New Year, New Challenges!

• Hi all, and (due to a flu-bug that just won't shift) a late welcome to 2008!
• This year brings new energy, new outlooks, new projects and new challenges!
• I'm also trying out a new blog style - I like to write in paragraphs, but the blogger doesn't seem to like that and tends to bunch all the text up together, so I'm now trying out bullet-style paragraphs, which (although cheating slightly) will hopefully make my blogs easier to read, I hope the bullets aren't too annoying.
• So, first up, a summary of 2007: Well, 2007 saw three new completed sculptures, which were Pickle, the arab head mini-bust; TIBBP mare and foal medallion (unnamed), and Frodo, the Shetland pony medallion.

PICKLE

TIBBP MARE AND FOAL MEDALLION

FRODO - SHETLAND PONY MEDALLION (shown in bronze)

• 2007 also saw the end of the Lawrence, Baldy and Claude editions, I don't really like to cut up my molds and announce that I won't be producing any more of these, as they were my first released medallions, it's like the end of an era for me, but it's time to move on!
• So, on to 2008!! Well this year I am hoping to become more involved with RESS (the Realistic Equine Sculpture Society) in several ways; I've submitted and article about making medallions that I am hoping will be included in "The Boat" Winter 08 issue - the newsletter publication produced by RESS; I've also submitted a little info on TIBBP medallion to be included in the "Adorning" section of The Boat. On a sculptural note I am also hoping to enter both my latest project (see below) into the RESS BAS Relief competition, and also to enter Jasper - my long-running traditional scale Percheron project into the RESS "Wind Ward" program, which is a valuable program where you submit images of your in-progress model to RESS who then arrange for the top talent in the hobby to critique your work, giving you a real boost to finish your project to the highest standard possible.
• Finally, I am happy to tell you I'm working on a new medallion! This one will be cast by me too as my last last three models I've done have been cast elsewhere, I am keeping this one all for myself. I've always said that casting is the least fun part of what I do, but I keep finding myself going back to it, it's like a drug and I'm addicted! So I'm making this one a true challenge to cast in order to push my casting abilities to the max! The actual medallion itself has two horses featured on it, but that is all I'm saying on the matter for now. The idea came to me after I'd started a planned medallion, so the planned one was shelved (for now) and morphed into the new idea. I have to admit I'm really pleased with myself on the idea, now I just have to make it work, which is the real challenge! This is the medallion I plan to enter into the RESS competition, so I am pushing to get it finished as soon as I can.
• 2008 also brings my 30th birthday, sigh. Still, I believe the biggest events of my life (namely marriage and babies, but other horsey related things too) are to happen in my 30s, so I'm secretly quite excited about it, scary though it is to leave my 20s behind me!

All Things Spangley

Well I have had a very productive weekend! Whilst taking the final castings from the Lawrence, Baldy and Claude medallion molds I had a bit of festive fun and made a few sparkly Christmas Tree decorations (ornaments). The pic above shows the six castings fresh from the mold, and the picture below show the almost finished article with the tri-colour hanging loop and little bow and bell attached - I have also made a couple of teeny tiny bits of holly, mistletoe and snowflakes that I will be adding to the finished decorations, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of this one on the tree!

I managed to get just one final u/p resin Baldy cast before the mold died, the Claude and Lawrence molds are still holding out, so in all this last weekend I got 10 Lawrences, 4 Claudes and the 1 Baldy in unpainted resin, plus 6 Xmas decorations, and a number of head-only castings in glitter; plus, I still have the Lawrence and Claude molds to make a few more of each. I have given myself until 31st to get as many as I can, but if the molds are still going by them I will finish regardless and that will be that. I started making the head-only castings in glitter to make into tree decorations, but the glitter hides the details and makes them look like blobs! So I had a look through my stock of different finishes and found the polished aluminium ones show the details best. This is why the finished decorations have an aluminium head on a sparkly background, I also added a touch of glitter to a couple of the auminium bits for added twinkle. The halogen tree lights really make the backgrounds twinkle, unfortunately I can't get my camera to catch the sparkliness at it's best! Finally, I have packed up TIBBP medallion, I have a new-found packaging friend in clingfilm, it's an excellent packaging material, cheers Deb for telling me about it!

Season's Greetings!!

Finally, this lovely model is complete! This is the medallion that represents The Blessed Broodmare Project, and I hope you all will find it as wonderful to paint or display it unpainted as I have found it to sculpt. . Sculpting this has been a pure pleasure, the mare knew exactly how she wanted to be from day 1 and her foal has progressed so nicely, I don't know if it is the positive energy coming from the members of TBBP Yahoo group (the group name is now out of date but cannot be changed sadly), Deb Buckler's wonderful emails or my good friend Beccy who is my (neglected) shoulder to cry on when I'm struggling :) Perhaps it's the knowledge that it will bring some good into the world that has made it such a joy to work on, but whatever it is, I don't believe I could have made such a lovely model without these things, so feel I can't take full credit for it's creation.

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Some lettering will be added to the base by Randy Buckler, as I'm hopeless at that sort of thing! I think it will say "The International Blessed Broodmare Project" but I don't know for sure.

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I will be posting this original off in the next few days to Resins by Randy, and then I should have prices. All proceeds will go to TIBBP.

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The medallion is of a mare and a fuzzy foal, laying on a grassy base with the odd dandelion leaf and a comfrey flower to the side. The comfrey symbolises Healing, Growing Together, and Unity, which I believe is very important to this piece.

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I will be updating my website shortly so you will be able to find further images there shortly. For those who aren't aware my website is www.kelly-savage.com, there is also a link on my profile to the right of this post.

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On Another note, I'm closing the editions of the medallions Lawrence, Baldy and Claude this month, I will have to see how many I get from the molds before I can say how many were made, but I am planning to make a few Christmas tree decorations (ornaments) using the molds too. I'll only be making a few but it's very exciting!