Inspirational and humbling

Please visit Morgan Kilbourne's blog today. She has Published a link to a video of a Miniature Artist that is astounding. In fact, his work has become very inspirational and has my mind reeling!

Also, I'm very close to finishing the Blue and White Western Show Halter mentioned in my previous post. I don't know when I'm going to get time to completely finish it up because of the upcoming holiday (I have to clean and cook!) but I'm hoping to be done with it by December 1st! Wish me luck!

Sneaky peeky!

Above are Sneak peeks of halters I have in progress. The blue and white one was made for a Peter Stone Ideal Quarter Horse and is 1/8th Scale. The Red and Black one was also made for a Peter Stone Ideal Quarter Horse and is also 1/8th Scale. Both will be for sale when they are finished. I'm hoping like mad that I'll that I'll have them done by January 2009 at the latest.

The blue one will be lotteried off to my yahoo group and the red one will be first come first served. They're both going to be $170 postage paid.

whirling, blur of a mess...

No, not my studio (well, yeah, my studio too) but my brain. This weekend I got jack NOTHING accomplished despite my best efforts. Saturday morning, at 4am munchkin's diaper leaked so the poor thing started to cry and woke us. It was my turn to get up with him (I let hubby sleep late on Saturdays since he gets up with munchkin throughout the week) so I jolted awake and bounded up the stairs as fast as I could to see what was going on..

Because of this, I ingested LARGE amounts of caffeine to wake up which sent my brain into overdrive. I was able to get some time in the studio but I couldn't focus for anything because my brain was whirring too fast.

Yesterday was spent going to my parents with munchkin and going out to eat so (Marimbas in Shelbyville!!!!!) I didn't have a lot of productive time in the studio.

I need to engrave some keepers for a woven knot western show halter but I can only work in the studio when munchkin sleeps. My engraver is UBER noisy so I can only engrave when my husband is home, and feeling generous about giving me time to engrave. We have a basement but it is currently unfinished, although I guess I could go down there to engrave and munchkin wouldn't wake up..hmmmmm........... That's a thought.. I could eye the treadmill and guilt myself into getting on it too..hahaha

Yesterday during my brief time while munchkin slept I looked on youtube to see if anyone had put up some silversmithing videos. I was richly rewarded and I now have some more ideas about how to make my tiny silver bits more 3-d. I know that I could just sculpt the buggars and then cast them, but casting costs more money than just hacking them out of silver one at a time. Hopefully, eventually, I will make the bits more uniform and maybe I will be able to cast them. Right now the "process" is very hit or miss so I'll just keep them to myself.

Above is the "silver graveyard" - a collection of stuff that has been pulled off of finished pieces or never passed the muster to be used on pieces I was working on. I am still very proud of the tiny silver oak leaves. They taught me a lot about how silver works, or doesn't :-)

I have a harder gauge of silver on it's way from Rio Grande (not rio rondo). Heather Downing mentioned when I saw her at Breyerfest that she felt that my bits were bit flimsy. Although I disagree with that to some extent, (because you don't need a lot of weight to control a model horse <G>I decided to test the waters with some 28 gauge silver to see if I liked working on that better. I think it may hold more detail than the thinner gauges.

We shall see, and I promise to whine about it on my blog! YIPPEEE!

It's Finished! The Californio Style Mother Hubbard II set

It only took a year and 10 months! And it is already sold! :-)

Next up is a bit of a departure - a 1/6th scale braided bridle. And I've started working on a woven western show halter in 1/8th scale that I'll be offering to my yahoo group whenever it's finished.

sooooooooooo close...............

I am so close to finishing up the cinch for my mother hubbard II saddle. I think just a couple of more hours and I should be finished... I am still trying to figure out a way to do more on the cinch but I just don't have a lot of room to work with.

After I'm done, I'm going to clean. My studio is a TOTAL mess from when I was pregnant and couldn't do a lot. I just brought the magazines upstairs and put em on the floor. LAST Year's Breyerfest models are STILL in the studio waiting to be un strapped from their boxes... and my catalogs and reference all need to be organized.

Above are photos of the chaos......

Then it's onto braided bridles!!! I'm thinking about a silver snaffle braided bridle in blue or green.......

LIGHT!

As of today, I think I have a plan for the cinch! It isn't as fancy as I had wanted it but it will definitely be appropriate! Now to carve out time to work on it and finish it!

My next project will be a braided bridle or two. I really have a strong desire to do more of them.

Happy Voting Day!

I won't attempt to "wax poetical" about how lucky we are that we can vote in this country. I'm sure that everyone knows that voting is a great privledge not afforded to everyone in the world so we should feel lucky and "blessed" that we can decide our leaders this way.





Please, be nice to the poll workers and everyone in line with you. Please resist the urge to stab the person spouting off about the candidate that you hate with a pen. :-) Please resist the urge to tear the opposing candidates bumper sticker off of the cars around yours. If you can't play nice then you can still play but it would be more pleasant if you're not psychotic about it :-)




Above is a patriotic picture of the arabian stallion "Good Thunder". "Good Thunder" is a champion in many disciplines (native costume, saddleseat and more!) and at the final Arabian Horse Nationals held in Louisville, Ky in 2006, he carried the American Flag on Friday and Saturday Nights.




My apologies for the all of the "noise" in the picture, I was using my old Point and Shoot Camera. (only 5 megapixels as opposed to the EOS Rebel that I use now which is 10) The noise reducing plugin that I use "Noise Ninja" only made the grain worse so I left it as is.


Supposedly there will be at least a 2 hour wait to vote around here today. My husband is going to come home early so that I can go vote without toting munchkin along. I would imagine that 2 hours in a line would be torture for a 10 month old! I wonder if I still have my old "Game boy"......

Not a Lot of progress

I haven't made a lot of progress on the cinch. I finished up the weaving that I was working on and I've put it aside to concentrate solely on the cinch now. I had a period last week wehre I was feeling super creative and I started several different things, but this week I've been tired so I haven't progressed much. I have an idea on how to try to make the cinch a second time thanks to my Friend/Mentor Susan Bensema young but I haven't gotten very far with that Idea.

Last week I also bought a blue sheet of poster board and I've been playing with lighting techniques in order to get a some good, more professional pictures of my tack. As you can see, the photos above are a bit dark. The Funny thing is that my old point and shoot camera takes better pictures of the tiny stuff than my DSLR because it has a built in macro lens. Unfortunately, though, the old point and shoot camera is only 5 megapixels and the DSLR is 10.

I'm also realizing that if I want to sell to "upscale" clients I need a website overhaul. I don't think I have the "foo" to overhaul the website and make it look the way I want it to so I may have to eventually have someone else do it. So many ideas in my head and so little time!!

I also started thinking about eventually doing a 1/6th scale braided bridle. There is a group of hobbiests that collect the 1/6th scale Johnny West Riders and horses. They are very very nice folks and are not as competitive as the 1/8th scale folks are. It's a relief to talk to them sometimes. They're a very close knit group and are very creative. I think it would be fun to work on something a tad larger than what I'm used to working on. The larger the piece the more detail I can put on it. The problem is finding the right scale hardware. Rio rondo has some pieces that help out a lot (in fact I'll be using one of their bits for the braided 1/6th scale bridle) but they are still working on things like halter rings.

There is a man within their hobby, Luis, who sculpts and who is kind of an "agent" For a miniature tackmaker in Mexico. (Luis is in mexico too) This tackmaker is astounding! He makes the miniature mexican style saddles with all of the extras like embroidered saddles and silver pieces. I believe he's also responsible for the trees and other accessories that Luis sells. He's really inspiring to me! I'd also like to buy one of Luis' 1/6th scale resins some day so that I can make tack on it.

If you can't tell, I like to read about and make myself aware of as many different hobbies as possible. The more I learn, the better my miniature work becomes. At one time in my life, I was very fond of saying "I'll never do this or that". Putting limits on what I would learn such as working with silver. It wasn't until I was given the amazing opportunity to have my work sold from the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft that it dawned on me that I should work with as many "Real" materials as possible. They suggested that I learn to work in silver because to them, the silver tape just wasn't good enough. I'm glad they planted that seed in the ole noggin because I think my work has definitely benefitted from it.

I have been thinking lately that I should also work on sculpting my own saddle trees. I've been thinking about this because I want to make my work 100% original. There are may tackmakers out there with excellent saddle trees, so it's definitely not because those trees aren't good enough. I have a thought about a wire armature that I could make in order to sculpt a saddle tree over top of it. If I make one good enough, then I could eventually have them cast. Thats way off into the future though.

I tried to enter the "Art of Horse" magazine art competition with one of my bridles as a soft sculpture but they informed me that my bridle was ineligble. I entered some of my photographs instead. This of course inspired me to make another bridle strictly for entering art competitions with. I really think that people need to see the miniatures that the 1/8th scale hobby produces because they really are works of art. I feel like the bits and buckles and the little things that Rio Rondo has for us to use are really no different than "found object" sculptures. Wonder if the art world will agree with me?

Lastly, I'm working on my model horse tackmaking article. It's not a "how to" article, it's a general advice article. I believe in everyone finding their own path and to tell someone how to make something is circumventing that process to me. Also, I'm far from organized enough to do a "how to" article. You should see my studio, it's a total mess now. Not my normal "messy" which means organize chaos, but a real, downright, "Holy crap where is everything" mess... Anyone know someone that organizes for a living?

Real Quick!

I watched a biography on Frank Lloyd Wright this evening on the Ovation Network. I feel really inspired after seeing it. I had only ever glanced at the outside of a Wright Building and they felt too modern and "ugly" to me. This evening, they showed the insides and the view from the windows.. I was floored.. I absolutely loved it!!



It has inspired me to maybe thing about a western saddle set (or maybe parade..hmmm.....)after I'm finished with my current project. I "feel" like maybe a fern motif or something that is definitely nature inspired.



I'm still banging my head against the weaving but I actually made a mental breakthrough today. I'll finish up the current weaving I have for a native arabian halter and then move forward to another one using what I "think" will be a new technique. I don't want to reveal it yet because I have no idea if it'll work. Above is the current halter being woven..



In case you're interested, Susan Bensema Young updated her page this evening with the most beautiful bridle and breastcollar set!!! go see! go on.....

Nothing worthwhile comes easy.....

("new year", pencil)

and that is definitely true for the cinch I'm working on. I know that I'm not alone when I say that making that cinch was much easier to create in my head. Meaning, that even though I *thought* I knew how I was going to make it, it's not the way it's turning out at all.

I've made two cinches so far and neither are good enough. I decided to "retrain" my brain to weave and see what I could come up with from there. I've broken out the ole bead loom and I'm working on a native arabian halter. Now I know that the two don't seem to be related at all, but they are. They are both woven. So in making something that I already know how to make to boost my confidence and get my brain retrained, I will learn how to make the cinch I want. I do this a lot with things so I know this will work. (like the braided bridle and the braided halters which I worked on simultaenously).

Above is a drawing that I did when I was in my early 20's. Like a lot of folks, I desperately wanted to be a fine artist when I was younger. Unfortunately, while I had the talent, I was too insecure and immature to go to art school and really make it my path and hone my skills. I was too busy rebelling against authority to see that I was screwing up my "artistic" future. Luckily I fell into Technology and was able to make a living despite myself.

In learning photography, I've actually deepend my drive to make miniatures. I don't want to lose the skill of being able to make them like I lost the skills to draw and render well. It took me a few months to really realize that I missed making miniatures immensely. I will be more focused on them in the future. I've worked very hard to get where I am and I don't want to lose the skills that I've obtained.

I sold the above drawing as a donation for an Arabian Horse Rescue and I've lost track of it. The scan above is all I have of it, and it was done at a time when technology was not able to the drawing very well. (thus all of the white spots you see). I hope that the person that has it now cherishes it as much as I do :-)

I am really trying...

The above Cinch was taken from a High Noon Catalog. I in no way take credit for the photo or the cinch.

That said, the cinch represents what I want to attempt for my mother hubbard II saddle. I have no earthly idea how it's made, or how I'm going to get that kind of decoration on a miniature cinch. I am re-learning how to make a cinch, using Carol Williams' kit from www.riorondo.com . I made two the last time I made one for the Mother hubbard I set. ONe practice, one production cinch.

This time, I'm using completely different materials than just the dmc floss as recommended by Carol. I'm using Alpaca yarn and dmc floss on the practice cinch, which was shown in the last blog post. I've learned alot so far.. namely that one has to be VERY careful to not pierce the yarn.

I've been working on how to weave the decorations but I haven't figured it out yet. I worked on it for about an hour this morning while munchkin slept, but I didn't get a lot accomplished. He's only sleeping an hour at a time now, which for a miniature maker, is like a flash in the pan.

I totally miss those days when I could bang my head against something for a couple of hours straight. That really went a long way towards figuring something out and making my work as detailed as possible. Not that I'd trade him for the world.. just lamenting a bit..

I almost don't want to post that photo because I have no idea if I'll be able to copy it in some way, but now that I've posted it, I have to..

The Model horse market right now has crashed. I can't sell a danged thing! LOL!! I really need some kind of money coming in but that isn't happening. I know though, that I'm not the only one..

a few things

I know, that second picture has nothing to do with model horse tack. It does, however, have everything to do with my life now. I never understood why an art career has to take a back seat to children. I do now. Munchkins need constant supervision once they learn to crawl, and one is so mentally tired when munchkin goes down for a nap that doing art, or anything for Mom is really put on the back burner.



I did play around with my new alpaca yarn and making a cinch. It's been about 2 years since I made my last one and it's taking me some time to figure it all out again. I have no idea how long this cinch is going to take me but it'll be cool when it's done.



I haven't had the time or the mental capacity to learn spinning yet. There are several ways of using a drop spinner and it's going to take me a few hours of focus to do it. Problem is that I just don't currently have a few hours of focus to give it.



I was feeling very very creative yesterday for a few hours and I sat down and did a few sketches. nothing earth-shattering, or even good but I do see how photography has taught my eye to see much better. When I turn back towards model horse tack and saddle patterns I can see that I'm going to have to redo them.. again..

NO ELECTRICITY

Unfortunately, as of today, I've been without electricity for two days! It stinks!! Especially for an Internet junkie like myself! THe POer Companjy says it could be yet another 7 days before our power is back up. This is due to the 71 MPH winds that came through our area on sunday. These winds were the remanants of Hurricane Ike. There are 260,000 people in Louisville without power and unfortunately, I am one of them. All of the houses around us on different streets have power - it is very frustrating. We are fortunate though, the trees behind our house withstood the winds just fine and our house suffered no obvious damage.



Luckily my husband bought a small power supply a couple of years ago so that we can have 25 - 30 minutes of internet a night.. Our home network is down though so I can't tweak any photos during this time. The good thing is that I can work in the studio in the mornings when my son sleeps because the sun shines right into it. I haven't gotten a lot done because I am spending time looking for some of the supplies I need, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be more productive!

Overwhelmed

I have to say that I've felt pretty overwhelmed over the past 8 or so months with the birth of my son, not being able to go back to work, taking on a new career and not having enough time to myself. I think that there are a lot of things that people just don't talk about or admit to when they have a munchkin enter their lives for fear that people will think they're not good parents. I love my son more than I've ever loved anyone or anything in my life. That is absolutely for sure the truth. That doesn't mean though that it hasn't been a rough adjustment.

Because of all of the above change, I've really struggled to redefine who I am in my own mind. I haven't come to any conclusions yet either

Lately I've been in the studio a few more days than usual and it's felt really good to sit and work with my hands on something tha I KNOW I can do. I don't get a lot of time to just sit and create and it feels really good to be back at the bench.

My desire to become a better photographer hasn't waned at all, much to my surprise. The more I learn about the business of photography, the more I realize how truly difficult it is to make a living as a photographer. Right now, I'm probably just too stupid to realize that I may not be able to do this so I just keep pushing forward

This weekend is the Rare Breed Expo put on by the Rare Breed Trust at the Kentucky Horse Park. I can't wait to go and photograph some of the horses. This includes caspian ponies, Akhal Tekes, Dartmoor ponies and more!

ON my workbench are work boots for my roping set that I'm still fooling with. I've also bought a Drop Spindle and some unspun wool. Yes, you read right, I'm going to attempt to spin wool. Why you ask? On the Advice of Jacquie (sp?) that I met at the Artisian's hall, I'm learning to do this to make my mecates more realistic. I also think that If I learn to spin my own string/yarn I can make a realistic string girth for my mother hubbard II set. (Bless you Robin S. for being so patient with me! I really think that it'll be worth it in the end!)

Thats the one thing about making model horse tack that I love - a Never Ending learning curve!!

Finished Bridle