Rose Studios

Affinity released!

2012-02-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

Affinity is finally ready to offer for sale, and will be available to order until March 1st 2012. All sales information is available here on Affinity's webpage. Over the next 5-7 days the production molds will be made, and then castings will start to ship. I can't wait to see how she looks all painted up! Here are some photos of her in red primer, her veins and whisker bumps have not yet been added (that will be the last thing I do right before claying her up for the molds):

Labor and Delivery

2012-01-28T09:28:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I am not the first to link mold cutting and the casting of the first resin to the birthing process. I have never given birth to a human, but somewhere deep inside a voice kept saying "breathe" and "is it almost out?" A picture is worth a thousand words, so without further adieu, here are the photos of the labor and delivery of Affinity:

That's one big block o' rubber! The 'holes' you see are the hooves, the armature pipe, and vents for the tail and head.

Yes, a ratchet had to be involved!

It took most of a day to get this far. You are looking straight down to the belly, with the armature pipe removed.

And....she's out! In pieces, but the mold is finally cut and ready to pour. At this point the only place she exists is in the negative space of the mold.

Here we are this morning, getting ready for another day of refining details to get her ready for her photo session before the big release on Monday.

Looking back on last year

2012-01-16T10:35:00.000-08:00

With the filly in the mold box waiting for a shipment of silicone, I've had a little bit of spare time catch up on other things. One of the things I've been wanting to do is reflect on everything that was good about last year. It is easy to forget that there were many things to be thankful for in a year that was so filled with sadness with the loss of two great friends, one being just a few weeks ago. It is snowing here, a good day to go through photos from the summer.

In July I got to attend the No Barriers summit in Winterpark, Colorado. I had so much fun! It is an outdoor sports retreat for people with disabilities, to give them the opportunity to try new activities and new equipment. Or in their own words No Barriers is a powerful community of modern day pioneers who use the experience of nature to promote innovation, education and assistive technologies that create transformative life experiences and inspire people with challenges to live full and active lives. Well, it certainly did that for me, a few weeks later we went on a pack trip and this time I put up the tent myself, having never put up a tent before in my life:

While attending the Summit I also for the first time climbed up a rope:

And rode an off-road handcycle:

I also got to kayak and canoe, but didn't take any photos as I wasn't sure about bringing my camera out on a lake. I *adored* kayaking, what a wonderful free feeling, and a good workout. Later in the summer Durango's Adaptive Sports Association held a four day women's sports program. I could only spare two days and got to kayak again, and tried waterskiing. Wow, that was something else! I liked flying over the water, but did not like crashing and rolling and having water forced up my nose.

Even though I was introduced to many new outdoor activities, I still prefer my horse for the ulimate outdoor experience. Here are a few of my favorite photos from this past summer:

Above Crater Lake, near Molas Pass

Rocky Mountain Columbines, Crater Lake trail

Above Crater Lake, looking north

Todd and Brush at Crater Lake

Late afternoon sun near Engineer Mountain

Mineral Creek from the top of the drainage near the Colorado Trail

Jypsi and I with Engineer Mountain

view from camp, Pine River trail near Sierra Vandera

Heading home

Sierra Vandera trail

There were a few other wonderful things that happened in 2011, like a great and much needed family reunion, making new friends and reconnecting with old friends, but this post is already getting pretty long so I will leave it at that. I already feel more hopeful about 2112 just by posting this. Now, off to enjoy the rest of my snow day!

Affinity phase one complete!

2012-01-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

The clay phase of Affinity, the thoroughbred filly, is complete. She is happily waiting in the mold box for a shipment of silicone. Sometime next week I'll be cutting open a big block of rubber and 'birthing' a new resin! The first casting will be further refined, smoothed, and little details like veins and whisker bumps will be added. If all goes well she will be ready for ordering in a few short weeks, pretty exciting!

Here is how she looked moments before being placed in the mold box:

Thoroughbred body types

2011-12-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

I'm learning a lot while working on my thoroughbred filly. One of those things is how varied the body types are even within horses of the same grading, age, and sex. I made this little animation of 4 year old G1 fillies to hopefully show what I mean (click to start):

Photos courtesy of Jessica Morgan

I picked these 5 fillies as they are very different from each other but are all 4 year olds and rated G1, the best of the best. If you look at one body part at a time the differences start to jump out at you. Necks...shoulders...legs...overall balance, etc. Of course the one vital part you can't see in the photos is the heart, the mystical properties of which can be poured into a less than perfect body resulting in a consistent winner. Interesting, isn't it?

Progress on the fily

2011-12-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

Here is the newest pic of the thoroughbred filly:

She is finally starting to look like a racehorse and not just a thoroughbred. It has to be one of the most difficult subjects in equine art-dom. Not only should the sculpture be immediately recognizable as a specific breed, but a very specialized type within that breed.

I haven't done much with the off side yet, both off legs need to be reworked. At some point I focus on just one side, and when I am satisfied with it I take photos and flip them on my computer and use that as reference for the opposite side. The head is hard to judge from this angle, at some point I will get photos of just her head from the side. You can see all my scratch marks on her neck that are my way of taking notes as I work.

I feel her neck is a tad too long. Everyone keeps telling me 'longer neck, longer neck'. Is this what everyone was wanting? What I did was move the near shoulder back, which made the back look shorter and the neck longer. What I am learning with this girl is that what looks right to me might not be how a racehorse really looks. They don't look like 'normal' horses at all!

Transformations

2011-12-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

It's easy to think of sculpture as something that spontaneously appears, without the long hours put in by an artist to create it. I find myself feeling that way about the work of others, it is hard to keep in mind that someone actually created it out of raw materials that didn't look anything like the finished product. Even with my own work I often forget how many months of effort (oftentimes tedious, sometimes fun and playful) has gone into each individual sculpture. Every new sculpture brings to my mind the question of "why is this taking so long?"and "shouldn't I be faster at this by now?". From asking around it seems like sculptors fall into the categories of fast sculptors and terribly slow sculptors. I am, unfortunately, the terribly slow variety.

I have been taking lots of photos as work progresses on the Thoroughbred. It is helpful to be able to look back and see that things are moving in the right direction, sort of like documenting a remodeling project so that you can see how far you have come on the days when you feel little is being accomplished, despite all your hard work.

Here is the filly as of today:

-

I'm happy with the direction she is heading in, but there are still little things that bug me and have yet to put my finger on them. The neck still needs a few tweaks, something in both shoulders still feels a bit off to me, some more refining needs to happen on her behind, and I haven't really started on the face yet. She needs some facial 'zazz-ification' to make her truely look like the kick butt filly I imagine her to be.

Here she was as of 4 days ago. You can see that at that time I was happy with the shoulder and had it muscled out, then changed my mind and reworked it again for the most recent photos:

Here she was at the end of November. Her head was higher with a beefier hind end and shoulder, too beefy for a racing filly. The high head made her windpipe seem pinched to me, and visually made her neck appear too short:

This is from mid-November. She has a super beefy shoulder, and the arch in her neck makes her feel a tad less feminine. Her off front leg appears to be hanging more than reaching. I like this version of her hind end, though, and should have kept it how it was:

As always, your comments are appreciated and make this blog more meaningful. It always helps to have 'fresh eyes' look over a work in progress, and can make a positive impact while a sculpture is still in progress. She's coming along pretty well, but without your insights she can't be all that she can be, right now she is pure potential.

Clarity

2011-11-26T16:11:00.000-08:00

It's been a few months since the last blog update, where did the time go? Well, I've been busy for certain sculpting the new Thoroughbred filly with an intensity of focus I have not had in years. Motivation has come from many directions, and every once in awhile inspiration comes from the piece itself and it seems to fly from my fingers with a strong will to exist outside of my mind and on it's own. Here are a few sneak peeks:

There is still quite a bit of work to do on her, so I can't say at this time when she will be complete. I'm hoping for the first part of the new year, which should be do-able as long as she keeps being a good girl :) I want to thank Bridget Corcoran for her fantastic thoroughbred photos, which have helped immensely with the relatively quick progress this piece has made. One of the things I do with photos to aid in sculpting is to make collages of areas, for example a collage of all heads, one of all hooves, or this one of leg up shoulders:

The actual collage is much bigger with more photos, but even from this small snippet you can see how anatomical details will begin to jump out at you when you have lots of similar horse parts all together. I make the with Photoshop, and they grow larger as I find and add more photos. I zoom in and move around as needed to see what I need. This shoulder collage has shoulders from the side as shown, as well as from the front and back. If I need the 'other side' for a future sculpt I can flip the image. I almost never use magazine clippings now, I find having images on my computer to be far more useful, and they take up less physical space :)

Before I go back to work I have one last thing to share, another tip of sorts. I forgot where I got this, it could have come from a sculpting forum, a horse training forum, somewhere on a hobby board. It doesn't really matter when it came from, but I repeat it to myself as I sculpt to keep me focused, I think it should be the First Commandment of Life:

"Clarify thy intent"

Autumn Splendor

2011-09-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Aspens along Hwy 550 with Engineer Mountain in the background

Looking toward Yankee Boy Basin west of Silverton

Molas Lake with the Grenadier Range along Hwy 550

American Basin with fresh snow, along the Alpine Loop 4WD trail west of Silverton

It seems like only a few moments stolen here and there, quiet places, warm sun and gentle breezes, the frozen remains of summer's wildflowers, and September has come and gone. In the blink of an eye.

Most of September was spent in the studio, reaching deep into the well for inspiration and solace. Andre has come around and is now back on trac...tor? That is what he tells me, "I am a tractor, not a horse"

A thoroughbred race filly is also in the works, and is providing much joy as she is so young and full of energy and spirit. Her and Andre are quite opposite :) Sorry there are no photos yet, she isn't far enough a long to share just yet.

Little Lonestar released!

2011-08-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here is all his pertinent info:

It's little...it's Lonestar...it's "Little" Lonestar! Finally, a mini version of the ever-popular stockhorse gelding Lonestar. The traditional scale version was scanned by the latest in digital technology, then 3D printed in stablemate scale. Sarah has refined the print and added more definition to the musculature. "Little Lonestar" is available for an entire year, until August 15th 2012.

Visit the Little Lonestar webpage here

Price: $75.00
RAW* castings: $65.00 each
Shipping: free within the US
Overseas shipping: please add $10.00 for one casting, and $2.50 for each additional casting shipped in the same box. Canadian shipping is $2.50 for 1-3 castings. Please note that full or partial payment is due within 30 days (see below)

Payments: you can make payments however you'd like after paying an initial order deposit. If you are going to be making payments a $15 deposit per casting is due within 30 days. On larger orders this initial deposit can be lowered, please inquire. Your order will go into the shipping queue when paid for in full. My PayPal email is Sarah@rosehorse.com. Shipping address for checks and money orders: Sarah Rose, 1158 Bear Creek Rd, Bayfield CO 81122.

There can be a wait of several weeks to several months before we will have your order ready to ship once paid for in full. The casting schedule is dynamic and effected by how many orders we get, how many orders are ahead of your order, and other factors.

*RAW castings are for people comfortable with prepping only! They have a belly gate, vents on the hooves and tail tips, and require extra work and experience to prep. For those who are comfortable with that you can save a few bucks, and get your casting faster since I won't need to clean the casting up before shipping.

Note that I am now asking for a small deposit to be paid on orders that are going to be paid in installments. This amount can be lowered for larger orders. Also I am not doing the quantity discounts for this edition. I struggled with the need to raise my prices (if any of you have shipped packages recently at the post office you know how expensive it is getting!), but just couldn't bring myself to charge $80.oo per casting. So, to offset the increasing costs of doing business I elected not to give a buy one/get one for less discount. It takes us just as much time and materials to make the second one as the first anyhow I hope you understand and that it doesn't effect your buying choices. I still offer time payments for as long as you need :)

Before and......after?

2011-08-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I haven't sculpted anything for over a year, since the reining horse. Life, or is it entropy, or both...has a way of wearing you down and distracting you from who you think you are. I *was* Sarah Rose, the equine sculptor. Lately I'm Sarah Rose the...um, what is it I am again? Health issues with myself, my husband, and most notably one of my best friend's husband's lung cancer have been like a big distraction bomb in my life. I totally lost focus on my art, and have been somewhat adrift for over a year. It's not that I never think of new sculptures, or that I never feel inspired, it's...well, it's hard to put a finger on.

Lately I've been trying to fit something creative into each day, whether that is taking a few photos, trying a new recipe, or honing my digital art skills. Slowly I've been warming up to the idea of sculpting again. So, I unearthed ol' Andre from the closet, started back in '07 before the economic downturn. I thought "hey, he is almost finished, I can get him done and feel like I accomplished *something* this year." It sounds so naive now.

Sculpting doesn't always come easily. From looking at finished sculptures, mine and other artist's, it may seem that the sculpture almost made itself. That rarely happens for me, it's more of a battle that is waged month after month. Little voices in my head saying "I hate bases, we are never doing another horse with a #$%^&*@ base again!" or "they (hobbyists) won't like him because hos breed is too vague, I need to settle on a breed, I need to settle on a type" or "what in the world have I done?". Lately it is the last thought going through my head, that and "I've completely lost my mojo".

The above photo shows Andre in 2007, when I must have still had some mojo. He is full of vitality and pleasing to the eye. He isn't very breed specific, and he will need a base.

This is poor Andre currently, after deciding to force him into a more typey-type of heavy European draft horse. That meant he had to have his legs and neck shortened, and his body biggened. Somewhere in his time in the closet he lost his eye and ears. I think I over-shortened his left rear leg. I don't like him at all at this point...barf....

These feelings, and this 'ugly duckling' phase are nothing new, almost every sculpture I have ever done goes through this period where I don't see how I can salvage it, that I should just start something new. I think it is a big part of why I am so slow, I go through this over and over. Typically I only share photos of what I consider 'good' phases along that way. I thought I'd post something completely honest, about how much of a struggle it can be along the way. Hopefully Andre and I make it to the end :)

Little Lonestar coming soon!

2011-08-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Coming soon...."Little" Lonestar! Finally, a mini version of the ever-popular stockhorse gelding Lonestar. The traditional scale version was scanned by the latest in digital technology, then 3D printed in stablemate scale. The 3D print is done in a brittle gray resin, so we molded it and cast up a copy in the white urethane we use for everything, Smooth Cast 300. I then spent weeks sanding off the 'steps' that are left behind from the printing process, along with refining the print and adding more definition to the musculature. "Little Lonestar" will be available soon, sales information will be made available to members of my announcement list first

Winners at NAN!

2011-06-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

The North American Model Horse Shower's Association national show was held last weekend in Tuscon, Arizona. I could not attend, but was able to be there vicariously through other people's photos. Here are some of the artist resin champions and reserve champions, from artist Sommer Prosser:

Champion Quarter Horse
"Pecos Gold"
owned by and painted by Sommer Prosser

Champion Other Pure/Part/Grade Spanish
"Derringer"
owned and painted by Sommer Prosser

Champion Workmanship Mini Dilute
"Jute"
owned and painted by Sommer Prosser

Champion Paint and Reserve Champion Workmanship mini Paint
"Elixir"
owned by Lisa Winkworth and painted by Sommer Prosser

Reserve Champion Paint
"Burlesque"
owned and painted by Sommer Prosser

Champion Workmanship mini Bay/Chesnut
"Namir"
owned by Lisa Winkworth and painted by Sommer Prosser

Champion Part Arabian
"Desert Sheik's Treasure"
owned by Valerie McEntee and painted by Sommer Prosser

Reserve Champion Appaloosa
"Shez Innitowinnit"
owned by Karen Jensen and painted by Sommer Prosser

Reserve Champion Other pure/Part/Grade Light
"Live Wire"
owned by Lisa Winkworth and painted by Sommer Prosser

Reserve Champion TWH
"Party Line"
owned and painted by Sommer Prosser

Reserve Champion mini Arabian
"Ma-Ajmala"
owned by Karen Jensen and painted by Sommer Prosser

Reserve Champion Mustang
"Signal Fire"
owned and painted by Sommer Prosser

They've taken over my life!

2011-06-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that most of my blog posts are about horses, the real ones, and related equine activities and less and less about my sculpting and model horses. It hasn't been intentional, but almost without me noticing I have been exploring other interests in my life and just plain dealing with life in general. I can feel my creative urge to sculpt returning, but slowly, while my obsession with the beauty of horses has not changed at all. In fact, my 'real' life has become more and more entrenched with horses to the point where I sometimes feel they have taken over our lives and our purpose in life is just to serve them. "Our" herd of four, innocent as they appear dozing in the shade of the barn, are becoming adept escape artists and our lack of reliable equine containment systems (good fence!) is starting to assert itself on the top of our priority list. Well maybe not the absolute top, but close.

How can I be angry when they are so pretty?

With the riding season getting under way I can't help but remember of how little I could do last year when I had a bout of sciatica. I couldn't ride any real distance until late August. This year my back is holding together, knock on wood. I've ridden 145 miles so far, and hope to get 500 in by November. A few pack trips would be great too, maybe even some trailer camping in new to us areas like the South San Juans or the Lizard Head Wilderness. In the midst of my strong desire to do as much trail riding and back country stuff as possible this season is the reality of one of my friend Cindy's husband Jerry battling lung cancer. It is through incredibly good fortune that we picked this lovely area of the state to move to, and that they happened to live right up the road. They were exactly the right people we needed to know at the right time in our lives, as adults entering into horse ownership and back country activities. While I knew some stuff, having grown up in a rural area and having ridden horses from age 9 to my 20's, there was a lot left to learn (and still is). There is nothing so helpful as becoming friends with people who know horses, really know them, to help guide you along the way. Not the common 'order barking' horse experts found almost anywhere there are horses, but people that truly have an understanding of horses from countless hours and countless horses.

Jerry is off the chemo and feeling well enough to do a little riding, and we are planning a back country pack trip next week. It is hard to focus on sculpting when something like this comes up, and if he wants to go camping then we are going camping, it is more important than anything else this summer. We don't know how much longer we will have him for, and time is of the essence. Chances are we will still learn a thing or two from him along the way :)

Cedar Mesa trip

2011-05-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

We got back yesterday from spending a week on Cedar Mesa, west of Blanding. We really like it up there, not a lot of people on the top and you can see a lot of things from the canyon rims that you might not see from the canyon floors, like these ruins nestled under a big rock on top of a peninsula:

Or these ledge ruins, which I thought were not possible to get to but maybe they crawled along the ledge from an access around the corner of the rock to the left:

We stumbled upon this metate on the mesa, notice the grinding stone is a river rock probably carried there from many miles away:

Once of the amazing things about the desert is how you can usually find water if you know what to look for. The cow trails led us to this pothole on a ledge:

I thought it was interesting how the roots of this old juniper lifted up the rocks when it fell over:

Some of the Claret cup cacti were blooming:

We moved after 4 days to White Canyon west of Fry Canyon. There are a few crossings along the highway, we parked at Soldier Crossing. You can ride a little more than 4 miles upstream, and at least 7 miles downstream from this point. We only turned around as it was getting late. I don't think this canyon sees much horse use, but it was actually pretty nice, about 50/50 sand and cobble stone, nothing very scary. The only real downfall of this canyon from what we saw is that it is close to the highway, which runs along it's southern edge, and you do hear cars from time to time. There were several interesting side canyons and slots, this one is in Long Canyon:

This was interesting, not sure how it happened (natural or human placed?):

A big piece of petrified wood:

A big log balanced on a rock:

It was a nice trip, not as long as we wanted but the weather changed. Today at home it snowed all morning! Hard to believe a few days ago I was having lunch on a big rock in the sun :)

Spring?

2011-04-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

I think spring has arrived...but it seems to change it's mind every hour or so. I am almost afraid to say it, but we are just about caught up with our casting backlog!!!! Which gives me some breathing room to start thinking about other things like sculpting and riding my horses...it's been a long time since I have felt a creative urge, but it is coming back, slowly but surely. There will soon be a new mini, hopefully in May. I'm still keeping the details secret, and as always all sales information will be made available to my announcement list first at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rosestudionews

An army of Jezebels that were shipped last month:

Rose Studios also now has a fan page on Facebook. Lots of people are still sending me personal friend requests, but the easiest and fastest way to get the studio tidbits is to 'like' the fan page. I post pics of work in progress, castings being shipped out, some digital sculpting pics, and other miscellaneous stuff that seems to small to post here, and since they don't relate to sales I don't want to clog up my announcement list with them.

I recently received my personal copy of my reiner painted by Carol Williams, and wow, is he a stunner! Thanks Carol for yet another outstanding paint job!

2010-12-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

Winter has finally arrived and with it less time spent outdoors, for me anyway. Todd feeds the horses, plows the driveway, carries in wood and I only go outside to get in the truck for grocery runs. Not that I hate winter or anything, it's the cold I have a problem with. I've hung up my riding gear until the spring, and am more than happy to stay indoors as much as possible, preferably in front of the fireplace.

Progress is being made on the casting backlog. With Todd about caught up on winter preparations he is now back in the casting shop and will be helping with casting clean up, so we should be able to get a lot more work shipped out over the next weeks and months. I've been spending all my studio time cleaning castings since the summer, when I needed to step in so Todd could work on a much needed home remodel project. So, I have not been sculpting at all, there is nothing new in the pipeline and probably won't be for at least a few more months. Believe me, I'd much rather be being creative than sanding on castings. It's very boring and tedious, and I don't seem to know where to stop so the castings going out are 70-80% prepped.

My back problem seems to be manageable now. I still can't stand for very long, but the pain is under control and I have been able to resume most of my regular activities. I had a great physical therapist and chiropractor and have continued my exercises at home, I think it helps a lot. At some point in the future I will need major back surgery, but the longer I can put it off the more likely the FDA will have approved new surgical devices that could save me from having to have a spinal fusion. Fingers crossed that's how it turns out anyway.

At one point my sciatica was so painful that I couldn't walk at all, and my therapist suggested I use a wheelchair for an upcoming pack trip. Yes, I was too stubborn to give up my pack trips :) As far as I know I may be the only person who has packed a wheelchair into the Weminuche Wilderness:

When my back started to do a little better I started riding Indy, Todd's TWH. Those who know Indy know he is, um, weird. But he is the smoothest horse we have and he makes me feel good, the way he carries himself just makes you feel alive:

2010-09-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

The summer flew by yet again with me not updating my blog since June...yikes!

Lots of stuff has been going on. Firstly I have been having issues with my back since the end of May. Apparently time and gravity take their toll on us all eventually, but at 43 it wasn't something that I was thinking would happen to me. So, much of my summer involved going back and forth to Durango for various doctor's appointments and physical therapy. We also had company for most of the summer, and have been doing a major home remodel. During all this we managed to squeeze in two pack trips up the Pine River.

Fortunately I can still ride, and can work without too much pain. I've been cleaning up the reiner castings and am terribly slow, and probably way too particular, but I know what I am sending out is a top notch product. I normally don't do the clean up work, but am doing it so that Todd can have the time needed to complete our remodel before winter sets in.

Sommer Prosser was here for three weeks house sitting just a few miles away, and I was able to recruit her to help clean castings, too. Since she is from Phoenix I wanted to show her what life is like up here in the mountains and got her out on a few rides. Here she is on Indy in an area called Cave Basin, about 12,000 in elevation:

We are hoping to have the remodel mostly done in early October so we can go on our fall riding trip to southeastern Utah. Anyone who lives in snow country knows the need to extend one's Indian Summer for as long as possible to give you the fortitude to make it through the upcoming months of snow and cold. I am going to be diligently cleaning reiner castings until then, with my little room being the only place I can be and not get in the way of the remodeling project.

And what about the remodeling project? The master bedroom has been retextured, painted, wood floor installed and now the main part of the house is getting the same treatment. Except it's a lot bigger than our bedroom, and involves a semi-demo of the behemoth fireplace into something a little less huge and monolithic. We've lived here for 9 years and it is finally time to take it on! Yay!

Colorized reiner

2010-06-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

After some time spent working through a basic Photoshop book I tried my hand at colorizing a photo of an unpainted reiner resin. I thought I would have time to paint one in reality, but simply ran out of time as I've been busy with cleaning up castings to ship, my garden, and my back going wonky on me. With doctors orders to take it easy I thought learning some Photoshop skills would be fun and come in handy.

Hopefully my skills will improve with more practice, I think it would be fun to do up a bunch of pics in all sorts of horse colors :) Fun!

Reiner progress

2010-05-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

Every time I get to the final steps in getting a sculpture ready for production, I am amazed at how much work there is left to do. I guess it's like giving birth, my brain makes me forget the final tedious steps in order that I may feel motivated to bring more sculptures to completion in the future. After the clay is finished, it feels, well, like I'm done :) Far from it, though. A mold needs to be made from which only one resin casting will be poured. That casting undergoes more sculptural work and detailing, including the time consuming veining process:

This stage can last 2-3 weeks! The casting must be sanded smooth, and any final details or changes must be added before the production mold process can begin. The first step to the production mold process it to protect the master casting with plastic wrap:

Then the casting is covered with a layer of clay that has been rolled out to an even thickness. Once that is complete the seam for the plastic mold shell is added, and it's ready to have the mold shells made:

Once the mold shells are made, the whole thing is opened up, the clay removed, everything reassembled, and the silicone is mixed and poured into the cavity between the resin master casting and the plastic shell. Here is what that looks like when one side of the shell has been removed:

At this point I take the silicone with the master casting encased inside it and carefully cut it out with a scalpel. This is very tedious and usually take the better part of a day to do. For each new production mold, the master casting is set back up with the mold shells and more silicone is poured in. It's very time consuming, but this is how small editions of detailed castings are made :)

Reining horse coming soon

2010-04-01T17:13:00.001-07:00

It seems like the economy is picking up a little for everyone, so I've decided to put out a new Traditional scale horse. This will be my first Traditional horse since 2008! He's a cantering reining horse that is tack and performance friendly, and is packed with quarter horse character. He is leaning into his turn so he has a base. Price and sales methods are not yet decided, please join the Rose Studios News announcement list for info as it becomes available.

Part of the hold up on getting the reining horse's release sorted out is the huge amount of Working Girl orders we received at the close of her edition. We got over 200 new orders! Whew! Casting all those little girls will keep Todd busy for several months, and I am not sure how that will effect the release date of the reiner just yet.

On the real horse front, spring has 'semi' sprung here in Southwestern Colorado. Sunday we went down to New Mexico to ride and got sunburned, today at home it's been blowing snow all day. Hopefully the snow and wind will come to an end soon so that we can make our annual spring trip to Utah to ride and go antler collecting (a holdover from my taxidermy days).

Here's a super short video of another new hobby, sand sliding:

Working Girl edition ends soon!

2010-03-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it's already been almost a year since Working Girl was released! Time sure flies. The last day to place an order for this power packed bit of SM scale stockhorse goodness is March 24th. Check out her page for more info and more pics.

Painted at last :)

2009-12-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

After 4 days of painstaking painting I have completed the first Carousel Horse. I had forgotten how time consuming all those little details are :) He was FUN to paint, though, and a nice break from the hyper-realistic world of model horses. Sales information will be made available to members of the Rose Studios Announcement list on Monday the 28th.

Lots of you are asking what size he is. Here is a comparison to Rasam, my classic scale Arabian. Rasam's scale was based on the Breyer classic scaled horses, so you can see the carousel horse is a touch smaller:

Also just added to the blog is a poll asking for your vote on what you'd like to see me sculpt next. Please take a moment and help me decide what you all want to see coming from Rose Studios next.

Carousel horse in resin

2009-12-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

I have a few castings of the carousel horse in resin! Yay! We are still working on some molding issues with him, due to the complexity of casting him with his base attached. He should be available for sale very soon, hopefully sometime this week. This guy is not meant to be a model horse, in fact I sculpted him before I rediscovered the hobby in the late 90's. He isn't as anatomically detailed as my models are, and his proportions might be a tad off, but I didn't want to re-sculpt him and possibly lose the feel of the sculpture that I had originally intended. His ornamentations are very detailed, with veining in the feathers of his wings, tassels on his bracelets, and fleur-de-lises on his saddle blanket and browband. He is going to be a blast to paint!

Speaking of painting, I have a Jezebel that is almost completed. She was done in oils, I just need to find the time to finish her up. I really like they way she turned out, and am quite pleased with the dappling I did, the most extensive dappling I've tackled in oils.

Winter arrived in a big way recently, with 2 feet in the first storm and another 8-10 inches yesterday. Todd has been dividing his attention between casting and shipping resins to snow removal and wood chopping. Poor guy! Winter is a lot of work here, but we love it.

Carousel Horse news!

2009-11-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that almost a year has gone by since I asked if there would be any interest in a carousel horse! Despite the fantastic response received, I put him once again on the back burner to sculpt 3 new mini scale horses (Doodlebug, Working Girl, and the latest Jezebel). I'm all mini-ed out now, and the carousel horse was still there, calling out to be cast. I now have a resin prototype to smooth and refine for the next few weeks, then production molds will be made and he will then be available for sale.

Here's my blog post from last year about him: http://rosestudios.blogspot.com/2008/12/carousel-horse-anyone.html

Jezebel

2009-10-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

Finally..... she is finished! After what took an inordinate amount of time for a 1/32nd scale sculpture (6 months!) mini Nahar finally has a mate....Jezebel! He is obviously very pleased.

You might be thinking "what could be so time consuming about sculpting a standing horse"? After all, she's just standing there, no need to strain the brain figuring out how this muscle looks flexed, how far that joint can bend, etc, for an action pose. For me, however, standing horses are the most difficult of all equine sculpture to really 'pull off' well. You can't fall back on a dynamic pose to give your sculpture character, it has to be in the details. Exquisitely rendered if at all possible, of course :) Which explains the 6 months that went into Jezebel's creation. She had at least three major facial overhauls, and probably twice that many body re-dos. All this on a sculpture just a smidge over 3" tall. Yes, I did invest in new super high powered reading glasses :)

For those interested in acquiring a Jezebel, here is the link to her ad on MH$P. She will have her own page on the Rose Studios website very soon.

Sneak Peek!

2009-09-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peek of what's been keeping me busy since spring:

I've spent a ton of time on this project, consciously pushing the envelope on realism by developing some new techniques. I'll be ready to share the rest of this critter in a few weeks. Right now it's into the mold box, then casting a resin master, then more detailing, smoothing, adding veins, etc, before making the production molds.

After this project? I'm considering finishing up a long set aside bratty pony, or my carousel horse.

Burnt Timber ride

2009-06-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

We went on a short ride up the Burnt Timber trail yesterday, abut a 1/2 hour drive from home. Short because, well, we just got too cold. We do this trail every spring as sometimes there are big herds of elk with calves. It's been a chilly spring, but stubbornly we only brought along our normal riding gear like a light sweater and raincoats. Us women ended up wearing our rain gear to get a little warmer, not because it rained. It did, however, SNOW on us! I am so over the cold, are the warm temps ever going to arrive? Anyhow, enough of my complaints, here are the pics :)

This is a hugely popular trail for outfitters. Anyone who has watched Craig Cameron on RFDTV has seen parts of this trail and the big outfitter's camp way up the trail. Parking area for the Burnt Timber trail:

Entering into the Weminuche:

A short way up the trail it begins a steady climb which continues for about 3 miles:

We had ridden maybe 2.5 miles when Cindy and I began to ask each other "Is that aspen fluff or snow in the air?"......after a minute it was obvious that is was indeed snow. We could see across at some peaks that still have snow on them, and some of it looked fresh:

A short way past that Michaela announced that her chijuajua was shivering so we stopped to build a campfire and get warm:

Jypsi looking studious:

I know it looks sunny in the pic, but we were freezing and didn't want to leave the fire. We turned around and headed back, a 1/2 mile from the area where we usually see the elk. We were so cold we no longer cared about seeing the elk. If we would have had the proper gear it would have been fine, but our stubborn insistence that it was late spring got the better of us. As soon as we dropped out of the high meadows it became tolerable again.

This spring has been unseasonably cold. We did two Utah trips this spring and that was cold, too. I'm still waiting for some warm sunshine and a nice flat rock to bask on :)

I have a video of the only bad spot in the trail here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W4NZauVQrw&feature=channel_page

Mindy, Mindy, Mindy

2009-05-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

With the recent rainy weather our riding has come to a (almost) halt...yeah, I admit it, I'm a fair weather trail rider. Both me and my horse loathe mud, rain, and most especially lightening (well, it's the thunder that my horse dislikes). I've been trying to take advantage of it and spend some time in the studio finishing some projects, mostly paint jobs that I basecoated in oils and had set aside to thoroughly dry. Last fall I started a Mindy as a portrait of my real horse Mindy. As is the case with me and pintos, it seemed like a good idea at first and then became a lot of work. I am notoriously slow at all my artistic endeavors, even tiny little mini resins in pinto. She ended up being a semi-portrait, as my real Mindy's facial marking just looked weird on the model. Finally she is complete (yay!):

Her hooves are of note as they are black hooves on a tobiano pinto. This is possible because of the extreme ermine spots. My filly has hooves and markings just like this.

Speaking of Mindy, Todd has started working with her. She has been infrequently handled as we have a 4 year old colt that has been taking up most of Todd's horse training time. She is 3 and a bit on the small side, so he won't start riding her until next year. She's a friendly, pretty little thing and so so smart! For now her training includes mostly desensitizing and lungeing. Here are a few videos of Todd introducing a plastic bag (have your sound turned up since Todd's commentary is so darn cute!)

Working Girl in bay

2009-05-08T08:56:00.001-07:00

It's always fun to paint a few of my newest resin release before I begin a new scupting project. I love pintos, appies, dapples, but there is something so elegant about a simple color. It doesn't compete with the sculpture and shows off the underlying structure in a way that the 'hey, look at ME!" fancy colors don't. Most real horses come in 'plain Jane' colors, but are still beautiful.

I handpainted my Working Girl in oils, which I prefer. For me it is easier to get a rich, luminous, and controlled final product using them. I used to do all my paintwork with an airbrush, and got pretty good at it, but once I begain using oils my airbrush was, for the most part, stashed away. I envy those who are masterful with the airbrush, especially as I wait, and wait, and wait for my oil paint to dry......!!!!

With her simple paintjob, I wanted to add some special touches to really pull her look together. I made her a set of metal shoes (not easy at 1/32nd scale!) and added a few ermine spots and hoof stripes:

Here she is with the tiny tack set I made last month (probably my first and last set at this impossibly small scale):

I'd love to paint up a few more, but might not have the time. The next sculpture is awaiting me, spring has spring as well as the weeds, and the real horses need to be ridden. I'd have some much more time to devote to my art if I lived in a condo......hmmmmm........NO!

2009-04-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Spring has semi-sprung here in Southwestern Colorado. One day it's in the 60's and sunny, the next day it snows. We've been getting some riding in here and there, and managed to get a few nice days of sun and adventure over in Utah for my birthday at the end of March.

One of my favorite ruins in Arch Canyon, high up on a cliff (we call it "The Turkey Pen):

Todd showing off my birthday find with an unimpressed, worried mount observing:

Todd and our friend Wendy on the slickrock above Butler Wash:

When we returned I sat down to 'whip out a sm scale saddle'. Little did I know that making a 1/32 scale saddle is very difficult and frustrating. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, with some proportion and scale issues, but it's ok for my first (and probably last!) attempt and such tiny tack:

That's my newest resin release "Working Girl", a sm scale Quarter Horse mare. She's available now, all her sales info is on the website at www.rosehorse.com/WG.html

Well, a friend just called to forwarn me of an impending storm coming my way, and I love to watch them, so off I go.......

Sneek Peek!

2009-03-10T08:08:00.001-07:00

Winter projects

2009-02-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, times flew by again and almost 2 months have passed since the last blog post......it seems like just yesterday I posted the carousel horse photos!
I turn into a hermit workaholic in the winter, since there is little to do outside. I've made progress with the carousel horse and the two minis I recently started.

I've also been doing some painting and to my surprise I have four horses coming along, which is a rareity for me as I seldom paint at all. Typically I will complete and sell 2-3 horses a year.

The chestnut Doodlebug should be done within the next week and offered for sale, followed by the Mindy in March. I'm taking my time with Miss America, and Rasam, they will be completed sometime in the next 2-3 months.

Today it is raining, but warm. Our snow is melting and I am looking forward to spring. But not too soon, I have a lot of studio work to finish up first :)

Carousel horse anyone?

2008-12-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

I sculpted this little guy eons ago, long before my hobby involvement. Back then my 'thing' was carousel horses. I love the creativity, spirit, and all the fun colors He's been sitting in my closet, never cast, after I lost interest in carousel horses. It's a shame to never cast him, since I had already put a ton of time into him. Obviously he isn't as anatomy oriented as the Model Horse Hobby requires, but I think he's fun as an art piece. I would refine him more, of course, but he would mostly be a 'fun' horse, not meant to be shown as a model. He's classic scale (pretty close)What do you all think? Would anyone want a copy if I did a small resin run?

Time flys

2008-12-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

Whoops, where did the time go? Seems like eons since my last blog post.

Since the last post "Miss America" was officially released, we went to Southest Utah for some end of the season riding, filled our freezer with venison, cut, split, and stacked a lot of firewood, got into the daily habit of feeding the woodstove, and gracefully slid from fall into winter. Oh, yeah, I also finished "Doodlebug" (shown here pre-finished as of a few weeks ago):

Right now he's encased in a block of curing rubber, which will be cut open, the clay removed and resin poured into. I will take that casting and work it further than I could the clay, sanding all the roughness out of it and adding veins, refining details, and making any last minute changes. That puts the release of Doodlebug right after Christmas, barring unforeseen cicumstances and distractions, of course :)

We have about an inch of snow, with more coming. This area generally doesn't get substantial snow until after the first of the year, when we get smoothered in the stuff. Fingers crossed it isn't as bad as last seasons 4 1/2 feet.

Chestnut Miss America

2008-10-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Offered on Auction Barn Oct 6th-9th

Nevada Trip

2008-10-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

We managed to slip away for a short visit to see family in central Nevada. I grew up in a (really) small town called Austin smack dab in the middle of nowhere. My dad still grows hay out there, and shares his crops with the recently transplanted antelope herds:

After spending a few days in Austin we headed up to Winnemucca to visit one of my brothers. On the way we saw these mustangs hurrying along like they were late for an appointment:

The herds in this area used to be primarily bay and other dark shades with very little white. This herd had several flashy overos and sabinos, so perhaps some pinto stallions were released into the area to increase the adoptability of future horses taken off the range.

Speaking of pinto, here's "Chance" my niece's mini horse, being hard on the fences:

Before we left on our trip I finished painting the first Miss America casting. She's off to her new home in the UK next week:

It went from summer to fall in a few short days. Our planned fall leaf ride looks like it will be a rain out, or even a snow out. Todd is busy cutting up firewood and doing other winter preparedness tasks. Next week we leave for our annual 'stretch out our summer' riding trip to southest Utah. Then hunting season. My sculpting plans for the immediate future are to finish up 'Doodle Bug', shown in my very first blog post.

Lady in Red

2008-08-09T08:04:00.001-07:00

Miss America is now sporting her red primer coat. I use sandable primer and then go back over everything with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper to get it smooth as a baby's bottom. At that point the veins and whisker bumps will be added in gesso.....and then she will be ready to use for production molds! Finally.

I haven't yet settled on the release method or the price. You can vote on your preffered sales method here on the Blog. I do know that I will be painting and selling a few copies from the first castings. I'm thinking a black and white (or seal brown) tobiano, a liver chestnut, and maybe a palomino. At the very least the pinto and the chesnut. Painting is something I enjoy, but rarely set aside the time to do. After all this intensive sculpting I think I've earned a break to pursue some other creative avenues within the hobby for a bit.

Speaking of other creative avenues, while I was waiting for Miss America's primer to dry I got out my new (real horse) tack braiding book and made this set of hobbles:

They are made from parachute cord from a color I thought closely resembles rawhide. I am going to be sad when these get lost in a meadow somewhere, but I couldn't bring myself to braid them out of hot pink cord.

Well, my primer is dry so off I go to sand some more.....

8 day wilderness pack trip

2008-08-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Every July for the past three summers we have gone on an 8 day pack trip with some friends to the upper Pine River area. We left on a Saturday morning from the Poison Park Trailhead northwest of Pagosa Springs (Williams Creek Reservior area). We call the trail the Poison Park trail, but it's proper name is the Weminuche Trail. Here is Todd just a few miles into the trip:

Some flowers just past the first photo:

Each time we make it further in, this time camp was about 15-18 miles into the wilderness. Our camp was an hour up the La Osa trail (2-3 miles?):

The creek that runs through this canyon is great fishing, all native cutthroat. This pic was taken from camp, the meadow behind Todd is where our horses grazed:

Our first ride from camp was to Flint Lake and back. This is along the La Osa trail a few miles beyond our camp:

This is on top of La Osa near the Continental Divide (The Wilson Family, Brindo the Dog, and Todd my husband pictured):

Heading toward the pass we saw this buck:

The view towards Silverton on the way to Flint Lake (that might be Ute Lake, not sure):

Here's Jerry and Cindy as we head along the trail towards Flint Lake. That's the Window and Rio Grand Pyramid in the background:

The horses had the next day off, and after a morning of grazing they returned to the highline on their own and rested without being tied:

Our next ride was back up La Osa to the Divide and then east on the La Vaca trail for a fantastic loop ride. Here is Jypsi and I along the La Vaca/Continental Divide Trail:

Some sunflowers:

The traverse to La Vaca canyon:

Jypsi and I under the Window:

Jerry and Cindy on the steep descent down the La Vaca trail (this is a good trail to go down, not up):

Where the La Vaca trail joins the Pine River trail we saw a cow moose with two calves. At first we only saw the cow, so my husband got a little closer to get some photos as she ate in the pond. Lo and behold, two calves were in hiding and swam across to their mother:

She then left the water and trotted off across the meadow:

The next day was another day off for the horses (and riders!). There was plenty of time to fish, sleep, read, and remark on how fantastic the trip was going. That evening Todd went down to the fridge-creek behind our camp to get a beer. When he stood up to return a bull moose blocked his path. He said they just stared at each other, and the bull gave him the trail and walked off. We heard him shouting "Moose!!!! Moose!!! and saw the bull sneeking behind our camp and then pause by the highlines. It happened so fast I couldn't get a photo. About 20 minutes later the bull reappeared in the meadow. We were able to watch him for quite awhile from our camp, until it got dark:

After another ride and another day off it was time to leave. Here is Todd and Jerry packing up:

Here's me ponying Jasper (I hadn't ponied a horse at all until this summer, now I have two packtrips worth of ponying):

Here's Todd with Indy and Brush (TWHs) overlooking Granite Lake on the return trip home:

It's amazing we got so much riding in and never got caught in a storm. We put in about 90 miles total in five rides, and saw 7 moose. Each packtrip we go on seems better than the last, and this trip was the best of all :) I've come a long way from someone who *hated* her first few packing adventures. I think I might actually really like them now.

We are probably going to go on at least one more, maybe two. Todd and I want to go out by ourselves, and then one of my brother's wants to on a short one for fishing purposes only :)

I am also still plugging away on the new ASB mare, and still shooting for a mid-August completion. I am doing a lot of tedious sanding and detailing which takes weeks, but the finished product is worth this extra step as it removes and surface roughness and makes the castings nice and smooth to show off any painting techniques and mediums.

Speaking of that, she's calling to me to add some epoxy, so I must go....

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today "Miss America" was officially born into resin! Now that I have a resin casting I will be doing more smoothing and adding little details like veins and whisker bumps. Typically I spend another 2-3 weeks on this phase. After that the production molds are made, which is a whole 'nuther time consuming process. Depending on how long this all takes we should be ready to sell "Miss Americas" by mid-August.

Here's how she looked encased in a block of mold rubber:

And here's what happens to the clay sculpture as I cut the mold open and pull out parts as I go:

Doesn't she look nice all in white?

Trail videos!

2008-06-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out how to do short videos with my digital camera. And, yes, a 'real' video camera is at the very top of my wish list. But, for now, here are two short but sweet videos of some of the worst sections of two of my favorite trails:

Weminuche Wilderness pack trip

2008-06-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

Our first pack trip of the season was wonderful with gorgeous weather, good company, great horses (and one donkey) and fabulous views. We went up the Pine River which is east of Vallecito Reservior in the Bayfield/Durango Colorado area.

My husband Todd packing our huge 16 hand 3 year old TWH Brush (our baby! And, yes, he actually is related to Trigger):

A baby bighorn sheep:

Our horses at camp:

A baby elk that was on the trail in a narrow section (we had to herd it along until we could go around it):

One of our day rides up the Pine River to Flint Creek:

Heading back from Flint Creek:

Leaving camp for home with Jerry leading the string:

work continues.....

2008-05-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

For those who might be wondering, yes, I am still working on my ASB mare. My intent is to capture an ASB mare galloping in her pasture. Most ASB resins out there have been done with performance in mind, but this girl isn't thinking about that at all. She's eyeing that photographer along the fence and giving him a show!

I'm changing some stuff about the mane/forelock/tail that aren't shown in these photos. The first two photos are taken from the sides, with the hopes that some of you ASB people out there might have some suggestions to make her even better. Afterall, this is my job and I hope to create a lovely resin that appeals to as many hobbyists as possible (within the limits of an at liberty pose).

So, if you see something that doesn't look quite right to you, PLEASE email me and let me know. I often get bombarded with email after soliciting feedback, so if you don't hear from me it just means I am swamped. I appreciate all the feedback I get, and try to put it to good use. This horse is for you all out there, so help me make her the best she can be! Sarah@rosehorse.com. Photos are always a great help, too.

Here she comes.......

2008-04-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

I've been working away at finishing my new ASB mare. For me this is the slowest part of the sculpting process. I can easily spend an entire day working on the left side of the muzzle. And then a few more days. It takes time to make both sides of the head symetrical...lots of time. Lots of achey eyeballs. And then you hit it, you begin to smell 'horseness' and you know to leave that muzzle alone, it's there.

I'm hoping she will be ready to mold by the end of May. Then it's another week or two of sanding the master casting, adding veins and whisker bumps, then setting up the production molds.

After we get the next batch of paid for resins shipped we are heading out to Utah for a well deserved riding and camping trip. Those of you who followed my posts about the horrid winter will understand our need to get to the warm desert and get some more miles in the saddle. After that break I will have fresh eyes to scrutinize my ASB with and wrap things up with her.

We are giving a lot of thought to how we are going to handle her sales. We realize that our price needs to reflect the downturn in the economy. With that in mind we are leaning towards a reasonable fixed price and selling them first come, first serve in batches. More information will be made available as the time nears.

The offical resin tally list

2008-04-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Being another snowy day here in Colorado, sitting down and compiling an official resin edition tally list seemed like a good idea. People ask me all the time how many Nevadas/Khemos/Nahars/etc were cast, so now there is a page with all that info:

The official resin tally list!

Most of the editions show some unsold horses, which are mostly my artist copies that (mostly) have not been cast. Some are cast and are in my resin closet with their futures undecided. Some still have a few that could be cast and sold, but the molds are too worn and I haven't gotten around to making a new one. The horses we are currently casting and offering for sale are Lonestar, Caldero, Rasam, and Mini Indy.

You'll see on the tally list that I finally settled on a number for both Lonestar and Rasam's edition sizes. Lonestar will be 225 plus 20 artist copies, and Rasam will be 180 with 20 artist copies.

The new ASB mare will be somewhere around 200-250. We haven't decided yet.

Thawing out

2008-03-31T08:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a long and difficult winter, but it appears to be over. The snow is melting and the days getting warmer.....ahhhhh, the warm sun! We were finally able to get our trailer out of the snow to get in our first trail ride of the year in New Mexico (45 minutes away)

The new ASB mare is coming along well, and I have hopes of completion by early May.

Saddlebred with Hair

2008-02-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest pics of my new saddlebred girl. Overall I am happy with her, especially her 'girly-ness'. I'm still refining some of the musculature, and just getting started on her hair-do. As always, your comments and feedback are appreciated!

More snow pics

2008-02-07T07:45:00.001-08:00

Since my last post it snowed a few more feet. Yes, that's right, even more snow. We now have 4 1/2 feet on the ground.

Several buildings in our area have collapsed, even a house just up the road from us. Here's Todd insuring that doesn't happen to us:

Underneath all this snow is a deck that normally Todd can keep clear of snow and we enjoy year round. Not *this* year:

We are doing fine, though it's be overwhelming at times. I'm still pluggin' away at my ASB, more pics to come soon!

Life within the Snow Globe

2008-02-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

I will admit, I get most of my sculpting accomplished in the winter. It's so quiet, so peaceful, with no outdoor chores to do. No weeding, no watering., no mowing...Todd feeds the horses. So really, all I have to do is stay indoors and sculpt. Which I love.

My normal winter routine of getting lost all day in my work has been getting interupted. This winter is dead set on being intrusive, on breaking up any feeling of long hours spent working for both Todd and myself. Mostly for Todd.

Typically we get a foot or two of snow, then it warms up and melts. We can haul the horses out to ride in the sandy washes of northern New Mexico and enjoy the outdoors. This year our trailer is awash in 4 feet of snow, we are not going anywhere with it. We also go skiing occassionally, but this year it seems like our 'recreational' time is spent on the tractor and the ATV moving and plowing snow. And more snow....and then more. Todd spends hours each day moving wood, splitting wood, trying to keep two woodstoves going, with wet wood. Wood is in stacks in front of the stoves, getting them dry enough to burn. We tell ourselves "next year we are buying our wood in the summer so it has time to season". Todd's other fun activities include trying to keep vehicles and other systems running. Making sure we fill our fuel containers whenever we make it to town. Making sure the horses have what they need.

Here's Todd plowing down to the barn after I pushed through with the tractor:

Our little herd in the round pen, which is getting shorter with each storm. The arrow points to the top of a T-post. You can't see the fence anymore:

My girls, who usually have no chance of putting their heads over the top of the panels:

Winter this year is a part time job and a big distraction.

It's a girl!

2008-01-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

Things have been progressing well on the new Saddlebred mare. Yes, you read right, it's a girl! Here is how she looks as of this morning:

She still has a long way to go before she's finished. Obviously she needs some hair :) I will be further refining her overall and adding little things, like wrinkles, whisker bumps, and veins at the end. She also hasn't named herself yet.

For me, winter is conducive to long spells of creative activity. There's 2-3 feet of snow outside so really there is little to do except work. That and keeping the fire going!

a saddlebred is born

2007-12-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

After much thought and fabulous feedback from other hobbyists, it was finally decided that the new saddlebred would be in an at liberty canter. Here's his/her progression since Christmas:

I sculpted the bones on the leg wires first, and then inserted them into the body. Pins were placed at key points so they wouldn't get 'lost' as the sculpting proceeded:

Currently he/her looks like this:

I must say I am quite pleased with how this sculpture is coming along. Saddlebreds are such amazingly gorgeous horses it's a wonder I haven't sculpted one before! This horse is going to be a fun project.

what does the hobby really want?

2007-12-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

Awhile back I set up some polls to get an idea of what pose people would want a saddlebred horse resin in. Suprisingly (to me) at liberty in action won (and is winning) by a landslide. I've been mulling over what to do with that information. I've been wanting to sculpt a saddlebred for years, but had always envisioned it in a showy park trot.

I guess what I am getting at is the hobby starting to be more accepting of non-performance friendly models? Is performance less popular than it once was? Or is that area of the hobby saturated and now people are looking for unusual poses and breeds?I've got a start on my saddlebred. I went with a more scientific approach to make sure I don't lose track of the underlying structure:

I'm stuck wondering what direction to take him/her in. Cantering? Goofing off? Trotting with high action? Trotting with low action (like this?):

I love this phase of the trot, but will people really buy a saddlebred in it?????? Really?

Eyeballs needed

2007-12-15T13:05:00.000-08:00

Ok peoples, I need your eyeballs! I have gotten Andre to the 'finishing' stage....in three weeks! That doesn't mean Andre will be cast soon, sometimes the finishing/detailing goes extremely slow and I get bored and start something else.

I'm still not 100% sold on the off side, something about his right hind leg bothers me. I really like the overall feel of the piece, and like the near side a lot. The tail balances the upraised foreleg, I think, and makes it make more sense.

I haven't settled on a breed just yet. I am thinking of doing medium feather on him so that he could pass for a Breton, Comtois, Belgian, etc.

Critiques welcome at this time! You can post them here or email me at Sarah@rosehorse.com with your suggestions.

Progress

2007-12-11T10:06:00.001-08:00

I think I am making some progress with Andre. I'm pleased with his front half, mostly. I am very pleased with the left side of his head:

I am not thrilled with his rear just yet, though. My brain is rebelling and refusing to 'see' what needs to happen with those big 'ole butt muscles:

>

I think I'll spend some time on Photoshop changing things around. as you can see, I couldn't resist adding some details like wrinkles. Sometimes I need that to encourage me onward, to be able to visualize what direction I am trying to take this sculpture in.

We've been getting snow non-stop for days, which really helps me settle in and get into sculpting mode. I love days like these where staying indoors with a warm cozy fire going and sculpting feels like the exact right thing to do :)

Pushing through....

2007-12-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

I've been keeping my focus on Andre and working through my frustrations with him. I've printed out a bunch of photos, gathered up my anatomy charts, and spent a lot of time looking at him from across the room and various heights. Speaking of my room, here is a rare and candid glimpse (What's that? My laptop is holding up a bulletin board? Shhhh..):

It's in a spare bedroom, with two windows overlooking the pasture. When we first looked at our house I told the realtor that that was going to be my studio. And so it is.

Back to Andre, here are his last few days of, ummm, 'progress':

Hmmm....I think I was getting too carried away with details. Eyes? You like those eyes? How bout these....no eyes!!!!!

Here's how he looked from his off side this morning:

Yeah, he does have one eye still. But, I have worked on his right haunch and am starting to like it better. Lots and lots of photos are helping with that.

I almost forgot to mention, we had no power all day today! Except for a little bit from our generator which kept the lights on in my room. So, for what would be a snow day for many sculptures in progress, Andre got to be tortured all day :)

of art and anguish

2007-12-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

It seems like 90% of my work takes me to this same place.....the wall. The wall that I hit my head on, hoping it will bring back my vision and enthusiasm for a project. Many times I can push through it and find myself happily back on track. Sometimes not. I don't know which on this particular piece. Push through or shelve him for a bit?

After the first 3-4 days I began to slowly pull out various reference photos. I begain to measure my proportions and to spend more and more time online adding to my draft horse photo file. I have thousands of horse magazines in the studio in big drifts, waiting for the day I finally get frustrated enough to flip through them and harvest the photos I want. I envision a day when everything is all sparkley happy organized and I can reach for a binder full of photos organized by pose, breed, head studies, etc. For some reason I avoid starting the process. Maybe this is what my draft horse is telling me to do?

Anyhow, back to the big guy. I find a tendancy in myself to want to detail things before it's time. Sometimes I give in to it and muscle out a shoulder, only to have to destroy all that work when I find that the should was too big/too small several days later when I measure it out again. It's hard to keep your eye on the big picture and do things in the proper order. Measuring and taking the thing in from across the room are boring. Sculpting eyes and hair=fun!!!!!!

I now have tons of photos on my laptop of various European draft breeds. A fellow hobbyist took the time to send me a bunch of pics I didn't have. I am finding myself drawn to the French drafters, the Bretons and Comtois. I am also very partial to the old style Belgians, and have several photos of horses from the early 1900's. In fact, my original inspiration came from a painting that appeared on a magazine cover in 1907 of a Belgain horse being shown in hand. It doesn't say who the painter was, but the style is similar to George Ford Morris.

So, today I will either do battle with my creative demons and win, or I will cut photos out of my giant piles of magazines (shudder). Or I will avoid it all together and clean house (the worst thing to do!). Hmmmf!

Andre the Giant

2007-12-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving I begain this big draft guy:

Here is how is has progressed (or regressed!) since then:

In the Studio

2007-11-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

After a conversation with some friends regarding the viewing of model horses as art or a hobby, I decided to embark on an experiment. What would be created if I sculpted with no reference, and no set idea about breeds? If I could just have fun and not think too far ahead. Here's the stablemate scale horse that came from that:

He still has a long way to go before he's finished. For now, he's been set aside as I go on to the second horse in my experiment, a traditional scale heavy draft.

Welcome!

2007-11-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

I decided to jump on the blog bandwagon and see what it's all about. The RoseStudiosNews list will still be used for official announcements and general updates. I thought a blog would be nice for those people who want to know what goes on behind the scenes, quick photos of work in progress, and my struggles and accomplishments with equine sculpture in general. I'm sure there will be posts about our real horses and my other hobby, trail riding, too!