 This is me at 6½ months on Francheska, a friends pony.  This is me on my mothers mare, Estreya Brillante by El Brillante. She doesn't look like it here but she won a championship in western pleasure.  This is Charlie (left), my second sculpture. Bihlee (right) was technically my third but I never finished him, he's on his way to becoming a bust for a friend.  I guess I'm not your average model horse collector! :) |
I have loved horses all my life, I swear from the day I was born! As soon as my mom and I were out of the hospital she took me to her friends house and 'put' me on a pony, really they just held me over her but I was in love I guess. My mother had horses from before I was born till I was 7 when she sold Missy, the mare she had bred and raised because she couldn't take care of her anymore. I was heartbroken, so was my mom. Mom had bought me Breyers for as long as I can remember, and I do remember playing in the grass at the Tacoma Unit with my JC Penny's Christmas set. I LOVED my Breyers with a passion and begged my grandma to buy me one whenever we went to a toy store (what a spoiled brat huh!). Over the years I built up a small collection of about 50 horses in all sizes; I was at the age where I began to get an idea of the models worth and tried to keep them in good condition. I made stables out of popsickle sticks for my Misty and her many foals and started wanting more than just one adult pony. To solve this I drew up many ponies and gave the drawings to Breyer. They came back with a letter saying they would consider my ideas, but I knew better than that. The only way I was going to get what I wanted was to do it myself! So at age 13 I followed along with the instructions in my JAH and started making my own pony. This pony is the MOST hidious thing I have EVER laid eyes on now that I look at it, but it was my first effort at sculpting. 'He' was made out of super sculpy and green epoxy Dad had picked up for me at a hardware store, not a very attractive color combination, but I later painted him black because I was sick of the pink and green. A few years later I made Charlie, a huge improvement but still not that great. There was a picture of Charlie and me in JAH, they messed up the caption saying he was my first sculpture, but oh well. I continued sculpting attempts over the years working slowly and not making much headway, but I guess it did me some good! After talking to other sculptors online I learned about using different clays and armature styles and tried my hand at soft clay sculptures. I attended Lynn Fraley's 'Wire to Whinny' sculpting clinic and learned a vast amount that I have applied to all my subsequent works. Well what else do I say but keep an eye out on my page to see what I can do :) PLEASE do write to me with suggestions, advice, casting help, anything! I love making new friends! lakeridgestables@hotmail.com |