Spring at Santa Anita

Hello, everyone!

I realize winter has been a bit harsher for the rest of the country- but even here it has been rather cold and rainy for a good chunk of the time! We had much more rain this year than in past years- but this was all good, as our droughty dessert conditions really needed it! Still, I'm very grateful that this weekend promises to be more spring like, after several in a row with rain; especially as I've company coming from a rather gray WA!

Walking my dog around the neighborhood, I've been enjoying our hints of spring- irises and daffodils are popping in neighbors' gardens, and one of my favorite flowering trees, the saucer pink magnolia, is now in bloom (it is nearly done, actually!). Last year I took some good close ups of this lovely plant, while over at Santa Anita. I came across them again recently, so I thought I'd share:




Seeing Santa Anita has got me thinking about my never-finished thoroughbred sculpture! I really hope I can pick her back up again soon- it has been so long! Part of the reason I stopped and set her aside was that I realized her proportions were off (and on a race-horse, that is not a good thing!). So, there's a lot of scrapping & re-working that will have to be done, before I can really progress on her. But maybe in a month or two, when I'm more caught up on my projects, I can pull her out again, and see what needs to be done!

In Progress...

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Things are humming along in the studio, so I thought I'd share. I've got a handful of Jellibabies getting nearer to being glazed. This is the largest batch I've done so far, so I'm pretty jazzed! I can't wait to see how the colors come out (and I'm hoping that all of the techniques I'm using work!). If all goes right, I should have a batch ready to be offered on Monday, February 2nd (I didn't want to sell them on the 1st, as it is a Sunday). An announcement will be made on my Yahoo group, if all systems are go.

Pictured below the Jellibabies, is the slowly-but-surely coming along Thoroughbred! Yes, I haven't had as much time to work on her lately as I'd hoped- she still has a long way to go- but I plan on taking her with me to Clocker's Corner at the track tomorrow morning, to work on her as I watch the horses and see if that helps! I'm hoping to have at least one good epiphany to help get her going in the right direction. Okay- that's all for now. Back to work! :)

Back at the Track!

Finally made it back to Santa Anita today! I'd been hoping to go more often to sketch, but a 3-week stint house-sitting in another city got in the way a bit (but I got to take care of an adorable dog, so that made up for it!). Anywho, as I was leaving Clocker's Corner, I spotted an artist working on a big, beautiful painting of horses breaking from the starting gate. Her name is Kathy Pate, and she was wonderfully nice, and was happy to hear that I sculpted horses. She really made my morning- it is always nice to run into other artists who take an interest. I'd been brushed off by a few in the past, and it is heartwarming to know not everybody in the larger equine art world is like that!