Andre in Primer

Sometimes I can skip the primer step if I feel confident that I have gotten every little imperfection sorted out to my satisfaction, but will all of Andre's feathers I felt I had better not skip it. The other advantage of primer is it makes it far easier to get decent photos, since a white object is really hard to photograph. One of the drawbacks is I now have to wait a few days for the primer to completely set before I can resume work on him, so it looks like his release is going to be in February as opposed to my optimistic estimation of January. I struggle with my model horse photography, and am going to try to get more photos together, but so far, after two photo sessions, I have a small handful of ones that show him pretty well:

Some explainations

After my last post I began to think I might have come across as "I have nothing to do but run amuck on my property wielding tractors and other implements of undesired vegetation doom" and how that may sound to those patiently waiting for their orders. Recently some other artists have come out with very detailed descriptions of how their studios operate, and if a spouse is involved exactly what their involvement and responsibilities are. I think it's time I do that as well.

Most of you know my resins are cast in house by my husband Todd. Todd is a very meticulous person, and is also not a fast worker. It would be hard to be both meticulous and fast.  How this effects my customers is they have a longer wait, but what we feel is a superior casting. We get emails all the time saying how nice our castings are and how little clean up work is required before they can be painted. I also am fine with time payments, how ever long it takes and however small the payments are, and that has come back to me in a very positive way as having the most patient customers on earth when it comes to the casting schedule.

"So why aren't you in the casting studio helping Todd?" you might be wondering. Well, that is something that has been done a few times in the past, and it does not work that well for us. For one thing, I do not like anything to do with the casting process. I do, however, make the molds. Todd does all the physical casting, the clean up work, and the shipping. We sometimes employ outside help in getting the castings cleaned up, which we are doing presently (big thanks to Sonya!). When I insist on helping I get overly involved, nit pick, and in general step on Todd's toes and get in the way. I don't ask him to help me sculpt, he doesn't want or need me to help with casting.

I do all the record keeping, which is a hidden user of large amounts of time when one thinks of how neat it would be to be self employed. There is a LOT to keep on top of, especially considering that I take time payments. I use Quickbooks for this which has been beyond helpful to me. I have records of every single model horse sale I've ever made. I also update the website, try to post regularly on this blog (!), check in with the hobby forums, keep my advertising up to date (need to do that soon, too), and respond to email (sometimes I fall quite a bit behind on this).

So, after sculpting all winter with limited breaks to get groceries, I thoroughly enjoy the free time I do get when I have completed a new sculpture and need to just let Todd do his work. Be assured that when you do get your casting, it has been given the once and twice over, and if somehow one gets through with a defect we always will send a replacement. Doesn't happen very often, though :)

Affinity ordering deadline Sunday!

Time sure has flown, once again! Sunday is the very last day you can place your order for Affinity. Sales information is on the website. To order simply email me stating that you are placing your order, or send payment (or both!). My email and PayPal are both Sarah@rosehorse.com

Thomas Bainbridge had this to say about Affinity "sooo SOOOOO much nicer in person ... as if that was even possible, but somehow it is. Wow, the detail is just mind blowing ... Sarah sure knows her muscle groups and anatomy, no doubt about that! She is taller than I expected, which is nice. Also, MINIMAL and I mean MINIMAL seam/prep work. Bottom line ... you'll definitely love this sculpt! If you've been 'toying' with the idea of ordering one ... do it! You will not regret it! "


Here is a gorgeous dapple bay Affinity by Sommer Prosser winning big at Jewel Heist Live this past weekend: 

I've been getting a lot of feedback that the castings are fantastic and that she is bigger than folks thought she would be. She is, in fact, a bit taller than Lonestar or the Stone ISH. I think the quality of the castings is due to years of practice and learning little things to improve both the molds and the castings. I am getting better at cutting the molds, something I used to dislike but have finally gotten confident enough to enjoy and look forward to. Todd has gotten better at tweaking the molds to keep the seams tight without distorting the castings. Of course there are still casting 'bloopers', and some end up in the trash can. Nothing like when we first started way back when with Khan. You should have seen the trash bags full of messed up Khans! 


On another note, spring has finally arrived here in the Rockies, and while there is still snow covering the trails in the high country, the lower elevations are dry and ride-able! I'm hoping to get back to riding 500 miles a season this year, and have a GoPro camera on the way for trail videos. Todd and I were enjoying some quiet time on the porch last night watching our little herd happily munching on grass, reflecting on what great horses they have become and how much they have added to our life. Truly I can not imagine life without them. So much of what we do is about them, from moving to this corner of the state where we could afford horse property, to our choice of career, to fixing fences and weed control, to truck, horse trailer, and small tractor ownership, and on and on.  Horse ownership is a lifestyle choice, a paradigm shift, and for a disabled person like myself a way to borrow legs that take me into the wilderness.