Happy Mail !

Every year I donate to Plastic Ponies On Parade . And Shelley is kind enoigh to give her donors raffle tickets this year I won the mystery box . It was full of all kinds of goodies , Books, Rio Rondo Hardware, Micro people dogs book marks , A really nice Arab halter, a simple but nice western bridle and a lil bit western saddle pad ... I love my Robyn saddle pads :) plus more . I absolutely love the idea and think more show holders should do these it was like Christmas . Thank you Shelley !

So that is what came from the Mail man .. UPS just left here about an hr or so ago and he brought me a box from Jeni that had my latest OF performance horse in it a BF Sprinkles.

Her name is Purple Haze and here she is wearing the saddle pad and bridle that came with the mystery box .

Sorry for the dark pic but its getting late here and I do not have a designated photo space. I think I may change the romals out for some braided splits but I think its a real nice working bridle . I would love to give credit to the tack maker. Let me know if you made it!

The best tack catalog yet !

Google Harris Leather for this amazing catalog !

 They are also silversmiths so it is a fancy western pleasure type items but oh my ! What wonderful tack they have !

Show Report & Recently completed

I have been working away in the studio this past week and I have quite a bit of progress to show for it . But that will come later . First I want to show off some recent wins from yesterdays GLC No frills mini show . My good friend Jeni attended and had some fun in performance while she didn't send me a ton of pics I do have a small show report :)

First up is Chex My Diamonds her D'Arry Latigo resin that I recently refitted her pebbles western set to . Chex was champ western and overall reserve .

I made Chex's tack Robyn did the saddle pad and I also made the arena she is using .

From left to right Kiss Bang Bang , Good Golly Miss Molly , Ima Barbie Girl and Chex .

Kissy is a stone pebbles saddlebred that I customized for Jeni years ago I also made her tack Kissy got 1st in park .

Molly is a D'Arry Calamity resin done up as a mule . Molly was champ other performance, and Molly was overall champ. One of Molly's "other" set ups is showmanship using a halter I made and another of her set ups is a Parade set I made for Jeni years ago . Molly was also champ in English and if memory serves me right her English set was made By the uber talented Jen Buxton .

Next we have Barbie she is a Rose working girl painted by Schick she was using a western set I made for Jeni last year and I believe her English set is one by Anna Kirby another awesome tack maker . Barbie was reserve champion in English.

Jeni did say that there were not a lot of people showing performance that day but its still a very nice haul . Congrats Jeni !


Now for what I have been up to . Over a week ago I got the pebbles double bridle done and mailed to its new owners . Here is a lousy studio pic of it .

 Over the past week and a half I have been working on a saddle I started for my self over a year ago . I have also been working on many other things including my pile of prep work a handful of customs and 2 other western sets .

 This is Organic Nomenclature ( Gnomie ) and his new tack.  Jeni got Gnomi for me years ago in trade for me acquiring the body and creating Boonie . Gnomie is a Demuth Vaquero painted By Ed Gonzales .

 This saddle is based off of this picture of a Dale Chavez Berry Dot Reiner I LOVE this saddle and have done many variations of it in the past . As always a Robyn Jalbert saddle pad.

 Gnomi was a very successful show horse for me back around 2005 and for a few years after until I got hard core in to minis and retired him . Well guess who's coming out of retirement :) . I am not quitting on my minis but I want to start showing some big guys again and have acquired a Brio Sombra who will be sent to Sommer for paint , a Cantrell/ Lermond Phoenix and a Flint . Phoenix and Flint are being customized and painted by me eventually . I have my work cut out for me for a while yet but when I do open my books again I will be offering traditional western tack.

Keep an eye out here for the next 2 sets a traditional and a classic working western sets. Both are well under way and they could not be more different !

Turning in progress in to completed

That is the theme for this week I have no less than 5 western saddles in progress, 1 Aussie set 1 English set, a double bridle, a show halter, a working bridle ,4 horses being prepped, and 4 paint jobs . I hope to get a few of these items in the completed column by next weekend I would love to have 2 or 3 of them over their today but will settle for 1 and progress on another :) 

On the upside I did complete 2 pebbles western bridles for Karen this week I am really pleased with them . The pictures show them more orange than they are but my camera and I are at odds at the moment .

A western pleasure

 And a working

I am also doing a bit of spring cleaning and clearing out some older stuff and some new . if your in the market for a new custom or some tack check out my ads on MH$P.
I have dropped the prices on the items I had already listed and added 2 stablemate huntseat sets ( 1 is on hold) they are 100.00 . The set pictured is still available .

One of the sets was used @ NAN 2012 and did top ten . Of course they are so similar that I cannot tell from pictures which is which and they both fit Spivey so trying them on is no help .

Enjoy your Sunday !

All Tacked Up ~ Peppy Poco Cha Cha

Love this new resin by the incomparable Lynn Fraley . Here he is all tacked up !!!

 Tack set is available on MH$P .

Finding inspiration

Sometimes the hardest part about being an artist is finding the inspiration to move forward. It can feel impossible to move forward when one is blocked . I think in part this is where some artists myself included end up with so many unfinished projects. I can't even tell you how many horses I have in some form of progress right now but it is a lot more than will be shown in this post .

 4 minis in various stages of painting

Fortunately I am a little bit better about this when it comes to tack all though I still have quite a few unfinished projects there as well .

  Various tack projects . Some quite close to finished .

I find my inspiration in many ways . I love love love the model horse performance magazine . I need to renew my subscription . 

Another great form of inspiration is other mail . I sign up for lots of tack catalogs and but that isn't the only form of inspiring mail . A order of western saddle pads is great for inspiration as is a new horse or prop that lends the energy to work on something new .

 

Free tack catalogs

 

 

My most recent saddle pads made by one of my bff's Robyn 

I also love reading peoples blogs and seeing what they are working on and some of their work spaces here are some pics of what I have going on and where I work . See my blog list one the right for some of my favorites !

 currently being prepped

 The back side of my tack table with current tack projects organized.

But sometimes the best form of inspiration is to make something just for the fun of it here are 2 for the fun of it tack sets one recent and one from a few months back  .

 A donation to plastic ponies on parade completed a few months back .

A recently finished class set available Here

This set will be getting longer reins and now comes with a saddle pad .

 

So what are you working on? How do you find inspiration ?

Still Shiny

This is Boondox Royalty a Williams matriarch I painted for Jeni Lambert in 2007 . This Photo is from yesterday's show for the cure .... Yup she's still shiny Captain !

Yes I have started re watching Firefly world beware.

Got any winning pics of horses or tack I have done ? I would be glad to feature them here.