Get That Pony!

 Well Anne, I finally found something I could do with that leek. 

When I received my A Field of Dolls guessing game prize, I was at a complete loss as to what to do with a leek that's model horse related. Then with brainstorming at last minute on Jennifer Buxton's Pandemic Performance Panorama (I'll talk about that in another post), I came up with the idea of a perspective photo shoot of a pony plowing through some girls picnic at a horse show with an adult tripping and falling and food is flying everywhere, while the pony is in the foreground with a leek in his mouth! Then I got thinking, "Are leeks safe for horses?" After some research, the answer is no, leeks are toxic for horses. So, the title is going to be: Stop That Pony - Leeks Are Toxic For Equines! OK, so how am I going to make "flying food?" One word: Wire.

I love working with wire. Yeah, working with super thin wire can become tedious, but hey!

A simple circular shape bent to a wonky state placed under a picnic blanket gives it some dramatic action.

And now the frame for the flying objects. It is constructed of another circle with two runways down the center for support to the frame and a pathway to place larger objects/dolls. Then there are about 10 individual wire "strings" that are anchored to the frame with a looped end for holding heavier objects with sticky wax.

It Works!

In the end, these little details would be hidden in the illusion. The wire might still show a little bit, but that's OK for now.

As for the pony, he'll look like this.

Except his sticky wax would probably show since the leek is too heavy for a smaller gob. Maybe, he's frothing at the mouth for holding it too long.

I am hoping to get the last of my Pandemic Performance Panorama entries (this one included) photographed tomorrow. Either that or Monday - I know, right before the deadline! Let's bank on tomorrow, shall we?

I just realized I hadn't mentioned the name of this little pony. It's Carrot Cake. I wanted a typical pony name for him. He's my first SM scale Shetland Pony in my herd. Now I need to find a mate for him, so that I could customize SM Fuzzy Ponies!!! Wouldn't that be awesome?!!!

Pretty Things Come In Pink Packages

A week ago yesterday, I attended Anne Field's Miniature Sale. I was so excited to be getting some props for my model horses, so that I could start working on performance entries. The awesome thing was that there was a pdf list of the items that were going to be sold.

I did, however had to simplify greatly since the under $10 stuff really do add up.

Crazy thing was that the sale lasted longer than what anybody anticipated: 3 hrs.! Once there was a break of items that I wanted, I found projects that I could work on to keep from getting bored or tired (though, I was pretty spent afterwards).

But, pretty things come in pink packages!

They arrived on Friday! Who knew that packages actually came in PINK!!!

This guy, along with a piece of cake and a Leek (what am I going to do with a LEEK!?) were apart of a group of prizes to who can guess the answer to a question on the her blog. This one was how many types of items are going to be available in the sale. I got it! It was 89. The crazy thing is that I do not remember numbers very well. I just remember remembering that number because I couldn't figure out why you wouldn't have an even number like 90?

This girl is my favorite from the 2020 Breyerfest SM set of 5. I didn't want to get the whole set when I only wanted the one smack-dab in the middle. Yeah, sure I could sell the others. But I figured if I could get her on the second market for a good price - that'll be great! Well, I did and she is Awesome! I can't wait to get official pictures of her!

Ice tea and a water bottle.

Cookie tins and paper plates. I really want to do a model horse scale bake sale with these....

...and these! The brownie, cookie, and candies Anne made (as well as the paper plates). I'm going to be studying these so I could make some. The Ice Cream was my main interest in attending the sale and it was one of the last things to be sold. So, yes, I stayed for the whole thing. It was a long day, but worth every bit of it!

I had to get the handcuffs because my brother has a pair of toy ones from a police dress-up costume set. We had a lot of fun with those. Unfortunately, they don't open, but that's OK. The Scissors do!

I got a folding chair! I tried to get a table, but I wasn't fast enough. I'll have to make one.

Now I need to plan out how I am going to use them in my performance setups.

Completing Geoffrey

I've realized that I never put together a painting and completion post on that fuzzy pony I did for my friend, NaConi. We agreed that the name, Geoffrey suited him extremely well. She came and got him two weeks ago today.

Enjoy!

Sometimes I have a hard time getting the points to be black enough with just the Charcoal powder - that's when I add paint. Notice the difference between the forelegs and the hindlegs.

Subtle highlights/

 The absolute most difficult part of this custom; His cute, little, tucked forelegs! Through every single stage, I kept asking myself, "Why did I do that?!" But I knew what I was working towards and that it would add to his character. So, I plugged right on forward through the heat gun process, the sculpting process, the primer process, the painting and detailing process, and the sealing process - not to mention the photographing process of customizing this little stinker!

He is a little difficult to photograph because his head is so dark. Even though the color green makes his coloring pop, but he might need a different type of background (not to mention the right lighting!) in order to get all of him in focus!

Here he is with his parents, Merida and Alistair. His mother looks a little perturbed that he is acting as such in front of her.

But, boy, does he like to do tricks!

I had entered him in both the Breyerfest Customs contest and photo show (halter and performance). He didn't place in either. Oh, well, I hope he'll be successful in the show ring with his new owner.

Oh, yes, NaConi! You're going to have your hands full with him!

Performance Props Tutorials: Logs Obstacle

This simple tutorial today is on creating model horse scale Logs obstacle for Trail Competitions.

First thing you need to do is find some very straight sticks that are roughly 1/2" in the diameter. Next, you need to measure the length with your longest walking model in whatever scale you prefer (mine is Wintersong - he really liked this project). Make sure that the pair of sticks are a little bit longer than the model on both ends.

Now, you need to cut the walking-over-logs. The width of the obstacle should be approximately two horses wide. Cut 6 of those and arrange them with even spacing. Make sure that the model's hooves have the right amount of space to move freely as if he were a real horse. Mark on both parallel logs the placing of the width logs with a pencil or marker.

Now you need a file that is round or has a rounded side. You would be using this for getting the indentation started before you use a rotary grinder dremel bit to make them deeper. These indentations are where the width logs are going to sit.

You could do this if you want to, but I wanted to make the raw cuts look like they'd been out in the weather all its life. I used a mixture of grey and earth brown paint, watered down to create a wash.

Careful, the paint gets everywhere. So, make sure that the logs are sitting on something that would protect your table.

And the end results!

(Quite a difference between these two. Wintersong is so gentle and patient, to Speck's Peanut's determined behavior to get to the lady off-camera who is unknowingly holding a bag of his favorite treat: Apples! Speck's Peanut would be up for sale after Labor Day).

(These were among my performance entries for Virtual Breyerfest this year. Neither placed, but it was fun to make!)

Can be Good, Can be Bad, Can be Annoying

 Changes.

They can be welcoming.

They can be avoided.

They can be flat-out rejected.

And they can sure be annoying!

Yeah, there are a lot of changes going on right now. Not to mention getting started with a whole new school year, but just getting in the rhythm after summer break. I don't attend school or college anymore. I don't have any kids yet. But I do need to be advertising right now for violin students...in which I haven't done yet due to getting my art studio officially launched after Labor Day.

Did I say art studio? Yes, Mini Hoofbeats Studio is going to be officially selling and offering commissions for customized model horses. I plan on selling mostly through Model Horse Sale Pages (MH$P) and through the studio Facebook page (coming soon) for other horse related things. I might also sign up for Instagram in addition to FB to widen my range of audiences.

So that's a good change! Here's another one:

New schedule. A little contradicting to running an art studio. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I focus on everything music. Yes, music. Which means teaching and keeping up with my own practice. I am a fiddler after all and have been playing for 16 years now! Tuesdays and Thursdays are completely dedicated to Mini Hoofbeats Studio. And anything goes on the weekends....primarily focusing on other non-job-related projects. The schedule is designed so I can balance my week better. I cannot (except under certain circumstances) do anything of the other on the off days (music on T & Th, and model horses on  M, W, F). Of course, that doesn't mean I can't THINK about either on the off days, that would drive me insane! I am constantly planning something in my head!

So, what's been bad? The exact reason why I created the schedule to discipline myself! Uneven and unhealthy prioritizing. My main job is a private violin teacher; not an artist - that is on the side.

So, what's annoying?

Well, he's supposed to be a good change - in which he is!

Meet Brody:

Brody is the newest addition to our family. He is a Welsh Pony yearling (I suspect Welsh Mountain due to size, but I don't really know). My mom has always wanted a pony and now we have one.

How is he annoying?

I mainly take my model horse photos in now his pasture. He's more curious than the goats, so he needs to be tied. I've tied him twice, and on the second time it didn't go over too well. This combined with loosing my light left me furious enough to breaking things (not anything fragile - only a very old 5-gallon bucket lid).

This was the best I got that evening:

A couple of days later, I tried I different spot outside of the pasture and behind the out building (not quite a barn or a shed, more like a shop). It works. Though, I found that several of my model horses' colors don't do well with the color green. They would do better at specific locations at Bear Lake. In the end, I still got some pretty decent pictures. Enjoy!

There's always a light at the end of the tunnel.