NAN 2009 Auction Donation!

Ah, the deadline is coming up fast! I was flattered to be asked to donate again, and this year there was no theme like there has been in the past. My head started spinning with ideas. What would this year be? What could I do that would be special? The answer came while I was showing the 8 yr. old next door my studio. She looked wide eyed at all the horses, nearly all resins... "You do this for your JOB?" she asked in disbelief. "Yes, I do, I'm here every day painting and customizing these horses" I replied.

And then it occurred to me... we all started out as that horse-crazy girl (or boy) with Breyer in hand. That is something all of us in the hobby share; the common thread that unites us all.

My idea revolves around this book I had as a child called "The Mud Pony". I wanted to do something really special and different this year, and my love of children's books has been rekindled lately since I've been buying so many for my niece... so I started thinking about books that I remember from when I was little, and how they effected me. The Mud Pony was a story I always loved, and thought it would be perfect since its a story about making a model horse.

I don't know if you've ever read it; its actually a Pawnee legend of a poor native american boy who doesn't have a pony of his own, so he creates one out of clay from the banks of the river. He ends up accidently getting left behind by his tribe, and so the pony comes to life to take care of him... you can read the whole thing here, on the First People site:

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheMudPony-Pawnee.html

The book actually ends a bit differently, not quite as stark and sad.

So, this year what I wanted to do is have a little bit of a diorama (not over the top, basically just a base to tie everything together) and do an original sculpture of a boy, kneeling by the water, mud pony in his hands, wide eyed... and in front of him coming up from the mud is the real pony, materializing in front of him as if coming from his dream. I wanted to customize Mephisto/take him off the base, and then make a new two new bases for him; one with mud swirling around the grounded foot, and then another so that the new owner could show him without all the extras. That way both pieces can be shown separately, but together they embody the story of a young boy's dreams coming to life.

Here he is with the customizing started. Pretty scary when it first starts out! He's had his mane and tail removed and body customized, and now is ready for finessing. I've been tossing around the idea of hairing him... but I don't know if that would actually take away from it, rather than make it different. The boy will have viscose hair. The horse will be sorrel with flaxen mane tail... to mimic the tiny clay pony in the boy's hands which would be mud-colored with a straw mane/tail.

For those who also read the yahoogroup, that is why I was asking about viscose hair vs. sculpted mane/tail earlier. I am curious to get some feedback on his beginnings, and of course will post more pictures as he gets further along. :-)