Western Art Show: Artist Talk

Center for the Arts, Evergreen CO

The opening of the Center for the Arts juried Western Art Show last Friday had a fairly full house. This was their first exhibition devoted entirely to artwork that is representative of western culture and heritage, sponsored by Southwest Art Magazine. It featured a combination of cowboy themed art, Native American portraits, Native American still life, western wildlife art, and western landscapes. This exhibition will coincide with the Evergreen Rodeo, which is June 19 th-21 st. It was fun to have a rep. from SW Art mag. there however they don't acknowledge photographers!

I have to share something fun with you but you must promise to keep a secret..... the image I have hanging there right now of the two horses playing are actually dressage horses and not western horses. It must have been the appie with the blanket!

Well today was fun. I returned to the gallery to give a brown bag lunch talk with two of the other artists. At first I wasn't sure what I was going to talk about since I really don't consider myself a western artist but an artist from the west. Once I started talking about my mustang work the rest was history and time flew by. I just love meeting other artists and hearing about their process and just plain sharing with other people in general!

The Spirit of Andalusia

I have been home for two weeks now from my trip to Europe. Every year my mother takes me and my sister on a cruise around several amazing countries in Europe. This year it was Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, and France. Mom lost her leg to melanoma 4 years ago so she needs my help to tour the cities. You don't see me complaining! But if you ever see somebody pushing a wheelchair at warp speed (to keep up with the guides) down the cobblestone streets of Belgium - then it may be me!

There was an amazing trip to Andalusia to visit a villa where they raise famous bulls for bullfighting and also world class horses, also for bullfighting. I learned that when a matador is standing that means he probably comes from little to no money. When the matador is mounted they have come from wealth and if there is any goring going on it is probably the poor horse that takes the hit. Think about it - the price of these animals is amazing. Well I have to admit I am not a fan of bullfighting so I missed a good part of the tour to photograph the horses. What a pitty! LOL!!

The white stallion was tied in his stall and had probably already been ridden. The manners on these animals are amazing and we were allowed to enter the stall. The owner of the villa is associated with the Spanish Riding School so all the horses are trained in classical dressage.

This amazing stallion was tied up outside in a cobblestone courtyard. He is also an Andalusian but is an uncommon bay color. What a surprise awaited us...... We continued on the tour and visited an indoor arena where they train the bulls to become more aggressive. We then went on to the indoor arena where the horses were ridden and we were treated to a demonstration of how a horse is trained and prepared for bullfighting by this fine horse and the owner of the villa!

The tour continued for a tapa lunch complete with a Flamenco dancing show followed by a tour of a sherry winery. What an amazing day! I can still feel the passion of the horses and the dancers.

I will post some mare and foal pictures soon and maybe a pic or two of the villa so you can get an idea of what this place was like. Also, if I can find my note paper I will tell you the name of the villa.

There is something about the baroque horses that has me captivated.

Bye for now!
Susan

Magic in the Rainy Day Art Festival

I just returned from a 3 1/2 day art festival in downtown Denver. It stormed off and on the first 2 days and then rained most of today. It rarely rains so steadily in Colorado. Anybody who shows their work at art festivals knows it is not fun when it rains! Zip up, zip down! Scurry quickly to bring the print bins in and cover up the art. While the weather was dreary there was no shortage of lovely little girls who were delighted to spend time in the booth. "Horses!" they would squeal. Many were pulled away by their arms by their moms, while the said "Please mommy, please! I want to go in there." "NO you can't was the typical response" or the "We don't have the money...."

I was one of those little girls once and I was able to give away a few of my new notecards to a few who were not pulled away too quickly. I was sorry I could not have given away more. I could see the longing on their faces and hear it in their voices. There is something about the heart of a horse that is good for the heart of a little girl.

Today something pretty amazing happened. At least I think so! I was busy chatting with a local artist (not from the art fair) who was in the process of buying my new book Horse as Teacher. It turned out we had a lot in common but better yet it was somebody a friend of mine, several months ago had told me I should meet. Small world! My friend and I stopped by her gallery but she was not there at the time. While we were busy yakking when I heard a voice say "I just bought that book...." Of course I stopped in my tracks to address the voice. Curiosity had me in its grips as the book only shipped 1 1/2 weeks ago. Better yet, it turned out she had just read my chapter that very morning! I returned to the woman buying the book and she slipped quietly out of the booth. I had wanted to talk to her more but it is difficult to be attentive to two people at the same time.

Well... she returned several hours later and purchased one of my small prints. It is one of 3 horses running across the prairie. She told me that it is her intention to have 3 horses one day and she wants to be a student of one of the other authors. She was going to set her intention by looking at my print every day. Geeez! Small world strikes again! I just love the whole process of connecting with people that this book and horses are creating. At the end of this rainy day I had less than $100 in sales but my heart was touched by the young girls who tried to visit with my horses and also the good fortune of meeting these two women.

Here is another magical thing that happened.....on Fri. eve. a neighboring artist stopped by the booth for a hello and a chat. She looked at me very seriously and said "I smell horses". I quickly looked at the bottom of my paddock boots but they were squeaky clean! She thought I had somehow planted the aroma! We heard the same thing for the rest of the event. I thought that was pretty special that the power of my horses could somehow trigger their scent! I swear this is no lie!

Later that day, as we were dismantling the booth and wrapping the art it looked about to rain yet again when an angel called Jack, in the body of a homeless man appeared and asked if we needed a hand. Three hours later as we finished packing the van it was just starting to pour. I was as grateful for his help as much as he was for the opportunity to work for a few hours.

There were times today when the thought crossed my mind that art festivals are too much work for the unpredictable financial gain when mother nature doesn't seem to be on your side - especially during this economy. A month ago it was dust storms that covered my work with a gritty film. Ugh! My thoughts however had changed and as we headed toward home I was feeling enriched inside for the new connections I had made today and also the small difference we had made in the life of a homeless man and a few little girls. I wouldn't have it any other way and I am immensely grateful for today.

Yours in the dance,
Susan

Spirit of the Horse: spiritus Three

Gosh lots happened when I was away! When it rains it pours. This image has been very well received by the juried art world and I wanted to take a moment and talk a bit about it. It is an archival pigment ink print on artist's watercolor paper in an edition of only 35 (called spiritus Three) and it is from my Spiritus series. To read more about this series please visit my website at www.windhorseone.com!

It is one of three entries I submitted to a "Spirit of the Horse" juried competition and art show currently showing at PS Zask Art Gallery in Rancho Palos Verde CA. Please stop by and see it if you are in the area. I mentioned in an earlier blog that they accepted all three entries which absolutely thrilled me! While I was away I received notification that it had won first place. They also used it on their website (www.pszaskgallery.com/CURRENT_SHOW.html) and for the brochure. Woo hoo - I love it when somebody loves the work. For me it is not about selling the work but the spirit of being able to share it!

I also love fund raisers and this is a benefit for the Return to Freedom wild horse sanctuary (www.returntofreedom.org) and the Portuguese Bend Pony Club. As you know am a supporter of RTF so this was a perfect venue to appreciate my work! The Portuguese Bend Pony Club, located in Rancho Palos Verde, is dedicated to educating local youths on horse care management and equine sports.

This piece also was accepted and sold last year in a prestigious "All Things Horses" juried photography show at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins Colorado. There were thousands of entries and only 60 photographs were chosen for the exhibit.

AND....I just received notification that this piece was accepted into the Center for the Arts Evergreen's Western Art Show (all mediums). While I consider myself more of a contemporary artist I decided to enter for giggles. You just never know and voila!

In any event....I never know what I am going to enter and often while my heart may want to enter something that speaks to me more, I often make a decision based on the juror and of course the topic. My decision to return to this piece was purely based on how quickly they needed the piece and my current inventory. Not to mention I do like it but it has already done well and I like to share other work. Lets just say living in the mountains does not lend itself to visiting my printer and then the framer very easily!

I hope this babbling has not seemed too self-serving and the point of it is because I am a supporter of Return to Freedom I would like to offer this fine print to the community and I am fully prepared to donate 25% from the sale to Return to Freedom. Additionally I will include free shipping and a box of 6 of my new note cards which includes this piece and has a value of $20. Is that a deal or what??!!

The details are:
Size: 11.5" x 20"
Price: $350


The print comes museum mounted on archival foam core and can be shipped in one week after receipt of the order. For your convenience I have created a secure PayPal button. I also take all forms of credit cards, please contact me at susan@windhorseone.com if you would like to use your plastic.

As a service this print is also offered flush mounted on sleek aluminum (I love this presentation!) and floats off of the wall. It is also offered with frames used for canvas art so that the print is not covered with glass - this also floats freely off of the wall. Please contact me for more info on this.

Thanks in advance!
Susan
windhorseOne Studios
www.windhorseone.com

Come See Me @ Downtown Denver Arts Festival: May 22 - 25th

For all the horse lovers in the Denver metro area, I will be showing this upcoming weekend at the Downtown Denver Arts Festival. Please come and stop by my booth, say hi, and visit with some of the horses I have been moved to photograph. The details are as follows:

Dates: May 22-25, 2009

Times:
Friday noon-8 PM,
Saturday 11-8 PM
Sunday 11-5 PM
Monday 11-4 PM

Location:
Denver Pavilions
500 16th Street
Denver, Colorado, 80202

For more info. click here!

Another on Relationships

Hi Everybody!
I am back from over 2 weeks in glorious Europe where I was able to visit a villa where Andalusian horses are raised in the beautiful country side of Andalusia Spain. What an honor an a privilege. I also became quite a fan of passionate Flamenco dancing, also from that region. More on that in a future blog....

Here is another portrait from the series I submitted on the relationship project. This one has more of a narrative quality to it. One of the things I love about horses is that they have the ability to be mirrors to our own humanity.

This is also true of art. We become engaged with a piece of art because of our own stories. Each person may have a different dialogue with a piece of art which is why I choose to give my work generalized names. It is my desire that each person experiences the work however they choose!

That is all for now! I am still trying to regroup from yesterday's long travel day. I am glad to be home and have lots of news to share!

More on Relationships

Well we all know good relationships depend on communication and it appears that these two are indeed communicating. While we know horses don't speak in human language they sure have a language of their own!

These two seem very at peace with each other and there certainly is a yin and yang effect with the black and the white.

I sent off five images tonight with the hopes that one of them will work for the project. Keep your fingers crossed!

"Horses speak in silence, never forgetting to listen." Carolyn Resnick