Working Away

I'm working on assembling the copy deck for the Model Horse Hobby Book. I think that I will end up writing a lot of my own content when it comes to manufacturer descriptions, as well as a lot of generic filler content to ease the transition between contributor articles. So far I have emailed over sixty hobbyists and two thirds have responded, all of them giving me permission to use some or all of their content. It's exciting! My hope is that I can assemble their information in a way that is clear and respectful while providing the most value to beginning hobbyists.

Wish me luck!

Call for Submissions to Model Horse Book

Hi blog readers :) I am currently working on a project for my graphic design program, which is to compile and design a three-volume encyclopedia on the topic of my choice. I am putting out a call for submissions for a book that will be an overview of the model horse hobby as written by its members. While for this project form is more important than content, I would really love to do justice to our wonderful hobby. The final books will simply be marked by my professors and not published, but if all of the people who own the content agree, it would be possible to make it available as a free PDF for beginning hobbyists to access. I have already contacted and received permission from a handful of hobbyists to use their writing and photos, both for the assignment and for later publication as a PDF.

This is where you come in. If you have a blog or website which has photos or text that you think could be helpful to those wanting to know more about the hobby, I'd love to be able to use your content in the encyclopedia. You may give permission for me to use your content for just personal use or for both personal use and to be published as a free PDF. However, if you do not give permission for the PDF I might not be able to use your content in the end, as all of the hobbyists who have responded so far have given that permission and I think it would be a great resource for the hobby.

If you do not have any of your own content but know of some that might be useful, you can post a link to the page in the comments and I'll email the owner for permission.

My timeline for assembling the information is fairly tight as the semester moves quickly and I have many other projects, but I will try to include as many submissions as possible. Our hobby truly is a community and I think it would be amazing to have a resource with content created by the community itself.

I will give all sources due credit, posting both a name and a website for each. Additionally, I am toying with the idea of creating a directory near the end of the book, so if you'd like to be included in that then you can let me know by commenting below.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment or email regrvale@live.ca. Thank you in advance for your attention and submissions!

Studio Tour

Despite it feeling a bit pretentious to call my little office space a studio, I thought I'd give you all a studio tour. I know I always like seeing the workspaces of other hobbyists!

Above is what my office room looks like from the living room when the french doors are closed, which doesn't happen often. They need door handles yet! 

Looking into the office, you can see the loveseat and my sheepskin rug, which is so soft but often gets in the way of my chair.

My dad made the desk. I have a view out into the trees in the backyard. I'm lucky to have a large, bright work area, although by the time I get home from working at the school it is usually dark outside anyways...

A TV shelf to the right of my desk that I really need to clear some space on for my horses.

My unpainted Knightly Cadence resin is the only model I have with me while I'm at school, although I might grab a few more when I go home, for tack fitting purposes. I like making tack on this model because I'm currently just practicing techniques and I don't have to worry about damaging its finish.

My glass cutting mat is home to the pieces of what will become my first western saddle. A word to the wise: don't buy a cutting mat made of glass. It is only good for scrapbookers and is really not conducive to cutting and tooling leather. I need to invest in a small self-healing mat at some point!

To the left of my chair I have a filing cabinet which holds school paperwork and leather that I want to keep out of the sun. I don't have a very large collection of tackmaking supplies, so most of what I do own is in these three plastic organizers. I was PIF'd a bunch of models and some leatherworking tools a few years back and included was the lovely hand-tooled silver plates in that bag sitting on top. Someday I will make a saddle that is worthy of them!

Most of my tools gathered together. I find that the cheap sponge brush is great for wetting leather.

My photocopied and tape-laminated cutouts sitting on top of Susan Bensema-Young's Guide. I have really only begun to explore this book, but I'm finding it useful so far.

What is your studio space like? I'd be interested to see how others organize their desk area!

1978 Making a Saddle Booklet

I have been doing a lot of internet research lately on saddle construction. Today I came across a downloadable PDF of a booklet called Making a Saddle on Herefordshire & Ludlow College's website. While the style of saddle might be slightly outdated, the photos and explanations are clear enough to give some real insights into the construction of an english saddle. I thought others might be able to benefit from this as well, so here is the link:

Making a Saddle

Give it a read and let me know if this is as useful as I think it might be!

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!