Growing up with a troubled family made life quite difficult most days. A lot of it was spent hiding and avoiding whatever new dramas or dangers were overtaking reality that day. In that fear and uncertainty, my safe space was away in books. Mostly books about unicorns. Those magical creatures would transport me to places far away where fear wasn't the ruler of the kingdom and good prevailed. There was something about the unicorn and their cousin the horse that took the scrambled world and made it make sense, at least in books. I read like the words were water and my soul was an empty desert, absorbing each treasured drop. The Unicorns of Balinor, Into the Land of the Unicorns, The Serendipity series with Morgan and Fluttyerby, The Last Unicorn, The Thoroughbred Series, and Heartland. I would go to the library and look up every single unicorn book I could get and walk out with my maximum number of books nearly so heavy they would tip me over in my backpack. Little did they know, but the unicorns probably saved me.
So, maybe in some ways I feel like I owe them. Maybe it's a desire to carry that torch and pass that magic onto someone else who might also need it to get them through some challenge in life. Whatever it is, there is a very strong desire within me to sculpt horses and almost nothing else. An obsession if you will?
It isn't like horses and mythical equines are the easiest of choices. Their anatomy caused even such renowned artists as Da Vinci to stumble. However, some part of me loves the challenge and I have always had a science leaning mind to balance the creative part. Throw in a little ADHD hyperfocus for good measure and that can be a fun challenge to chase. So I enjoy the challenge of the anatomy and I am deeply emotionally connected (and indebted) to the horse. So I keep coming back, soul after soul, to create new sculptures of everything horse.
They say horses are healers with a special heart resonance field that is so large we get sucked into it when we are close to them. They carried humanity's history on their backs and we quite literally wouldn't be where we are without them. So there is just something special about their beings. Their grace, speed and beauty is unmatched and they have enchanted humans for many ages. They are poetry in motion with elegant long legs, beautiful heads, large bright eyes and flowing hair that is the envy of any shampoo commercial. That alone would be enough but they also allow us to ride upon them and be part of that ethereal magic somehow. Giving us the wings we so desire and the freedom to just fly.
For me, sculpting the horse has to capture all of that. That distilled magic needs to drip into the piece so you can feel it. Feel that depth of connection to humanity and to the stars. Feel that healing and that freedom in how the head is tilted just so and the mane is carried by the breeze and possibly some deeper magic. The anatomy and biomechanics have to be right but also the soul and essence. It's a dance between the tangible and the magical.
Being human we look for emotion in our art. We search for who that horse is. We want to see personality, story, and quirks. Little things like capturing the determination and confidence of Fireheart or the soft good ol' boy feeling of Tater to the rage of Biter. Each sculpture has to have its own being and everything from how the lids of the eyes wrinkle to the placement of each hoof can say so much about who they are. The easy power of Juggernaut bucking and a look on his face to show he knows he has that Cowboy licked. It's a pleasure and an honor to bring each to life and to see how each brings out something special in the collectors that cherish them.
What about horses draws you to them? Can you feel something special about your favorite model? If you had to name it, what would that feeling be? What memory or emotion does it bring up? Tell me in the comments below!
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