— AJE Component of the month, blog, Blog Hops —

Art Elements Theme Challenge Reveal – Horses

April 29, 2018

I love horses even though they’re a bit scary. I’m not a great rider, and haven’t done any more than feed them a bit of grass since I was a kid, but they are beautiful creatures and a wonderful source of inspiration. As a bored child in the school holidays I used to go round to the local stables and in return for mucking out and grooming, we’d get a free go at riding. It was amazing to be up there in control of such a powerful beast. It was a mixture of awe and terror as they trotted around the field. 

I spent a long time gazing at images, looking for inspiration and had all sorts of ideas… white horses on the sea, seahorses, kelpies, armoured horses… there were too many options! The month started to race by and nearly got away from me, but I had the ideas percolating and kept coming back to one thing… Tang Dynasty horses. They have such wonderful expressions and a fabulous sense of movement. The artists really captured the grace of their form.

 

 

You wouldn’t guess that these beautiful sculptures were created as long ago as 618-907 CE. They look like modern art.

I don’t think I’ve ever tried horses as a subject before, so I decided to take the last image to model my own work on. It’s still a WIP, as I said the month started to get away from me, so he hadn’t dried out enough to be fired or decorated. I’ve taken the pics in black and white though to make it look a bit more finished and arty! lol

I love the graceful curves of the originals and tried to recreate that in my version. He was hand built from raku clay so should be nice and strong once he’s fired. That also gives me more options for finishing. I’m deciding between smoke firing or cold finishing, but I’ll see how he survives the firing first. 

This is the first time I’ve successfully got something to stand up on it’s own legs, so I was quite pleased for that even if they are a bit chunky. 

I’m pretty happy with how he’s turning out so far… I tried not to get too hung up on getting the clay too smooth or perfect. Hopefully he’ll survive the firing and I can show him off finished soon!

Thanks to Jenny for a brilliant subject, and I can’t wait to see what everyone else has made. Hope you’ll join me for a look using the links below 🙂 

 

 Guests:

Alysen
Anita
Beth
Catherine
Jill
Paulette
Raven 
Sarajo
Tammy

 

AE Team Members:

Caroline  << You are here.
Cathy
Claire
Jen 
Laney 
Lesley 
Marsha 
Niky
Sue

18 thoughts on “Art Elements Theme Challenge Reveal – Horses”

  1. Wow! I can’t wait to see your horse finished but it already turned out stunning! My favorite part (can one have a favorite horse part? 😉 ) are the eyes with the tassel on the head! It looks at the same time sophisticated but also makes me smile 🙂

    PS: And could you please get me the statue shown in the first picture somehow? ^^

  6. Those images are so strong and your piece is magnificent! I think I like the lack of color and play of shadows on him. Wonderful job!

  7. Oh I adore this Caroline, his face and eyes are just amazing such character, I can’t wait to see what he looks like finished!!!

  10. Wow, your horse sculpture is fabulous. So much detail. I hope it does well in the kiln so we can see the next steps. And isn’t it amazing how quickly a month can get away from you?

  13. Stunning!! I love it and it isn’t even finished. I am in awe of your handbuilding on this piece. Kudos to you;-)
    Can’t wait to see the finished piece.

  16. The horse sculpture is amazing. I love all the details you have added to the horse. I really can’t wait to see the finished piece.

  17. Stunner! His legs are the right mid point between thick for engineering purposes and thin enough for proportions. The eye has a lot of character. I’m totally impressed! ( not that I ever doubt you, but that you pulled that off in a small amount of time! )

  18. Your horse is looking great! I can’t wait to see the finished result. I’m impressed!

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