Author-in-Residence

I estimate that I've written about five thousand words so far for the model horse encyclopedia, with probably another thousand to go. I am so thankful that I didn't have to write all of it! Most of the contributed content has been inputted already, and I have a few formatting issues to take care of before I can move on to type conventions. It'll take me several days to do those before I can move on to printing and binding. I will also be creating an eBook version in addition to the PDF, so maybe I will be able to make that available for download as well. Part of the project involves illustrating the covers, so I am combining photos of my collection with digital drawing.

I still have a long ways to go on this project, but I'm already getting excited to share the result!

Full-size Trail Bridge Tutorial

I've been thinking about props lately. I'm painting up four 12" pieces of dowel for trail poles right now and doing research to try to figure out what colours they are allowed to be (I'll let you know when I figure it out!). In my research, I came across a tutorial for building a full-size trail bridge that might be useful. Let me know if this is a good walkthrough!

http://www.horsecoursesonline.com/college/trail/bridges.html

Model Equine Tack Association

Today I had my boyfriend help me cut some parts for my first homemade model horse jump. I'm following a tutorial by Traci Durrell-Khalife on Breyer's website. More on that later though!

A few weeks ago I joined a new forum called Model Equine Tack Association (META) that promises to be a great resource for all things tack and performance-related in the hobby. There is some helpful content on there already and lots of talented tackmakers. If you're interested in joining a forum specifically about tackmaking, check it out!

http://meta.freeforums.net/

Tacky Glue, Pencil Punches, and Tweezers

I went to Walmart the other day. It was crazy busy and the checkout clerk commented that I must be doing something really important to be buying glue and pencils on a busy Sunday afternoon. Truthfully, my mission wasn't that urgent--I just didn't realize there would be so many people!

I ended up buying some more glue and a couple of .05mm Zebra mechanical pencils. The glue I had previously was the "super-thick" tacky glue and it started drying up before the bottle was empty. Here's hoping this glue is better! I'm going to try out these pencils tonight to see if they punch decent holes. 

I bought these tweezers at SAIL a couple of weeks ago while my boyfriend was shopping for ice fishing lures. One side of the tip has a grippy coating, and they hold themselves closed. The fly fishing section at SAIL has some neat filaments, feathers, and foil laces that could be used for tackmaking. I had a conversation with a very confused employee who wanted to know what it was I was doing if I wasn't interested in tying fly fishing lures! In fact, I had several people approach me to ask if I needed help--I must have looked out of place in a store full of bearded men. After that I stuck by my bearded boyfriend and helped him find sparkly lures to avoid any further encounters with strangers! Nevertheless, now I know where to find any kind of glittery or feathery elements I could ever want for tackmaking.

A Cavesson

In the evening after I think I've done enough homework, I watch Netflix and work on tack. Last night I made a cavesson for a snaffle bridle. I'm focusing on practicing my skills and trying to go slowly and learn from my mistakes.

I used Jennifer Buxton's raised noseband tutorial.

My unpainted Knightly Cadence resin is a joy to make tack for. I don't have to worry about damaging the surface and tack just looks great on him.

I need to find some smaller wire for the 1/16" tongue buckles, as well as some mechanical pencils to use as pencil punches. I had a great one, but it got lost! I really dislike making keepers, by the way. Good thing they can be made in batches!

I went home last weekend and brought some of my collection back with me. I tried to choose models that could compete in some kind of performance, so I can make tack for them. 

My first western saddle still looks like this, but I'll get back to it eventually. It's hard to find the motivation to do the more challenging things when you've been doing schoolwork all day! 

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!

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!

Leaving for Spain

Hey, everyone!

So, this march break (well, actually Wednesday) I'm going to Spain with my school choir! This will be the first time I've ever flown and I'm really looking forward to it :D. I'll be bringing my camera, so hopefully I'll see some Spanish tack while I'm there and be able to take my own reference photos for once. Anyway, wish me luck (and brace yourself for an onslaught of photos when I get back)!

Success!

I've been delving into braiding recently (my inspiration is Susan Bensema Young: http://pages.prodigy.net/sbytsii/tsii/). I've figured out how to do a Spanish Ring knot and a Pineapple knot from her book, The Guide to Making Model Horse Tack. However, I knew that if I really wanted to make braided tack, I'd have to learn how to interweave knots. Today, with the help of this site: http://khww.net/articles.php?article_id=34, I finally did!



This is made from dental floss and embroidery floss. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up some of the thread SBY recommended soon, though.

For scale (you can see that it's not quite small enough for a model horse):



I'm not sure what went wrong with this side:



Still, I'm so excited! This is a huge breakthrough for me :)

Workspace Organization

I haven't posted much lately because I've been busy with exams and haven't done a lot of tack making. I have, however, done some organizing. My workbench was becoming unpleasant to work at because it was cluttered with so much stuff:

I just realized how horrendous these photos are. Sorry about that!

Now my desk looks like this:

Better, right?

On the weekend, I made a stop at Michael's to pick up some supplies. A snazzy organizer:

And some tools and materials:

-Round-nosed pliers (the packaging said "sparkle pliers". I had no idea why until I opened it--the handles are purple with blue sparkles!)
-Green wire snips (hopefully they'll work well for cutting buckles apart as well)
-Ergonomic exacto knife for skiving
-Thin wire for buckle tongues
-Sticky wax
-Pencil punch (alright, I found this in a drawer and just mangled it until it submitted to my will)
-Jewel-It and Tacky Glue
-a giant mallet that I found in the garage ;)

Now that my workspace is organized, it should be much nicer to work on tack! Here's what I've been slowly picking away at while my desk was out of commission:

Cross-stitching is very relaxing :)

Hungarian Heritage Bridle?

This is something that's been bugging me for some time now. Has anyone in the hobby figured out how to do the knotted browband attachment and hanging side decorations on this type of Hungarian bridle?

More pictures can be found here on The Baroque Horse Store site: http://www.usfriesianreferral.com/tack.html.

This site has more of this type of bridle: http://www.barokshop.com/contents/en-uk/d10_Hongaarse_hoofdstellen_hungarian_bridle.html

I really like the look of this and think it would be fantastic in model scale. I'm stumped as to how to do it though! As far as I can tell, it's made by braiding strips of fine leather lace together. I counted 6 to 8 lace ends on one "rope". Strange.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!