Number Three

I've been pretty much only been posting old tack pieces the past week or so, and today will be no exception!

This is the third piece of tack I made. It's a thread-wrapped bosal, and it isn't great, but it isn't terrible!

 I would never show it or sell it, but it was probably the first time I ever thought, hey, maybe I could make this stuff!

 That's all of the old-project pictures I have with me, so you'll be spared any more of these for a while! Regular posting should resume next week, assuming that my planes and trains aren't delayed for days and days! 

More Nostalgia

The second piece of tack I ever made was this "Native American" costume. (I put "Native American" in quotations because it is a pretty poor representation of any actual Native garb.)

Most of the costume is missing today (understandable, since this set is probably 11 years old!) but you can get the gist of what it looked like in its day.

I haven't made another costume since. Perhaps I should try another one this year!

Looking Back... And Forward

It's been too long! Oi, the Crazy Christmas Travels have taken their toll on this blog. It will still be sparse posting until I get back home, but then I will have lots of things to write about!

This time of year, I always think back to the years that came before. This applies to model tack, as well.

These are my first three English saddles. The one in the back was the very first piece of model tack I made (well, the first piece that wasn't made out of rubber bands or string!). I was probably 11 or 12. The middle saddle I made about two years ago. While definitely an improvement on the first, it was not remotely a sales piece. The last one is the most recent saddle I made and sold.

My first saddle is hilarious to look at. The seat and flaps are a single piece of suede, and I clearly had zero idea of what skiving meant. Those little panels are made out of a fleece dog bed! I don't think I had ever seen the underside of a real English saddle before, so I made a guess as to what they looked like.

 

Silly as it may look nowadays, it is a great reminder that we all start somewhere, and we are always learning. It is easy to be critical of the tack made by amateurs, children, and the newbs, but remember that these people are the future of the hobby, and, someday, with encouragement and support, they will learn more skills, and make better tack.

Of course, I always want to be improving. Every time I make something new, it should be better than what came before it. I am very proud of my latest saddle, but I still have a ways to go before I will really feel like this tack is up to snuff with the big names in the hobby.

But I will keep learning, one saddle at a time. ;)

Happy 2015 everyone! 

No Peeking, Mom!

For Christmas, I thought I would make my mother a portrait of her Polish Tatra, Kazia. She is a wonderful dog, and lives on my parents' wonderful farm.

Merry Christmas, Mom! 

Graduating

Weeeeeeeeee! I've graduated!

It took four and a half years, but I have a bachelor's degree in Physics. For the first time in my life (that I can remember!) I am not a student. Suddenly, I have time to make all the things!

Of course, Christmas creations, traveling, and family still have to take priority over tack, but I can definitely manage to squeeze in some model mayhem here and there. ;)
 

Of course, I had to find a graduation present for myself. Yay for special Dremel heads! Hehehe! So many things to make! So much time!

Grumpy

 It's been a rough Finals Week.

 I am pretty grumpy that I haven't been able to work on any of my projects all week.

Par is grumpy that another horse threatened to eat his food, so we are two grumpy peas in a pod. I can't wait to be done with graduation, so I can get back to work... and back to regular posting!

Here Be Dragons

It's been quiet on here! My fault: it's finals week (I graduate on Friday, weee!) and I've been too busy with schoolwork to do anything model-horse related.

I spent all weekend working on illustrations for my English final. I only have one (mostly) done so far, and the photo quality is not superb, but I thought y'all might enjoy it anyways. I have to say, color is not my strong suit (I'm definitely better in black and white) but I was positive that color would suit the story better than black-and-white illustrations.

These are big pieces (for me). Each paper is 4 feet across and a little less than 2 feet tall, done in chalk pastels and ink. I had to tape the paper to the wall in order to have a space to work, so I am exhausted after working on the wall for a few days! 

I really, really like dragons. (Part of the reason I love horses is that, in my opinion, they are the closest living relative to dragons.) My English project is a historical story written as a metaphorical "fairy tale." I hope to someday publish a collection of these illustrated stories in a book. I am not yet at the level of artistic skill that I would like to publish at, but I will keep working at it. 

Someday, someday. :)