I'm Back

Hello everyone!

It's been four years since I updated this blog, and a few things have changed in my life. I'm now a first year graphic design student. I love my program, although it keeps me really busy. I also have a wonderful boyfriend with whom I spend a lot of my time.

Technologically, I now own a Canon 60D DSLR and a Macbook Pro. It's exciting being in a program that requires you to purchase these things! I'm still working on my photography but I can now shoot in manual mode fairly well, which should result in some better photos on this blog.

We are learning how to code websites this semester, so I will probably customize the appearance of this blog. In the meantime, I chose a cleaner template than I had previously. In my program we learn accuracy, design principles, and attention to detail, and I hope that will carry over into my hobby creations from this point onward.

I am really excited to rediscover the model horse hobby. I was rereading some of my old Model Horse Blab inbox messages the other day and I remembered again why I love this hobby--it's not just the content, it's the amazing people it attracts. I'm glad to be back!

Walk Like an Egyptian

Model horses aren't the only hobby I've dabbled in. Over the years, I've tried my hand at origami, painting, fashion design, paper making, sewing, you name it. Recently I had the chance to explore beading as well in the form of an Ancient History project on Egyptian culture:

My goal was to imitate an Egyptian collar, but simplify it a bit. It was difficult to imagine how I would craft something that would in any way resemble some of the extremely elaborate designs that the Egyptians used (do a quick Google Images search to see what I mean). Luckily, I found a bead netting tutorial that seemed to be what I was looking for.

I switched out the colours to (pinkish) red, blue and gold to make it look more like the original collars made by the Egyptians. The pattern was easy to follow once I got started, but I had to go back and redo some sections several times because I had missed a bead. About five hours and several restarts later, I came up with this necklace. I still feel like the clasp mechanism is a bit rough, but it's not bad for my first time beading!

If you're looking for something different to try that is tidy and satisfying, I definitely recommend beading!

Knots and Carving

I woke up this morning with the urge to try out the instructions in a book I recently purchased, Leather Braiding by Bruce Grant. After several failed attempts at interweaving a pineapple knot, I ended up with the blue-and-brown knot in the photo below. The smaller knots are spanish ring knots. The blue knot alone took me all morning and I don't believe that I finished it correctly, so I will probably go back to practicing at larger scales before I attempt the rest of the knots on this bridle.



The piece of leather is the beginnings of a western saddle, and my first try at carving leather. I was forced to set it down before I roundhouse kicked something! My carving tool arsenal included an awl, several small screwdrivers, various sculpting tools, and a myriad of blunt metal objects I found lying around my home. Needless to say, these didn't work particularly well. I will likely be ordering real carving tools from Tandy *le gasp!*, such as the beveler recommended by Susan Bensema Young in the Guide. It's really hard to get those tiny edges around the leaves pressed down, and then to fade the impressions out nicely.

If anyone has any suggestions and hints, be they carving or knot-tying related, I would be more than happy to hear them!

Placing at Lethbridge Live!

This is so cool!

About a year ago, I participated in the sm swap on Model Horse Blab. It was one of my first times customizing (WIP photos here.) Anywho, my swap partner, Shauna, took her to Lethbridge Live this past weekend and she placed 6th in a large class! Scroll down to see a picture: Bill Vs. The World. I'm stunned, and really pleased :D. Thanks Shauna, this is such an awesome thing to see!

New Laptop!

I've put in a lot of shifts at work lately, so I decided I could finally afford to buy my own laptop:

MSI CR620

I love it! It's got a nice, bright screen, which will be perfect for digital art once I get the tablet drivers installed. It's also not very heavy. And I love Windows 7!

Overall, I'm very pleased with it :D

New Prismacolors

I received my new set of 132 Prismacolors about a week ago and have since set about drawing some long-overdue gift art. It's still very much a work in progress, but here's the picture so far:



Suffice it to say, I love my Prismacolors!

Bullfighting Tack

Hola!

As you can see, I'm back from Spain. Over the next few days, I plan to shower you with photos of that beautiful country. First, however, I feel the need to post something I find very exciting: bullfighting tack!

During our stay in Seville, my school group made a stop at the bullfighting ring and museum. I got some very strange looks from our guide when I started freaking out over this display (apologies for the horrid picture quality):













Unfortunately, I didn't get a shot of any informational signs about this, so my knowledge of its background is limited. It sure is cool though!