Sorry for the lack of posts hereā¦ Iām stuck in the middle of this weird hobby burnout. In January, I feel like I started full speed ahead, then immediately hit a wall. Iāve been working on a lot of Etsy orders but aside from that, havenāt felt motivated or inspired to get anything else doneā¦ which is frustrating because there are things Iād really like to get done.
I want to get back into blogging but itās been tough to get into that again too. Recently Copperfox posted a 10 Day Challenge on their blog, and in an attempt to get back into the swing of things, Iām going to give it a go. (scattered over the next few weeks/months or so? Cause ten days in a row is too much for me right now)
So, Day 1: Inspiration Day.
āAn easy start to our challenge! Find something that inspires you. It could be a picture of an unusual colour of horse that you would like to turn into a model, a how-to tutorial video or a piece in your favourite magazine about collecting things that you love. Or it could be a song, film, piece of poetry- whatever it is, find something that gets your creativity going!ā
My inspiration comes from a mix of things. Real horses, obviously, a life-long fascination/love for miniatures, and my younger selfās desire to own a horse of my own.
Iāve always liked horses, but the āhorse crazyā didnāt quite hit until I was in my early teens and taking weekly riding lessons. It was all very basic, casual and laid back, but I loved it. I was obsessed with anything horse related, whether it was books, movies, music, and eventually Breyers.
I *think* this was one of the last rides before moving to MT
Owning a real horse wasnāt possible so the models became the next best thing. I had been making miniatures of sorts for years, so I was really drawn to making horse-related miniatures, whether that was tack, props or buildings. I think I still have the plans for a huge stablemate-sized ranch, loosely based off of the one I rode at. It had stalls, pastures, a tack room, arenas, wash racksā¦ the works.
Start of the madness collection:
First halter and “arab” halter:
First western saddle… heyyy there’s the tack trunk in the back!
Itās been at least 13 years but the āhorse crazyā phase is still going strongā¦ maybe not quite as strong as it was at one point, but strong enough. I am still unable to keep a real horse, and I donāt see that changing anytime soon. I guess, in a way, models are still the next best thing.
My account on Pinterest is stuffed full of things that inspire meā¦ real horses, tack, minis, etc.
Aside from that, I get a lot of inspiration from the people in this hobby. I have since I discovered it and will continue to do so as long as Iām involved with it. The level of talent and creativity in the hobby is awesome, and itās always encouraging to know that there are people like me out thereā¦ who get excited over tiny stuff and new colors on plastic model horses. XD
There are too many individuals for me to list as inspiration here, so here are the first few who come to mind.
Juliane Gartska of Luckenbach Ranch ā her photos have fooled me multiple times, as many of them look like full sized horses instead of models.
European hobbyists in generalā¦ some of the photos of models and miniature scenes Iāve seen are incredible and extremely realistic. Itās a side of the hobby that I rarely see among hobbyists in the USA, but I LOVE it. I have a love of haired models as well and am sad that itās not very popular nowadays. If I ever get into customizing I think all my horses will be hairedā¦ š
CharArt ā Charās work is amazing. Whenever she updates with new tack photos I feel inspired to start working on my own pieces again.
Liz Shaw of Arabian Acres (now Tick-Tock Studio) was a HUGE inspiration for me and my interest in Arabian tack. Iām not sure what sheās up to nowadays, but I remember spending so much time on her old website, admiring her beautiful horses and Arabian costumes.
Last Alliance Studios ā one of my very favorite hobby blogs, and always a huge inspiration! I love the amount of detail in all of her miniatures and dioramas. Plus, Julips are fantastic. š
Jennifer Buxton of Braymere Custom Saddlery ā Jenniferās work and blog have been a source of inspiration for several years now. Her tack tips and tutorials are a huge help and her photography is always a treat.
Outside of the hobby, there are several miniature artists that I take inspiration from as well. Here are a few of them:
Sugar Charm Shop ā she makes 1/12 scale food, miniatures, animals and dolls. (and makes it look super easy!)
Mimine Mini ā her miniatures are incredibly detailed and often work exactly like the real thing. Sheās from Korea, so even though I donāt understand whatās being said in her videos, theyāre still easy enough to follow along.
1 inch Minis ā While I havenāt been following her for very long, I do admire the way she shares step-by-step photos of the creation of her miniatures.
Writing all this out has helped somewhat, so Iām off to finish some bell boot orders and hopefully get some miniature Breyer boxes completed as wellā¦ the digital files are so close to being done!
Until thenā¦
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