Art at the Draft Horse Classic

I just wanted to share this image with you from the Draft Horse Classic out at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley CA. Every year they have an art show while all the gentle giants strut their stuff. This is one of my submissions that I worked up recently.

It was at this event last year that I fell in love with the Friesian breed. I am not sure but I think this is a Percheron horse. Please correct me if I am wrong! I would love to go back and exhibit again this year but we have decided to stay in CO this year. Boo Hoo! I loved it there.

Well this blogger has had about enough writing for today. I was busy reactivating and communicating on my new windhorseOne Studios Facebook page and I am throwing in the towel!

Thanks for reading!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

New Work

I have been working in some new colors and also with heavier brush strokes than normal. Call me crazy but I half woke up in the middle of the night and felt like I was being instructed to add color to my work! So I have been experimenting and having a blast!

This weekend I am taking a class at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass CO where I will be working large scale and adding text and painting on photographs. My goal is to start making large one of a kind pieces.


Additionally I created these two bull pieces which I will make large 40" prints of. This is a first for me so I am excited to see how they fare. I will be showing at the art festival in Aspen in mid July so I will introduce them there. Heck, this is a cattle state and some people love cattle as much as they love horses. I don't normally photograph cattle but I took this bull when I was in Andalusia, Spain.

Now I have to come up with a generalized name for this new work.........

Touched by a Horse: Whispers From A Horse's Heart by Melisa Pearce

I just had to post about these amazing equine inspirational cards - Whispers From a Horse's Heart. How beautiful is that??!!!! There are 52 large cards in the deck and each one has a special inspirational message. Melisa Pearce, founder of Touched by a Horse, wrote the messages and Jan Taylor is the artist. Both are from good ole Colorado.

These are just 2 examples of these beautiful cards. What is so different about these card decks, other than their beautiful artwork? The inspiration and guidance that is offered on the cards will encourage you to reflect upon your dreams, desires, and challenges. Every day, just pick a card that appeals to you in that moment and read its message.You will be amazed with just how appropriate the message relates to what you are feeling or dealing with.

At the start of each week I pick a card and reflect on it and it is always uncanny how accurate the information usually is!

Melisa is one of the co-authors in the Horse As Teacher book and I have come to know her well in the past few months. I am delighted she has allowed me to share her beautiful cards with you! If you are interested please check the right hand side of my blog where you will find more information.

We have all partnered together to make the world a better place for humans and horses!

Mare and Foal Magic; Universal Motherhood

She's gentle and strong, generous and forgiving, a perfect mom and drop dead beautiful. Was this your mom? Maybe or maybe not. I am willing to bet that for many, the answer is probably not. I bring this up because of a recent workshop I attended where there was an amazing group of women who were brave and shared truths honestly about themselves in order that they could grow, learn, and provide a higher quality of service to their clients.

Did I forget to tell you this mother has long flowing hair, four legs and can run like the wind.......

I just love the energy of spring and all it bring; new growth and new foals! Like little children, foals grow and change so quickly. There is something about babies that brings a smile to everyone's face and animal babies are no exception.

With that I thought I would share a few new mare and foal pics. and share some joy! If we animals all share one thing in common I would have to say it is universal motherhood.

Yours in the dance,
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

He's Splendid!

And splendid he is! I had the good fortune to photograph this special 21 year old Thoroughbred gelding called He's Splendid last week. You would never guess he is 21 because he is in fabulous condition. Splendid is a special horse with a very large heart and a ton of compassion. He seemed to possess the collective wisdom from his species.

Splendid came all the way from CA with his human Christie. I met Christie at Melisa Pearce's Lil Bit North Ranch at a workshop a week and a half ago. She and Splendid have quite a bond that didn't go unnoticed. I was touched and delighted that Christie asked me to come back later in the week for a photo session!

A little black cloud of rain and hail followed me down the mountain and to Boulder. I thought we would be rained out but I went anyway. Christie and I talked for quite a while in the barn and soon enough the sun came out. One thing about Colorado weather is it can change in a heartbeat and the shoot went well after all!

Christie gave me free rein to choose and work on any piece I wanted to. What trust! I was a bit nervous showing Christie the portrait because she was sooo close to her horse but she was delighted and went off to show it to Splendid, who we believe approved!

Splendid and Christie left for home yesterday and should be back in CA by now. Christie decided to leave the portrait with me so I could have it mounted on aluminum for her (She sent me an email already telling me she is counting the days until it arrives!).

Everybody at Melisa's was touched by this horse.....

Take good care,
Susan

Horse as Teacher Book: Status Update

Signed copy of Horse as Teacher Book
plus free 5" x 7" equine note card: $19.95

I want to start off by thanking everybody who ordered a copy of the new book Horse as Teacher: The Path to Authenticity. I have been touched by many of the thoughts that you have shared with me.

When I arrived home from my vacation I was surprised to find the shipment had arrived and was waiting right inside the door. I have since sat myself down and read all the other contributing author's stories and I am amazed with the quality of each and every chapter. I don't know why I should be but I tend to be a bit of a critic and the only criticism I have is WOW!

I want to share part of the foreword with you. It is written by Mark Mottershead, the founder of HorseConscious.

"The stories in this book are a perfect illustration of today's spirit of the times. Yes, on one level they are simple stories of love, trust, and honesty, which will make you smile, laugh, and cry in turns. At the same time, they tell of the transformations that are now taking place on a personal and global level. Each person within these pages that took the leap of faith with horses to a brighter future is a trailblazer and role model for us all. Their evolution is our evolution. Their story is our story....They have become a human herd, where the group mission is as important as any individual's message. The power of community is clearly demonstrated in this collection of authors."

So there you have it! I couldn't say that quite as eloquently and why reinvent the wheel when Mark did such a fine job!

For a limited time (and who knows what limited time means!) I will be including a free 5" x 7" note card of one of my beautiful prints, suitable for framing, with your signed copy of the book. This makes a great gift for any horse lover in your life or yourself!

Place your US order via secure PayPal by clicking here now!

Place your INTL order via secure PayPal by clicking here now!

Other Horse as Teacher News!!!

Remember the series I created for a relationship project? Well I certainly do. I don't think I gave away that it was for the second HAT book on leadership. If you remember, I submitted 4 or 5 images and my favorite was the black and white horse. Kathy Pike, co-founder of the HAT project, called me last week to tell me that they were going to use one of my pics! Woo hoo! The HAT project has made me an author and also now I have my first book jacket. Can you see my smile? I am just grinning from ear to ear because I believe in this book with 100% of my being. I just love being part of a progressive visionary group of people who are working to make a difference in our world.

This project has turned out to be much more than I could ever hope for and I am forever grateful for the amazing assistance I had from Kathy Pike (Coaching With Horses) and our editor and co-founder Marilyn Schwader (Clarity of Vision). Thank you ladies for your tireless efforts!

Without the team, err I mean herd, effort this project would have been impossible. Imagine keeping ten of us organized. HA! LOL!! Glad it wasn't me. Imagine all the ear pinning and neck snaking needed to keep us on track! :)

Yours in the dance,
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Touched By A Horse Workshop & Melisa Pearce

This weekend I participated in an Intuitive Awareness workshop at Melisa Pearce's Lil Bit North Ranch in Niwot Colorado. I recently met Melisa who founded Touched By A Horse; programs inspired by relationships with horses combined with her background in psychotherapy. The programs integrate time with horses and also deep personal exploration. Melisa is one of the ten authors in the Horse as Teacher book which is how we met. Check out her wonderful website at www.touchedbyahorse.com.

As we all know, horses are highly intuitive creatures and rely heavily on their senses for self preservation. While we humans have intuition, we rarely trust or listen to it! One of the fascinating aspects of this weekends workshop was being able to watch the horse/human dynamics and how the same horse related to different people. I will be returning later in the week to photograph a participants horse and also some of Melisa's amazing animals. She loves Paints and has a three time World champ. This woman is amazing and does it all!

Melisa also graciously allowed me to bring some of my work to show and sell to the participants. It gave people an opportunity to bring home a horse they identified with that would help them savor and warmly remember the event. Thank you Melisa for your generosity!

I felt the image above is a good representation for this blog. There is somewhat of a mystical and contemplative quality to it. After seeing so many women's hearts being "touched by a horse", who said horses aren't mystics!!!

Yours in the dance,
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com