Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Close To Home

The diorama is… getting there. All of the components are (essentially) done except the body; all I need to do now is finish the horse itself, and then glue everything together. 

I am surprised at how well the customizing is going, especially since it involves a lot more sculpting than I am normally comfortable doing for a diorama project, especially in such a short period of time. Here’s the only clue you’ll get before the big reveal:

And also a bonus, this was the other project I have (temporarily) abandoned – a FAM that was going to be a Staffordshire Pottery Horse:

I have a bunch of Family Arabian Mare bodies that I will eventually turn into an assortment of art projects – this was a plan well before the announcement of this year’s BreyerFest theme – because those bodies are cheap and nobody does anything with them except as armatures, and I think that’s a darn shame. 

There is a lot of potential there that just needs a little imagination to realize it.

Regardless of the outcome (I haven’t consulted the Magic Eightball yet!) this diorama project has been a very therapeutic creative distraction. And there are only so many weeds to pull in the garden.

I know a lot of hobbyists are a bit bummed that there won’t be much to do during the second virtual BreyerFest except sit in front of a computer screen and watch videos. To be honest, I’m kind of looking forward to luxury of a couple of obligation-free days of doing mostly nothing. I might even bake a cake!

Then there is also this sad news to deal with:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/news/my-collector-story-janice-cox

When you consider just how large and complicated a topic as Breyer History is, it is both surprising and unsurprising that there aren’t actually that many of us doing the legwork of uncovering, analyzing and publishing Breyer History.

The loss of any hobbyist – whether we’re someone well-known, or unknown – is always a diminishment. But this one hits close to home. 

2 comments:

Corky said...

I think it was on Breyer's Facebook page, where they announced the news of Janice's death, that several people left comments saying they thought/hoped Breyer would pick up and continue IDYB -- and it seems to me, from a lot of what you've said on your blog over the years, that Breyer doesn't really care enough about the topic to do it.

Suzanne said...

Was that part of Black Beauty? I can't wait to see the results. I have a criminal number of unfinished project horses on my shelf, and need some inspiration. I'm forcing myself to keep the "projects" out until they're done. So now, the only horses on display are either projects or shrinkies, plus a couple that are too big put away with the Breyers. Maybe that's part of the reason why I haven't been feeling very enthusiastic about my collection. I also had a very difficult loss this year, and...right now they just don't feel very important to me. But somehow I find myself looking forward to your blog! It's interesting how the bobbed tail changes the whole appearance of the FAM.