Motivation Monday

I'm running behind today, particularly to do a Motivation Monday post since...  Monday is almost over.  But I still like sharing these pictures in hopes that they will inspire others as they inspire me, even if they may come too late for today. 

So here are a few things to consider as we continue on with our week.  I hope it's a good one for you!

 

 

 

 

 

Back To Natural

A few days ago as I was going through old pictures, I was reminded of a bit of an "ethical dilemma" I'm feeling about a couple of custom horses that I created back then.  One of them was sold, the other I still have and he is nearly ready to paint... nut I don't think I'm going to do that quite yet...   

Many years ago I created and sold a custom of a "big lick" Tennessee Walking Horse.  She started out as a Stablemate G1 Morgan Mare  The pose was based on a picture I found in a book or magazine and it was not the typical point of the stride that is usually captured (ala the Midnight Sun Breyer mold), but was of the horse throwing a front leg straight out and not quite stepping with the back yet:




She was definitely a bit of an "unusual" little horse, when compared to others I was making...

...but she was kind of neat and I liked her pretty face

She turned out pretty (though of course - as always - there were things about her that I wasn't fully satisfied with) and her new owner loved her.  From a report or two that I'd gotten, she was showing well back then, even placing in a Workmanship class.

A picture her new owner had sent me from a show.  She had gotten a couple of ribbons that day.

I knew I had made another big lick horse around the same time, this one a stallion on the G1 Morgan Stallion mold, and I assumed I must have finished and sold him, because I hadn't seem him in a long time.  I knew he had been somewhat close to being ready to paint and I thought maybe I had done that and sent him off somewhere.  Then, while unpacking my old custom horses for the shows in the last few weeks, I found him.  He was packed away with my finished horses and a couple more who were nearly finished...

Hmmm...

Ouch...

After looking him over for the first time in years, I found myself with a dilemma.  I've learned a lot about "big lick" horses since the days when I made those two CMs - plenty enough to know that I would never want to support or in any way endorse the practice.  Once upon a time I hadn't thought much of it, I just thought it was something else that those type of horses "did".  Although I do remember the first time I saw actual video of big lick horses, I was horrified.  Prior to that I'd only seen still pictures and I had no idea how grotesquely abnormal the movement really looked in action.  My thinking is, if you have to work so hard to get the horses to move that way, it's certainly not "natural" - and why would you do such a thing?  (this doesn't just apply to big lick horses, but other disciplines as well...)

I don't regret making these two - the first little mare was a pretty little girl and her owner seemed to be very happy with her.  I think back then a lot of us didn't really know what was involved in getting the "big lick".  We all loved horses and they were just another kind of horse, doing another kind of activity.  Now, a lot of us know different...  I've come across statements from many model horse hobbyists that say they won't buy, collect, create, or show big lick horses anymore.  I think that is a good thing.

So, I've been wondering what I should do with this little guy.  Jeff suggested maybe just throw him away (he is as disgusted with the whole big lick mess as I am), but I'm not sure I want to do that.  What I'm actually thinking is that maybe I will remodel him once again.  This time to a NATURAL running walk.  It will be another project, Lord knows I don't shy away from those, but it feels like the right thing to do.  I'm thinking this little one will "live again" as model of a HAPPY, flat-shod - or even barefoot - Tennessee Walking Horse... 

Picture Day - New and Old

Well, it's getting near the end of the day and I didn't actually start "the great purge" of the Studio room yet and it's probably safe to say it won't happen today.  BUT..  here's what I did do...

I spent hours photographing, formatting said photos, and uploading them to the Facebook page for the laser business.  Here is that page.  I think it's looking pretty good so far and I'm happy to see it's getting some Likes already! 

One product that we are making is a picture frame.  I haven't put any of them up on Facebook yet, but I did take pictures of a couple of them.  I wanted to put pictures in the frames, to show how they look and I decided to find a couple of my old model horse pictures to use for the model horse-themed frames.

This led to a bit of a trip down memory lane as I flipped through so many pictures of horses I'd painted - and forgotten about.  I know several of them were sold years ago, several more were donated to live shows.  It was fun looking through the pictures and I think I might try and photograph or scan them in to share on here.  For now, here are two of them, in our laser-cut picture frames:

I remember I had named him "Chocolate Dunit" - he was fun to paint

Some of my custom minis on my table at a live show - many years ago.

Productivity FTW! and... Purge Alert

I ended up getting a lot done today, mostly domestic chores (cat boxes, guinea pig cage, three loads of laundry put away, kitchen cleaning, dish washing, juice making, and so on and so forth).  But I also got some creative type work done, if not hands on crafting things (which I would have liked to do, but tomorrow is another day - more on that down below). 

I did some research for a color scheme for an Arabian Horse Native Costume (as far as why, that'll be another time... it's a surprise).  I created a Facebook page for our laser business, did some messaging back and forth with some fellow model horse people I met at the shows, and continued to catch up on reading some other blogs.  Another little project was to create an album on the Studio Facebook page for the cross-stitch saddle pads.  I realized that though I've talked about them and put several pictures on here, I didn't have anything up on FB about them...  took care of that!


I only set foot in the Studio room a couple of times today, but I was reminded how lovely it is in there during the winter.  We were below zero for about the first half of the day, but it was nice and warm in the room, due to the sun shining through the window for a few hours each morning.  I've always loved going in there and feeling the warm carpet under my feet, even when it's subzero outside! 

However, I haven't been spending much time in there, and pretty much none since returning from the last show, save for partially unpacking.  The reason?  It. Is. A. MESS.  I haven't even wanted to go in there and deal with it.  I've been battling against the clutter in there for as far back as I can remember.  The problem?  Too much stuff.  I've done a few minor purges over the years and have donated some craft supplies here and there, but I still have too much.  I keep thinking if I can only find the perfect way to organize it, everything will be fine... but that hasn't happened yet.  The biggest contributing factor is that I have way too many creative interests - and each of those requires a bunch of supplies.

So I've been considering it for a long time and it is a tough decision to make, but I think I'm going to have make some choices in my creative pursuits that may involve stopping some of the things I like to do.  As much as I enjoy making all of the things I make, I just don't have room for all the STUFF - and I certainly don't have the time to make ALL of the things I'm into. I suppose "hoarding" supplies and future projects is a pretty normal part of the creative process, but right now my studio room is such a mess I can't hardly move in there, never mind get any work done.

I want to be able to be happy in there, light some candles, play some music, sip my coffee, and MAKE THINGS.

I think it's time for me to finally narrow my focus back to what I'm most passionate about - horses.

I think I'll start the purge tomorrow.  Oh boy...

Breaking Free - It's A Process

I found this picture today and had to share it:
 

I did share it also on my personal Facebook page, with some thoughts of my own:

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I'm not there quite yet... but getting a little closer every day I think. I do know that worrying what others think is paralyzing. I'm (slowly) learning that the only person I have control over is me - and even that much to manage is a challenge some days. I'm working on breaking free, coming back to life, and getting back to what I love - painting, writing, creating...
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Finding this picture again today (I've seen it before) is very timely.  Last night I stumbled across another person that I need to contact about a custom order from several years ago.  Of course, I am terrified, waiting to hear the things I've been telling myself all these years, from someone else.  I am encouraged by the last person I contacted; she was happy for me that my life was doing better and when she received her horse, she said she loved him.  I am so thankful for all of that, it was the outcome I had hoped for, but had feared would never happen.

Another encouragement is recently learning of another (MUCH more skilled and well-known) artist having had struggles with clinical depression.  She has been working on her return to sculpting and painting after a long period of depression - and she has now even created a horse for one of the big model horse companies! 

I reached out to her and thanked her so much for sharing her journey through depression.  I told her that I'm battling back from extended period of darkness myself, right now.  She was so nice and encouraged me to keep moving forward, keep painting, keep showing.  I can't express how much her words meant to me.  Her words of encouragement came right on the eve of my very first live show in over 10 years.  Even though I had a paid entry into the show, I was still thinking of backing out, but after her messages, I decided to go... and what a show it was!

Her story gave me hope.  Granted, I would say she has more talent that I do in just her pinky! - but I found hope that there can be life and a continuation of a creative journey, after many dark years.


The next horse I need to finish is already nearly done.  I'd like to get him finished soon and *gulp*, try and make contact with his owner.

Nice Days - Then Snow Days

Today I did a bit of sorting/organizing at my computer desk, a bit of cross-stitching, and quite a bit of online time.  I've now "liked" 50 or so other model horse artists on Facebook and have put them all on an Interest List.  I'm discovering that it's a handy way to keep up with a bunch of pages.  I have always felt inspired when looking at other people's work, particularly works in progress, so it's my plan to take a peek at what they are up to if I feel the need for some motivation/inspiration.

Winter has officially arrived here.  It is currently about 0 degrees with the wind howling outside.  Yesterday it was snowing and blowing all day.  Though this past weekend the temps were in the 60s on Saturday and 50s on Sunday...  I'm happy that I was able to get a quick ride in on Bo, Sunday afternoon, before the temperatures plummeted.

We rode up the road and across a field from the barn to check on the horse trailer for the winter

My ol' blue trailer looked good, time to head back.  I promised him a short ride, temps were already dropping thanks to a cold wind that was just getting started.

He was also able to graze on green grass, for the last time this year. 

Om nom nom

I had also cleaned his pen, trimmed his feet, and picked him a bunch more green grass to nibble on throughout the afternoon. 

24 hours later, this is what it looked like outside:

Why, hello, Winter!

I left Bo outside in his run (with shelter) for Sunday night and last night.  However, tonight the temperatures are predicted to be minus 5-6 degrees, with wind.  So I brought him into the barn.  We are supposed to have a couple nights of sub zero temps and days with highs in the low teens.

Jeff had the day off today and goes back to work tomorrow.  I'm hoping to make more progress with my (never-ending)organizational projects around the house and maybe, just maybe, get in some studio time!

(Epic) Show Report

(Strap yourself in, get a snack or a drink, this is a long one...  I've had much technical difficulties today and wasn't sure if I was going to get this posted - I've been working on it for most of the day...  Ah, technology...)


At long last, here is my (epic) show report for the show I went to just over a week ago!  It was the Mid-Ark Model Horse Expo in Greenbrier, Arkansas.

I ended up paying for an extra table, so I had two tables to set up and look after.  I was so happy to have the extra space, it was really nice to be able to spread out.  Here was my horse table:

Some of my OF (original finish) Breyers

The rest of my OF, and then my custom horses on the left.

Custom horses and a few OFs that don't stand very well

My little custom herd

And here was the second table, which I set up to be a sales table; mostly all laser things:

All kinds of goodies for sale!

The competition at the show was FIERCE.  We were allowed to come in for a few hours the night before to do some setup and at that time I saw a bunch of the horses I'd be competing against.  It was enough to make me seriously consider leaving my custom horses at the hotel... 

Here are some of the performance entries that I saw:

I took a bunch of pictures of this one since I am now obsessed with horse drawn vehicles and harnesses - thanks to my "Project Stagecoach".

I was in love with this set up

Check out this tack!!  This was one of my favorites.

A Marwari costume!  I was just recently wondering if anyone had made one of these...  Yep!

A cross-country entry.  A crowd was gathered around this one, talking pictures and taking to the man who made it.

Saddleseat, a very pretty horse and rider.

I noticed several cross-stitch saddle pads on some of the western horses and I took pictures of some of them:

One of the really exciting things for me was that I finally put out some of my cross-stitch pads for sale and...  I sold two of them!

The first went to a performance shower who was looking for a saddle pad to better match her rider doll.  This was the saddle pad she ended up buying:

She was entered in a lot of performance classes and I took pictures of a couple of them:

It was so cool to see one of my saddle pads in action!!

The pad actually matched the rider very well, I'm so glad it worked for her!

Then, it turned out that she won Overall Champion in Original Finish Western Performance!  How cool!

I'm honored that one of my saddle pads was able to be part of such a beautiful setup - Overall Champion!  I was so happy for her!

I had a few of my newer saddle pads there on display, even though they were unfinished.  I had thought if someone wanted one I could just take it home and finish it, then mail it to them.  Well, someone came along who fell in love with my "Lapis Lazuli" pad and had to have it.  It turns out they have done some cross stitching before and they said they could finish it up.  So I said goodbye to what was, so far, my favorite saddle pad:

Goodbye, "Lapis" pad...  I hope it helps to win some awards!

I loved that one so much that I think I'll end up making another one someday, though I'll probably change it a bit.  I like the idea of my saddle pads being one of a kind.  I wish I had gotten the buyer's name and/or contact information.  It would be fun to see this one in "action" somewhere too.

Lastly, here are some pictures of just a few of the stunning Artist Resin and Custom horses that my lowly creations were competing against!  They were all stunning, I felt a mix of awe and terror at having to face them on the show tables - ha!

The good news about facing so many amazing horses with my (primarily OLD) custom work is that I wasn't discouraged at the end of it all, I was actually fired up to get back home and get back to work on further developing my own skills.  It was frustrating to be showing horses that I know aren't my best work.  I know I have it in me to do much better and I'm ready to do it!  I even got started at the show, I pulled out a couple of tiny Micro Minis and put a little bit of paint on them:

A future custom Appaloosa and Pintabian...

The next show I'm eying is in March and I've already started developing a plan to have a BUNCH of NEW, finished custom horses ready by then. 

Whew!  So..  that was the show.  It was a great day.  I met a lot of great people, saw a ton of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G horses, and I ended up even more on fire to create custom horses - and even more interested in getting into...  *gasp* performance showing.  Duh, duh..  DUH!!