and I already have to apologize for slacking. I'd hoped to have a saddle to post pics of by now. Instead I've been caught in a whirlwind of hurriedly getting my beloved Icelandic, Ymur, to his wonderful new home. I couldn't be happier for him, but I've another hole inside of me that will never be filled. An empty horse trailer sits in my driveway, waiting to be cleaned out and sold. He was a dream horse, and will be greatly missed.

Pastel works-in-progress

This guy has been sitting for years, as I added too many uniform teenie-tiny dapples on him that I was not happy with, and just hadn't had the heart to cover most of them up just yet. He'll probably end up being a darker grey with belly dapples.


I just wuv this little resin, and no quick choice of color would do. It took me forever to finally decide on a nice dappled chestnut, and even longer (many, many layers) to get him to this point. He still has a long way to go from this rather orange stage, but I don't want to rush him along. Body first, then I'll concentrate on his head, legs, and mane/tail. Chestnut is such a challenging color to pastel, to stay away from the orange stage and not slip to far into bay! Here's a bit of my inspiration:

Dabbling in photography

Ever since I invested in a quality camera to photograph my work, I've enjoyed dabbling around with it on outings. On a recent trip to the Durham, NC area, we visited the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. I couldn't help but pull out the macro lens, as the roses looked so pretty with water droplets on them after a much needed shower.