Another Very Little Lady

So, my hands are tied time-wise at the moment, but I am finding little opportunities here and there to squeeze in some creativity.

My next project (before the Hullabaloo foal) is to finish the Broodmare version of The Babysitter.  From the very beginning I planned two versions of the model and it feels good to finally get cracking on the little broodmare.  As with The Babysitter, her current name is Very Little Lady, but this may change – I’m toying with “Itty Bitty Broodmare” but I’m sure a name will come up that fits – any suggestions just let me know via email or comments on this blog or Facebook.

So, here is the Babysitter:

And here are the beginnings of Very Little Lady:

Gruesome I know, but I needed to take her apart in order to rebuild her into her new form.  The difference between a race-fit thoroughbred and a broodmare are astonishing, she will be revamped almost everywhere!  I actually went even further than the photo above, splitting the chest down the middle separating the two front leg/shoulders and adjusting the angles on the legs and hooves too.

Here she is a few days later, looking perhaps slightly uncomfortable in her little travel box (she has a bigger one now I am pleased to say!).  I used aluminium wire for the neck as I don’t know what position it will be in at this point – it’s nice and bendy so allows for tight packing and lots of repositioning as I experiment!

Now for the fun, I knew I wanted to swap the legs round, as this photo shows:

This of course means there will be lots of reworking to the whole back end, all four feet and the shoulders.  It was always my intention to make BIG changes to this little model, even though I have been very open about the fact that there would be two versions, I wanted to make sure the new model is very different to the last and that they won’t necessarily need to compete directly against each other at any Live Shows they are presented at, as I know this can be a concern for some collectors.

So now I just have to work and rework the areas I’ve changed and make a decision on the neck and head positions.  Using the wire to reattach the head allows me to try out a few poses (I did measure it and have attached the wire where the horse’s spine would be, allowing for natural movement while I decide how to pose her, even though in these shots it isn’t bent exactly correctly!):

Here is the model as of last night when I reattached the backside and back legs:

And finally here she is after today’s lunchtime filing session, where I filed down some of the areas that need reworking, for instance the back legs; the near side leg needs building up along the front and the offside leg needs building up along the back as their new angle doesn’t work with the original parts.  I will go further with these amendments but didn’t want to file either leg so thin that it might break before I can rebuild it.  The pasterns will be remodelled and any leg-length issue will be addressed once I have finalised the pose.  Here she appears a little heavy to the rear end, this is (hopefully) an optical illusion due to her having no neck but I will be checking everything all over many times before she is finished – this is no mere cut and shut I can promise!

I’ve not addressed the neck area yet, I need to get a copy of Very Little One and position it near to her so I can set the scene for them and pose her in a nice, natural, nurturing position.  Her shoulders will of course need reshaping once the neck set is decided.

This model is going quite quickly (for me), even taking into account the fact it is a re-work rather than a sculpt from scratch.  I have a lovely feeling when I work on her, possibly due to the warm welcome The Babysitter has had from collectors so I am hopeful she will also be well received, or perhaps because she is going to be in such a natural and relaxed pose (I do try to relate to my models as I sculpt) that I also relax whilst working on her, or maybe it’s just because I know that, finally, I am going to be able to offer all those Very Little orphans a mother to love and look after them.

Perhaps I should name her Atonement?

What a Hullabaloo!

I’m sure you’ve now heard about the Utterly Horses Hullabaloo – a three day Model Horse event taking place in Newmarket in the UK during the three day Bank Holiday weekend (which just happens to include my birthday too!) in late August his year.

…well, again, I’ve been keeping secrets from you but I can now, finally tell all: I am to be attending this event, running a few workshops and…

…I’ll be sculpting the Hullabaloo SR resin!!!!

I’ve been invited to sculpt a limited edition foal model to represent Hullabaloo, then each time the event is repeated (hopefully each year, but that’s not confirmed yet), I will sculpt a new model showing the same horse growing up.  As this is the first year Hullabaloo is taking place, this year’s model will be a very young foal.

I would be keen to hear any opinions on this, but we are inclined to have Hullabaloo as a hunter type horse, as this is quintessentially British* and allows lots of scope for future years (I always think Hunters make very handsome yearlings!).  The foal will be lying down and may or may not have a base.  At this time we think it will be around Little Bit scale, as this is also suitable for Magpie (and some Schleich) models, so I am told.  It will be affordable (around the £20 figure) and is likely to be limited to those attending the show only.

This is as far as discussions have gone on this new little model, I am UBER excited about it and chomping at the bit to get started, but I want to complete my little Broodmare before moving on to the foal.

Regarding the workshops, following on from the popularity of the Medallion-making workshops that Joanie held at BOYCC last year, I now have the confidence to accept Becky’s (aka Utterly Horses Hullabaloo organiser) invitation to hold a number of workshops on this subject.  There will be at least one workshop held per day at the event and I am brimming full of ideas and information I want to offer the attendees.

It’s early days yet but this is mostly all I know.  I will be staying at the event and offering some models for sale (if I have any to sell then!), the little foal may be sold by me or via Breyer, I’m not sure just yet.  As I find out more, I’ll update you!

What happened?

Things were going so well, progress was steaming along on Pickle V3 but then…         …a few…

 

…things…

…needed…

…to be…

 

…sorted…

…out!

…the wedding plans took over!  They have been all-consuming recently, eating up all our spare time in a most delicious way, but refusing to allow me any creative time and preventing me from making any progress on anything whatsoever except my upcoming nuptials.

I’m still hoping to go to visit the Crabbet Arab stud soon, but for now opportunities to sculpt the larger scale models is virually nil.

I do have a couple of exciting updates for you though – I’ve been keeping this secret but now word is out I can talk about it.  Back towards the end of last year Lisa Bickford asked if I would consider sculpting a medallion for her show “Laughing Bear Live” to be held in Iowa in the US in June this year.  She set the show up to help out a very well liked and respected member of the hobby, Lynn Fraley with her medical expenses built up during her battle with colo-rectal cancer over the last year or so.  Lisa commissioned me to create a medallion and supply her with some molds so that she could cast and paint up the copies herself.

So, I am very pleased to be able to introduce “Ursus”:

Ursus is a medallion measuring about 3.5 inches top to bottom, it is a low (BAS) relief.  I tried to capture Lynn’s sculpting style whilst keeping it my own work and I had immense fun sculpting the teeny tiny buckles and rosette.

Ursus can only be won through the Laughing Bear Live show, Lisa has all rights to it and I am not casting or selling these.

Lisa is ambitiously planning on casting and PAINTING over 200 of these medallions!!!  She is also casting a few copies with a round background – these will be called Ursus Major.  The name is derived from the “Bear” constellation (Ursus is Latin for Bear) – a fitting name for both a show dedicated to Lynn and the studio name Laf’n’Bear.  Some copies may be made available to help with fundraising for the show, please contact Lisa for more info on her plans.