For Love of a Gray Horse: February 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010

Three more features on RedBubble.com

Redbubble.com is a site where photographers and artists can display their work for sale on prints, posters and cards. There are groups within the site which feature specific themes. Two of my images, both composites, were featured in groups this week.
She Walks in Beauty was featured both in Simply Horses and Equine Art and Photography. That's my lovely Mouse of course!

Gentle on my mind, which features both Red Riley & Mouse, was featured in Equine Art & Photography.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Announcing the Tennessee Equestrian

I'm launching a new magazine, The Tennessee Equestrian, on February 15th. It will be like a beautiful, classy yellow pages for the Tennessee horse owner. It will have listings for every equine professional, service, and product imaginable. It will also have show listings and information on organizations and events by breed, discipline and open shows. And it won't just be a directory for equine needs, there will also be informative and entertaining articles on a wide variety of equine interests, a travel guide and map for the equine traveler and trail rider, and we're hoping to include a stallion directory and product reviews. The best thing about all of this, besides the fact that it will be such a comprehensive, go-to guide for everything horse, is the fact that all of this will be available for FREE!

I plan to pay for publication and all other costs through ads and listings. This will be a way for those in equine businesses to reach a much broader range of their target audience and to let them know exactly what they offer. And it is also a very economical way to advertise your service or wares because listings start at just $15 and there will be discounts for multiple full page ads. Also, after publication, both ads and the magazine itself will be available on the website as well as distributed at horse businesses, events and shows across the state. Web listings are free with the purchase of a listing or ad.

And, best of all, all of this comes in a beautiful, glossy, high quality, full-color package that the horse owner will not only keep close at hand for all of the information and articles but because of how attractive it is and enjoyable to read and view.

I've launched the blog for the magazine and a fan page on facebook. I'm currently working on the website as well as revamping all of my websites and I hope to have that ready for view by the end of this week and ready to take orders for ads and listings by credit card by the 16th. Check out the blog and fan page for more information and updates and contact me if you want more information, 865.458.1420 or grayhorsedesigns@bellsouth.net.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Great News on Redbubble!

Not only were photos of both of my boys featured in two groups this week....first time ever having two features in one week: Riley, Shake, Shake, Shake in the Backyard Photography group and Django, The Weather Outside in Frightful, in Equine Portrait Photography group....but also my collaboration with Geno Praag, The Storm of Passion, has topped over 6000 views!! It is a composite work featuring two photos of mine, Mouse's eyes and fire, and a beautiful shot from Geno of two battling wild stallions in the Utah desert. Thanks to all who made this happen.

About Me & Gray Horse Designs

I've always had artistic leanings. I was drawing stick figures before I could talk. Friends recall that I was constantly drawing or painting as a child. I grew up and I did major in art in college but I never could find direction. I kept switching majors and trying so many different things trying to find the one that fit, the one that fulfilled me. I seemed destined for a while to be a lifetime student. Then one day, I found myself out of work, burned out on school, and very depressed because I'd also just suffered a miscarriage. I was alone at home and totally at loose ends when I picked up a piece of wood and began to see a horse in it. The irony of that will become more evident later in this story but the truth was, that as soon as I touched a knife to that block of wood, it was magic. I felt as if I'd come home. From that one piece of scrap wood and a small cheap craft knife, a business grew and took on a life of its own. I started creating whimsical, wood sculptures and I sold my work all over the world. Then one day, at a crafts exhibition in Chicago, I met the head of Enesco's new gift wares section and my career took off in yet another direction. I designed several very successful lines for them over the next five years but after fifteen years in this business, I started slowing down and losing my enthusiasm. I decided that I'd try another medium but like trying to find my direction in life those many years before, this wasn't an easy task.

I knew that I still wanted to be creative but I didn't know what medium I wanted to try next. So, I tried many but no magic, no flashes of inspiration. Then one day, my husband and I were sitting on a Mexican beach relaxing and enjoying the salty breezes and beautiful views. It was his 50th birthday. He told me how much he was enjoying himself and he asked me what I was going to want for my 50th birthday which would be coming around in two years. I didn't even hesitate before I answered him. "A horse!" I said simply and to the point. I'd wanted a horse for as long as I could remember and I knew that if I didn't get one soon, I'd never get one. So, from the moment we touched down on US soil, I began my quest. There were two things that I didn't realize at the time, that my horse would actually arrive soon after my 49th birthday and that she would totally change my life. Everyone told me that at my "advancing" age, I surely needed a gaited horse because their smooth gait was much easier on aging joints. I began my search knowing nothing about horses or even what I really wanted and certainly nothing about what I needed in a horse.

I was lucky because I met two great horse ladies who pointed me in the right direction. The first told me that the horse I wanted was a Missouri Fox Trotter and the second lady, Fran Forester, offered to help me find the perfect MFT for me. She told me about a man she knew who knew more about horses and specifically more about MFTs than anyone she'd ever met. The only problem was, he very seldom agreed to sell one of his horses. Then one day, she contacts me and she is very excited. The man, Huston Jenkins, was selling some of his horses and one of them was the dapple gray that I'd been dreaming of. I'd told everyone that I wanted a dapple gray horse and when I found her, I would call her Mouse. Huston's niece had promised to take some photos of the gray horse and email them to me. They arrived in the middle of the night but I had been waiting for them. I printed them and thumbtacked them to the bathroom wall beside the mirror so that they'd be the first thing my husband, Steve, saw when he got up the next morning. I wrote across the photos, "This is the ONE!!" I'd decided that as soon as I saw her but I was even more convinced that it was fate when I saw her papered name, Mouse's Funny Face. My fate was sealed.

That was over five years ago and that beautiful, dapple gray mare has since become my muse, my inspiration, my teacher and my life. I started doing equine photography and art because of her. I've met so many wonderful people and horses because of her. My herd has grown from one horse to five now. The latest was a gift from Mouse two years ago, our sweet, lovable and beautiful Danny (Traveler's Sensational Flyby.) I have a blog dedicated to Danny called Fly By Danny Boy that tells his story.

For several years, I tried to start a new business doing strictly equine photography but I soon discovered that this is the wrong economic climate for starting a new business of any type but especially one that's primary product is a luxury. I've been doing art my entire life so I'm not ready to give it up. In fact, my solution is to diversify. I plan on cleaning out my workshop and studio and starting to do wood sculpture again as well as painting and drawing and hopefully handcrafted jewelry. My old enthusiasm and creative drive have returned in force. All of the mediums that I'm delving into will be diverse in subject as well but I'd be willing to bet the farm on the fact that the majority of art work will be equine in theme.