Sunday, August 19, 2012

Staying busy . . .

I've been staying VERY busy, which is how I prefer things, really, but so much is going on right now, I can hardly catch my breath!  Let's see, where to begin . . .

My life-size bronze of "Nanning 374: Spirit of the Friesian" was unveiled on June 23, 2012.  Over 100 people were there, including the head of the Friesian association in The Netherlands!  He came over just for the unveiling!  He told my client that this piece is "historic, and really portrays the spirit, fire and passion of the Friesian horse."  COOL!  This life-size is only the second one in the world - the other is a standing pose and located in The Netherlands.
That's me with my actually bigger-than-life-sized bronze (I told the enlarging place and the foundry, "do NOT let him end up under 17 hands!" and they made sure he didn't!  He's about 18.2 hands as he stands and if he stood straight instead of crouching as he is here, he'd be probably 19.2 - not UNDER 17 hands, for sure!).  This piece is located at Fenway Farms, Hortonville WI.  It's a private farm but visitors are welcome by appointment.

After that, I got busy with some advertising, show entries and contests.  One contest resulted in the life-size being included in an online arts magazine, "Art and Beyond."  Another contest resulted in a color ad and a feature story - and I DIDN'T win the contest!  That's a great result for an entry that didn't win!  An ad I placed in another magazine caught the eye of the editor, which resulted in a feature story on me and the life-size.  So watch for the October issues of "Riding" magazine and "Horseman's Corral" - those are the two that are doing stories as well as the ads.  Yay!

I currently have three bronzes (shown below: "Just Trying to Help," "Frolic" and "Windswept") in "An Equine Jubilee" at the Delaware Arts Castle in Delaware OH.  The show runs through Oct. 24.   It's a nice show with lots of good work!  Go see it if you can!  And be sure to check out the gift shop while you're there - they're carrying my jewelry!




"Nanning 374: Spirit of the Friesian" was accepted to the American Academy of Equine Art's Fall Open Juried Exhibition, which will be held in the Scott County Arts and Cultural Center in Georgetown KY.  The show opens to the public September 15 and closes October 24.


I've been working on a relief of a pony I saw a picture of on Facebook.  The photo was lovely as is the pony, so I asked the owner if I could sculpt it.  She and the photographer both gave me enthusiastic permission.  One of the reasons I chose the photo is that the angle of the photo presents a very difficult challenge for sculpting a relief.  It's a head-on shot that shows the rest of the pony's body, all the way back to her rump.  That kind of foreshortening is very hard to sculpt, but I did it!  I just "declared a victory" on her today (translation:  I decided there's nothing else I can do to it, so I wrote my resin caster to find out what it's going to cost me to cast her).  Here she is.  I call the piece "Enchanting."
On the writing front, I wrote a short story (1200 words) and read it at the Western Ohio Writer's Association's Beatnik Cafe in Xenia the first part of August.  It was held at Blue Jacket Books in Xenia as part of their "Firs Friday" activities.  A good group of folks turned up to hear six or seven of us read our stories.  It was nice to hear  a good reaction from the audience for mine.  I wrote a fictionalized version of my aunt and uncle meeting for the first time.  I don't know how they met, honestly, but I used their personalities for the lead characters and the story turned out well.  I'll be sending a copy to my aunt for her to enjoy (she's a poet - writing runs in the family).

A story of mine,"Lisa Goodman, Writer," was accepted to an anthology that will be published this fall.  This was my first ever "horror/suspense" story and I'm really pleased with how it turned out (it still give me goosebumps and I know what's happening in it!)  I'll post info here and on Facebook when the anthology is ready to sell.  I'll be happy to sell you an autographed copy of it!

I'm teaching a sculpting workshop Oct. 1-5 at Dancing Horse Farm, Lebanon OH.  The cost is $250 and the skills you will learn can be used to sculpt any kind of mammal, from cats to horses to humans.  Come join me!  We'll have a lot of fun.

I have a new commission I'm working on (which means "Levade" has been set aside for a while - paying work always comes first!).  I can't say much about it at the moment except that it's another gorgeous Friesian!   It should be fun to work on!

I'm always happy to read your comments as well as answering questions, so feel free to post them or email me if you wish.  I hope you're having an enjoyable summer.

 





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