I'll have a Collier

...I don't care what my mother tells me, I'll have a Collier for my sweetheart...

-Traditional Song

I owned this lovely little Collier bisque Joan Berkwitz gave me for my birthday. I had no idea what color I was going to paint him, when it came to me- bay roan! So just this week, with all that is going on, a thought struck me- he should go to benefit Melissa Gaulding in the Flying Heart Fundraiser (*note the new link!*)! What better way to pass on such a fine gift? It is little wonder he was meant to be roan- it is Mel's favorite color, as I mentioned! So here he is- much in-progress, but getting close. He still needs some subtle, fiddly details (I want to give his whole coat a faint 'ticking'), along with the more obvious details like eyes, but my hope is to have him up at Auction Barn early next week.

~*~*~*~*~*~

In other news, I've been working on a couple of Toot Sweets for the next batch! Last month's batch (#3) sold at Mud Day (I plan on posting pics soon, so y'all can see. They turned out very nice, especially the one I tried in the matte glaze). I'm hoping to have Batch #4 ready early next week as well. Stay tuned to this blog for more news and pictures!

:)

Hearts a Flyin'

Hello friends,

Well, there's been a lot going on over the past few days! A tidal wave of love is rushing to the East Coast, in aid of collector and friend, Melissa Gaulding, and her husband Herman. Herman is bravely battling cancer, and to help pay for the rapidly mounting medical bills, Mel is selling her much-beloved collection of beautiful chinas. well, there was no way those of us who know and love Mel (along with many who don't know her), were going to sit idly by as she struggled with this financial crisis, so quite a number of hearts joined together in common purpose, and out of this came the Flying Heart Fundraiser! Artists and collectors from all over are donating finished horses, unpainted resins, paint jobs, jewelry, tiles, time, money & more to benefit Mel and Herman. Heather Malone-Bogle has graciously set up a website to compile all of our efforts. The link can be found here:

The Flying Heart Fundraiser

I will be soon donating a small horse to add to the list. Mel is very dear to me, so I am glad I can help out a little here. I hope to do more in the future. I'm working on a custom-glazed Pour Horse Collier that I want to finish in the new matte glaze some of us artists have been experimenting with. He will be roan- one of Mel's favorite colors! I will also be glazing a few of the terra-cotta tiles that artist Sarah Minkiewicz-Breuning is working on. More details on those items to come! In the meantime, please visit the fundraiser site and find yourself something fun to buy or bid on to show your support. You can also donate directly to Melissa, if you desire. Thanks so very much- and blessings to all the generous hearts who are participating in this endeavor!

:)

RESS Interview

Hello once again!

I just thought I'd share with y'all that I was honored to have been interviewed by the Realistic Equine Sculpture Society for their new blog! Thanks so much Sarah M-B, for your work on the blog, and for picking me to start off your artist interviews!

To check it out, just click on this link:

http://ressorgblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/adalee-velasquez-new-star.html

Cheers!

:)

Mud Day!

Good day, everyone!

Now that I feel fully recovered, I'm happy to announce that Mud Day was a success! Yes, we had a house overflowing with shiny ponies, good food, and happy faces! The support we received for this show was just spectacular. Many people lent a hand both the day before and during the show to get things moving smoothly, for which I'm very grateful! I'd especially like to thank my judges Joan Berkwitz, Christina Dils, & Heather Wells, and my speaker, Pauline Entin. We also had a number of prizes and goodies donated to the show- our main tile award artwork was done by Lesli Kathman, and other prize tiles were sent by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig and Linda Dean. Tina Dils donated handmade charms & jewelry, and Joan Berwitz, Heather Wells, & Liz Holm were all generous with pins! And of course, all of the showers were wonderful for sharing their enthusiasm for shiny horses, and for the wonderful way they brought out their chinas! So, now a few more pictures of the day, for y'all to see. And I do hope to see all of you next year, for our even bigger shiny pony party, BOYCC!

Our Champion Award tile, with a tile by Sarah M-B!

Tina pondering all the little gray custom glazes...

Pretty in palomino!

A TB Pin by Kim Knight from our Pin Workshop. Lovely!

:)

May Means Mud Day!

Happy May, everyone!

Gosh, I didn't get around to posting anything in April, did I? Where did that month go? In any case, I'm happy to be well into the merry month of May now, because that means Mud Day is coming! For those of you who haven't heard, Mud Day is a benefit event for next year's all-china extravaganza, the Bring Out Your Chinas Convention! And as you can see above, we have a brand-spanking new logo for the show. Huzzah! I'm also pleased to announce here, the judges we have lined up for Mud Day's "Teeny Tiny Shiny Show"- a little all-china show for mini scaled pieces! Many thanks to these people for taking on the squintabulous task of staring at tiny chinas:

American Division:
Heather Wells

European Division:
Joan Berkwitz

Glaze Custom Division:
Tina Dils

Other Division:
Adalee Velasquez

Along with the Teeny Tiny show, we've got a day of fun planned including pin & tile workshops, a talk on European ceramics by Pauline Entin, food, games, and visiting fun! To find out more about the show, and to register, please visit the official webpage:

http://www.velasquezartistry.com/boycc1.html

Hope to see you there! We still have a few spots left, so register soon!

:)

The Resins are Coming! The Resins are Coming!

Hello friends!

I just heard from the lovely Lynn Fraley that her husband, Barry, is finishing up "Batch B" of the Toot Sweet resin run! Yes, folks, 15 silky-smooth resin castings will be on their way to me soon, which means that it won't be too long now, before they are offered on my Yahoo group! And what's even cooler, is that Lynn snapped some pretty pictures of these ponies in production and placed them on her blog. So go check them out, and if you are interested in Lynn's sculptures or Barry's casting services, take a peek at those links too!

:)

Ketchup!

What did one tomato say to the other who was lagging behind? Ketchup! Yes, yes, a poor joke- I know! But it does well describe my perpetual state this year. Too many projects, too few hours in the day! But little by little, I make my way through them. I'm finally getting around to posting a teaser pic of the chestnut sabino Toot Sweet I'm working on for the next batch of shiny Sweeties. Lots of fiddly work on this gal! I'm not going to estimate anymore, just when she (and her dun sister) will be ready! These mares just seem to take a fair bit longer than my previous offering, Jellibaby (I'm missing having a smaller horse right now, can you tell?). Though there are advantages to having a bigger canvas to work on- things like ticking and scritching come across slightly more believable in a larger scale, and there is a lot more you can do with other details like hooves, muzzles, etc. Still, I think I'd better amend my website to read that there will most likely be 1 ceramic Toot Sweet batch a month, rather than 2; just because of the rate I've been going! But I am hopeful that in the next couple of weeks I will get a little more caught up on everything, and that will make offering new shiny things easier. Please think productive thoughts for me! Thanks!

:)