Le Cheval The Horse - Fine Equine Photography

Virtual Studio Auction / Sale

2012-01-18T20:45:00.002-05:00

Check out my Virtual Studio Auction on it's own blog! http://virtualstudioauction.blogspot.com/

New Blog...

2012-01-13T09:33:00.000-05:00

Don't forget that if you want to keep up with me...switch to my new blog, as I won't be posting here anymore. but I am trying to be pretty active there....

http://julietrharrisonphotography.blogspot.com/

New Beginnings

2012-01-03T22:21:00.000-05:00

I have started a new blog which will take over from this one. I think I needed a fresh beginning. Please take a look and follow me and my work over there! http://julietrharrisonphotography.blogspot.com/2012/01/begnnings.html

Greetings of the Season

2011-12-21T10:40:00.000-05:00

Equiscape - A Modernist Nude

2011-11-06T17:27:00.005-05:00

I have been neglectful......I appologize for that. Much has been happening that keeps me way to busy. But I did want to be sure to post about my new book. Equiscape - A Modernist Nude is a coffee table size volume with 59 of my most abstracted equine photographs. I have come to realize that it is time to move forward and let my work evolve from this series. So to give myself some closure I decided to put the work in a single volume. It is an amazing thing to be able to see the work all together like this. The book is sectioned into B&W and Color images. Tamisn Pickeral http://www.tamsinpickeral.com/index.html, art critic and historian graciously wrote the introduction.

You can see a full preview of the book here. http://www.blurb.com/books/2604331

You can purchase the book directly from Blurb.com or if you want a signed copy, you can prepay/preorder the book for $175.00+shipping and I will include a signed digital print with your order. To purchase this special edition, contact me at julietharrison@eathlink.net.

Juliet

Equiscapes - at the Red Filter Fine Art Photography Gallery

2011-05-28T11:04:00.004-04:00

Opening June 2nd.

"Equiscapes" by Juliet Harrison

The Red Filter Gallery, located at 74 Bridge Street in Lambertville, New Jersey, is hosting Equiscapes, an innovative approach to traditional equine form photography by Juliet Harrison beginning June 2 and running through July 24. The opening reception is June 10th from 6-8pm. Equiscapes is open to the public each afternoon, Thursday through Sunday.

Juliet Harrison has been exploring the camera as an artistic medium since 1980 and has focused on horses utilizing light, shadow, texture, and form since 1999. Her photographs go beyond "pictures of horses," and enter the exploratory realm of Edward Weston and Georgia O'Keefe. Her work removes the recognition and constructs that viewers associate with a horse and replace it with the intimacy of a long-time lover of horses. The depictions of musculature and bone structure beneath weathered velvet coat, caught in a thin veil of light, allows for a "visual caress" that is typically only privy to frequenters of equestrian farms.

Ms. Harrison states: "The objective of my work is to remove traditional viewer touchstones and provide a new path to understanding the beauty of these animals. My hope is that abstraction and focus on detail will give new meaning in these images."

Juliet Harrison has exhibited in juried shows, invitationals and museums throughout the United States and has work in private collections throughout the world. For the past three years she has directed Ex Arte Equinus, a prestigious international Equine Art competition and show featured by Art Horse Magazine.

Red Filter Gallery Owner Forrest Old remarks: "This is the type of insightful personal art work we wish to provide our audience in a series of exhibits over the next few months. Juliet is truly an example of the photographer as artist … and we are happy to have her with Red Filter Gallery.

At the same time as the "Equiscapes" exhibit an extended viewing of Alisandra Wederich's "New Works" will also be available to attendees at the gallery.

For more information: www.redfiltergallery.com, 347.244.9758 or find us on Facebook.

The Four Cliches

2010-12-26T17:33:00.004-05:00

This lesson is especially important if you are an equine photographer and you are hoping to take your work beyond the commercial and into Fine Art. So take note! There are four image subject matter that have been done to death. All of them make for lovely greeting cards, calenders and posters to be sold to pre-teen horse obsessed girls. But if you are thinking of entering your work in a Fine Art competition or heading with it to a substantial gallery, you had better be sure that your rendition of these are so very different than everything everyone else has done. They'd better be remarkable!

1 - Eye Shots. Yes, we know how beautiful and liquid a horses eye is. We know how they can reflect the landscape if shot just right. We know that they are the "windows to the soul". We have even seen more than enough shots with that as the title.

2 - Mare and Foal Shots also grouped with Foal in Field of Flowers - The "awww" factor aside, I have rarely seen one that is truly more than cute. And cute - a fine art photo does not make.

3 - Cowboy Silhouette with Sunset - I can hear the theme song to Bonanza in my head....but I have rarely if ever thought "art" when seeing one of these.

The newest addition to the cliche category comes right from the headlines. And I am wholly supportive of all of the wonderful photographers who are using their images to influence the anti-Wild horse roundup efforts. But......

4 - Wild Horses Running Free or Wild Stallions Fighting or the ubiquitous Wild Horse with Blowing Mane shot does not automatically make it a Fine Art image! Good politics aside......you must learn to separate the surface emotion enough from a photograph to understand if it makes for a shot that can stand on it's own without the sentiment of politics. Fierce Grace by Tony Stromberg and many of the shots by Dutesco do....but very few that have been done since. They make for beautiful and important photographs, but they are not art.

Any subject that gets over done, loses it's impact and becomes a huge challenge to those trying to create art from it. That does not mean that it is not possible to do. But it does mean that very, very few will be able to do it in a unique enough way to capture the attention of the savvy Fine Art viewer.

Oh and by the way....my own close-up body shots are getting to cliche status now too with the incredible number of photographers now doing their own version of them. So as you might expect....my own work will have to evolve now. Time to go beyond the cliche and explore the unknown. Who will join me?

Juliet (and my photo above, does not make the cut either. It is just another nice eye shot.)

Holiday Wishes and New Year's Cheer

2010-12-23T11:56:00.005-05:00

A Light Dusting

May your Holiday season be filled with warmth and joy.

For me, it will be strange this year. My son is far from home and I am trying to figure out what the Holiday’s are all about without a kid in the house. So the decorating is down to a minimum and the meals will be a bit more simple. But I have to admit that with him not here this fall and winter, I have been getting a lot done!

The Track Life in Saratoga Springs book has been so very well received. I only have 7 more copies left that qualify for the bonus signed Limited Edition giclee print. So let me know as soon as possible if you are still hoping to order one of those. And you can still see the preview of the book here - http://www.blurb.com/books/1723125 . Thanks to how well the book has done, with reviews and the press, there may be more Thoroughbred racing images coming on new projects in the future. Stay tuned.

I have made some changes on my website. So take a look. There is a new gallery up for the ordering of giclee prints from images that I have not worked with yet in the darkroom. These will be printed from scanned negatives and are archival open editions. Many sizes are available for you to choose from. http://julietrharrison.fineartstudioonline.com/collections/33992 I have listed the price for an image of about 8 ½” x 13” on 11x14” paper to give you an example of how the prices run for these. As always, any image on my website can be ordered as a giclee print. Just let me know a relative size you are thinking of and I can get you a price. Giclee prints need a bit of a lead time to fill the order. Many more images will be added in the next month as I keep scanning from all that I shot this past year. Dresage images are next.

Take a bit of time and read this fantastic review of my work by Cali Tatum. I was so honored that she wrote this wonderful piece. http://julietrharrison.fineartstudioonline.com/other2

Lastly, you may notice many images have disappeared from the main galleries on my website. I have moved a number of them into the “Archived” section of the image galleries. Every one of these images will be available only in limited numbers. I will not expect to continue printing them. So I am offering a 50% discount on the stated price on all of them. Once the already printed quantities of them are sold, I will be deleting them from the site. To redeem your discount, either use the purchase now button and I will refund the difference. Be sure to put “archived” in the note. Or you can contact me directly and I will send you an invoice with the discounted price. Just put “archived” in your note. These prints are not available as lay-a-way. http://julietrharrison.fineartstudioonline.com/works To see the archived work, scroll to the bottom of the page.

Stay warm and stay safe. Best Wishes to all my Family, Friends and Fans!

Juliet
http://julietrharrison.fineartstudioonline.com/

Juliet Harrison's images - A Passion to Print

2010-12-16T13:48:00.001-05:00

Juliet’s Images: A PASSION TO PRINT
Traditional photographs, is there a difference? You bet your grain there is.

While most photographers are abandoning traditional film and silver print photography, Juliet Harrison embraces the nearly extinct ritual of photographing and printing images in a dark room, one by one. Some call her a purist; some think she will cave in to the more daylight ways of drawing images on surfaces without the use of silver. I just think she has the eyes to see that these treasured images are the difference between paint by numbers and a true masterpiece. Yes Virginia, there is a difference. And the work, time and effort is worth it.
Traditional black & white photography happens when light hits the emulsion of film within the camera. The photographer can control the speed at which the light smacks against the chosen speed of the film to capture an image that is more connected to their own expression of information. For fine art photography, every grain of silver counts. Yes, there’s silver in them their prints. As digital images clog up the internet by the zillions, one photographer does it the old fashion way, with 35mm film and hand exposed silver prints one by one. Exposed film or latent images are taken from the camera in a darkroom, then some of the silver is washed away by using chemicals, then the film is placed in an enlarger. Light is pushed through the grains of the film and exposes silver on special photographic paper. The light exposed image comes to life when soaked in a variety of trays. All the wile the photographer holds, rubs and coddles the image to exactly the right contrast of light, dark and every tone in between.
The only similarity between digital imaging and photography is, they both use something that looks like a camera. Digital is more like a drawing done with an electronic tool and less like real photography.
Harrison has chosen to express her love of equine by expressing her images in the best possible way. She knows the feeling of stepping into her canvas with a pocket of unexposed film and clicking the shutter which is more of an extension of her imagination than a camera. B&W photography in particular acts like an x-ray to the soul and not a reflection of color. The level of intimacy displayed in Harrison's images is so passionate, I nearly feel like a voyeur as I view her work. Her work reminds me of the great Dorothea Lange who said, “While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see.” Harrison just gets it.

By Cali Tatum

Great exposure for the Track Life book

2010-12-12T09:55:00.003-05:00

I have had the wonderful opportunity to have others talk about the Track Life book on their blogs.

From fellow artist - Ruth Andre on her A Painting Day blog - http://apaintingday.blogspot.com/2010/12/friends-book-track-life.html

From the Albany Times Union newspaper's Saratoga Seen blog - http://blog.timesunion.com/saratogaseen/track-life-a-new-book-of-horse-photographs/7301/

And from The Second Race, an ex-racehorse rescue that I am helping with a portion of my profits from the sale of the book - http://thesecondrace.blogspot.com/2010/12/ahhh-feels-like-home-photographs-in.html

I will be splitting the donated portion between The Second Race and LOPETexas, another ex-racehorse rescue.

Juliet

Track Life - in Saratoga Springs

2010-11-12T18:19:00.004-05:00

Here is the preview of "Track Life in Saratoga Springs". http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1723125 Purchase directly from me before Jan. 1st and if you are one of the first 30 orders, you will receive one of 40 limited edition signed giclee prints of the following image.

After the first 30 copies of the book are sold, a percentage of the profits of each subsequent copy sold will be donated to LOPEtexas http://www.lopetx.org/ and TheSecondRace http://www.thesecondrace.com/ These two wonderful organizations help ex-racehorses find second careers and new owners. These horses give their hearts to run for us and it is a small thing we can do to give them a chance when they are done.

Juliet

Track Life - in Saratoga Springs

2010-11-06T12:13:00.005-04:00

ANNOUNCEMENT - I am now taking preorders for Track Life in Saratoga Springs. The book cost is $75.00 plus shipping (about $10.00 in the Continental US) The first 30 prepaid preorders will receive a limited edition (one of only 40) 5x7 signed giclee print of an image from the book. I will post the book preview once I have gotten the proof back and have made whatever adjustments I need to on it. The book is 8x10" hardcover with 60 pages full of b&w photos. Contact me if you are interested. Payment can be made with personal checks, MO or paypal.

Track Life - book under construction

2010-10-28T09:00:00.007-04:00

Just a sneak peek to wet your appetite. These images and many more will be gracing the pages of my new book. I am expecting to have it ready for preorders in about two weeks. So sales will be geared for the holidays. The working title is "Track Life". And the images are all B&W from several years of photographing at the Saratoga Springs, New York thoroughbred racetrack.

Leave a comment here if you want to be notified when the book is ready for ordering. Preorders before the holidays will come with a bonus signed small giclee print.

Juliet

( juliet@julietrharrisonphotography.com )

The Busy Week of a Self-Employed Artist

2010-10-26T10:37:00.004-04:00

I have to admit, I thought when I sent my 16 year old son off to Italy for the year, I would have lots of days where I would sleep in and maybe even do noting much for the day. But that has not happened yet. This week is packed full.

First a recap from last week. I had a great day on Thursday when I went up to North Adams, Mass. with a good friend and fellow artist, Nadine Robbins ( http://www.nadinerobbinsportraits.com/ ). We went up to see an exhibit of photographs by Leonard Nimoy at Mass MoCA and to hear a talk that he was going to give. It is a long drive there from here, and the weather was not the best, but we talked and talked and talked so much that it felt like no time at all. Unfortunately, I have to say that the exhibit was disappointing. I expected more depth to the imagery. And Mr. Nimoy was sick that evening and so the lecture was cancelled. But the day was wonderful anyway due to spending it with Nadine.

Last Saturday I spent in Millerton, New York at the fun Fall For Art festival that they had. Met some wonderful people and got some great feedback on my work. I have 8 piece hanging in Kate Carty http://www.katecarty.com/ and the work will be up through the holidays.

This week I am primarily spending doing data entry and fielding questions for Ex Arte Equinus 4. http://www.arthorsemagazine.com/art_competition.html Being the show director for the competition keep me hopping during this time. Deadline for entries is Oct. 31st, and then I will be sending everything off to the jurors. So if you are planning on entering....get it done before you miss the deadline.

Along with the Ex Arte work that I am doing, I have finally settled in to do the scanning that I need to finally create my Track book. I want to have it done and ready to sell for the holidays. It will contain images from the time I have spent at the Saratoga Springs, New York racetrack the past 4 years. I will make an announcement here in the next few weeks so you will know when it is ready for orders. Stay tuned.

Thursday this week, I am headed on a long one day road trip to take my work over to Cazenovia, New York. 8 pieces will be on exhibit in the Le Cheval: the horse equine art show at the Cazenovia College Art Gallery ( http://www.cazenovia.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=1016&ctl=Details&mid=2320&itemID=3798 ). Two additional pieces will be showing at the I Love New York Horses show that will be hung on the grounds of the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament. http://www.syracuseinvitational.com/ConventionCenter/ArtShow/tabid/1521/Default.aspx

So you can see...there is no time to sit back and get lazy. Oh well. Such is the price for being an artist! And maybe next week I will get some raking done. Or not....!

Fall For Art - A Weekend in the Country

2010-10-18T19:03:00.005-04:00

If you are planning on being in the Hudson Valley for this coming weekend....Plan to head over to Millerton, New York on Saturday or Sunday. Right on the Connecticut border in the heart of fall foliage. The whole town will be filled with beautiful artwork. Each and every Main St. business will feature a different artist on their walls and most will be there to meet the public as well. I will have work in Kate Carty on the corner of Route's 22 and 44. And I hope to be at the store on Saturday to meet the public as well. Hope to see you there!

Equine Showcase at the Cazenovia College Art Gallery

2010-10-15T21:25:00.004-04:00

Glacial Edge

I will be exhibiting 8 of my original photographs at the Equine Showcase at the Cazenovia College art gallery in Cazenovia, New York. It opens November 4th with a reception that evening and runs through December 9th. http://www.cazenovia.edu/default.aspx?tabid=556 This exhibit is being held in conjunction with the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament. http://www.syracuseinvitational.com/aboutus/SyracuseInvitationalIs/tabid/622/Default.aspx

WindSwept

Ex Arte Equinus 4 - International Equine Art show/competition

2010-10-11T14:13:00.002-04:00

Only 20 days left to enter Ex Arte Equinus 4, the International Equine Art show/competition sponsored by Art Horse Magazine. As some of you know, I am the show director. Take a look and consider entering your work! http://www.arthorsemagazine.com/art_competition.html

Never Able To Catch Up

2010-10-08T07:54:00.005-04:00

I have been remiss. I have been busy. I have been lazy, no.....I have been......working on my house and organizing my life. My son left for his year in Italy , the beginning of September. Exactly a month ago today. He is doing his junior year of High School as a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Milan. And I have been catching up on all sorts of things that I have been needing to do. Some around the house, like finally clearing out some of his toys. He is 16 and in Europe after all. And trying to clean out some of my stuff too. Along with that...I spent a week filing negatives that had been shot over the past year, but never tucked into negative sleeves and numbered. 100 rolls of film in one year. That does not sound like a lot to digital shooters who do that many shots at one event. But film shooter know that is a great deal of work.

And now I find I am in a time or reassessment. It feels like time to put the marketing push on hold, with the economy so bad, and to put more time into just creating. time for the work to evolve. I am very happy with the work I did this past year. And I need to see where it all takes me. October and November are dedicated to my position as Show director of Ex Arte Equinus, the International Equine Art competition and show that is sponsored by Art Horse Magazine. I am also working on an article that will be published in the next issue of the magazine. (http://www.arthorsemagazine.com). I will be putting together a new book of images from my time at the Saratoga Springs racetrack.

So while I get my home and career in order.....enjoy this new image.

Breathing Velvet

Trial by Social Media & A Resolution - Of Sorts

2010-09-02T15:47:00.006-04:00

What a week it has been. In the midst of a trip to Ohio to see my husbands family, I was made aware that an image of mine was illegally entered into an amateur photo contest last year. And it had, in fact placed second and so was posted on the contest sponsors website. I was immediately infuriated. What nerve of someone to not only swipe my photo...but to enter it in an International contest as their own. You have to be pretty ballsy to do something like that.

My first action was to notify the sponsoring company, Dover Saddlery. I sent an email to customer service, as there was no contact info on the actual photo contest page. And then the next day, I called customer service and told them my issue. They immediately put me in touch with the head of PR for the company. I explained the problem. She was quite sympathetic and believed me that it was my image. I was not completely unknown to her through my own dealings with the Ex Arte Equinus art competition that I am the director of. That gave me a bit more credibility I am sure. She said that she would contact the offender.

Meanwhile, since the original notice about this was posted on Facebook....conversation about it became heated. I have never known such wonderful support from my fellow artists, photographers and horse friends. I had to leave the next day for our trip to Ohio, so I expected to hear from the woman at Dover soon via email. By the time we returned, several days later...there was still no word from Dover and my image was still on the website. Still with the wrong attribution.

At this point I was really angry and started planning meetings with lawyers. I could not make a case against the submitter, because I did not have his contact information. I was beholden to Dover to supply that to me. Lots more conversation on Facebook ensued. And the thing went viral, with my supporters posted in Dover's FB wall and emailling them directly. Soon we discovered more work by other pros that was illegally entered!

I was not sure what my next step would be, but it seemed that my only target would be Dover, since they had not seemed to respond to my concern. Finally, a week after my initial contact with them, Dover changed the attribution of my image on their website at least. But that was not what I wanted. I wanted the image removed, as I would not have entered one of my images in a contest for amateurs. And note in it's place saying that it had been removed due to investigation of copyright infringement, would have been appropriate.

A day after it was changed, I finally spoke again to the PR person at Dover. She said that she had sent 3 emails to the perpetrator. Two phone calls were made, where she had spoken to his girlfriend. But he still had not responded. Her next step was going to be to send him a certified letter. I told her that I was unhappy that she had not kept me more informed and that the image was still on the site. Truthfully, I don't think that the people at Dover understood how serious an issue this is and how strongly we photographers would object to seeing our images stolen like this. That, I think was their first mistake. Although they are not responsible for the copyright infringement....they needed to respond immediately to deal with it. And I understand that she was giving him an opportunity to respond to them and to me...But the image should have been removed right away and information shared with me as she went along.

So here is the resolution....

A few hours after she finally got in touch with me...she received an email from Pascal Cantin of Montreal, saying that his sister had entered the image, thinking that she was doing something nice for him, assuming that all the images on his computer were his. And that he did not know. She forwarded to me. Now, let me explain something...he received an email last year telling him that the image won 2nd place and he received a $25.00 gift certificate from Dover. I am assuming that the "sister" used the GC??? And did not tell him that he won??? I don't believe it for a minute. and what was he doing capturing my image and keeping it in his computer anyway??? So he has apologized to Dover....But Not To Me!

You may wonder why I am not immediately suing the pants off him. Well, he is in Canada and I am here in the US. So we are talking about intellectual property agreements made between the two countries. And for what I might get from suing him...I would have to pay out a whole lot to a lawyer just to investigate the International laws. I will compose and send a nasty email to him. I can do that, because thanks to the wonderfully subtle way she did it....by forwarding his email to me...I now have his contact information! But for now....I am taking a break from the hoopla. And I hope that the people at Dover have learned how important this is and how a speedy response on their part would have saved them a whole lot of social media pressure. This was an amazing test of "Trial By Social Media".

But if there are any copyright lawyers out there who want to pursue this to a higher level and work with me on some International intellectual property rights and the internet legislation??? Let me know. I am open to talking lots more about this.

Juliet

Just a Peek....

2010-09-02T15:39:00.003-04:00

Here are a few B&W images from Saratoga. Many more proofs to come.

Summer, Past!

2010-09-02T08:27:00.008-04:00

I know that I have been away from blogging for quite a while now. And I apologize for neglecting it. This summer turned into a time of family focus for me. For those who don't know, I have a pretty active and involved 16 year old son. And he plays drums for competition bagpipe bands. This summer saw us all over the US and then in Ireland and Scotland for the World Pipeband Championships. A 12 day trip of competitions, practices and a couple of hours here and there for sightseeing.

(here is the band entering the competition arena and if you look above the band, you can see Jax featured on the jumbotron screen as broadcast by the BBC)

As soon as we returned home from the trip my time was absorbed by efforts to ready that same wonderful child for his soon to happen, 10 month sojourn in Milan, Italy as a Rotary Youth Exchange student. He leaves here on this coming Tuesday.

So you can see, that not much time has been spent as an artist this summer. And now that the summer draws to a close....I will spend some time trying to catch up and to catch my blog up as well. Because, although it was not an active art summer...there were definintly things to report about. Like trips to the track in Saratoga and legal battles with image stealers. So, stay tuned for more to come.

Juliet

2 Weeks Late

2010-08-02T09:50:00.005-04:00

I can't believe I let two weeks go by without a post. I appologize to those of you who tend to hold their breaths, waiting for my next post. Did you give up on me?

I have to admit that this is my busiest time of the year. Mostly because of my son and his Pipeband competitions. Summer is pipeband season. You may remember that Jax is a tenor drummer in the top pipeband in the US, the Oran Mor Pipe Band. And a snare drummer in a youth band. Every weekend in the summer he is either at a competition or at practice. All culminating in competing in the World Pipeband Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in mid August. Which is...looming on the horizon. We leave for Ireland on Thursday. They compete outside of Belfast on Sat. We move on to Glasgow next Wed for them to compete at the World's the following Sat. So as you can imagine, I am in packing mode.

I always struggle with figuring out what camera to travel with. I will be taking my film body and lenses with lots of B&W film. And I recently got a little Nikon Coolpix which will serve as my color snapshot camera. It also takes video, which will be perfect for the competitions.

In the mean time...I have survived the heat that pounded the Northeast through July. Stayed indoors as much as I could. But least week I went on my yearly visit to Saratoga for the races. This was the 4th year that I have gone up and met with painter and Thoroughbred person, Linda Shantz ( http://www.lindashantz.com/) . We have such a great time when we go. Painter and former pony girl (track term) Sharon Simmons-Passmore joined us this time. We were able to get in and photograph in the the saddling paddock. And for the first time, thanks to Sharon, we got backstretch passes and wandered around with our cameras during the morning activities. Went over to Oklahoma and the yearling sales as well. My film is at the lab so you will have to wait to see what I got. Thsi years trip was culminated with the opening reception at Terry Lindssy's Equidae Gallery ( http://www.equidae.com/saratoga/index.html). As always...the work there was WONDERFUL. Terry has 8 of my photographs hanging this year. One of the most wonderful things about the reception is the opportunity to meet with the other artists that show up. This year included Sharon Crute, Susan Dorazio, Ann Wolfe, Werner Rentsch and Anthony Alonso.

If I get a chance to scan more of the negatives from the NE Welsh Pony Association show I will post them here before I head over the ocean. If not....I hope you all have a wonderful next two weeks. And I will post again after I get back August 16th.

Cheers!

Juliet

Donating

2010-07-13T14:55:00.002-04:00

Auryn

One more quick note this week....in honor of what we were able to do for Baylie - I have decided to donate $100.00 from every sale of any Limited Edition Silver print from my website to either care for Baylie or to contribute to bail for another horse. It is one more way that I can give back to the horses.

To see the work on my website, including the recently added images in the Fresh From the Darkroom gallery, just click on this link. http://julietrharrison.fineartstudioonline.com/

Rescuing Horses

2010-07-13T11:21:00.007-04:00

photo by Sue Steiner

This is not my normal blog about making art and this past weekend was spent in what is not a normal activity for me. I was part of a horse rescue.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the issue of horse slaughter and the transportation of these horses to the slaughter houses in Mexico and Canada. At this point in time there are no slaughter houses in the US that kill horses. It is a state by state ban at this point and there is a bill before the US Congress to make the ban a Federal law. I really don't want to get involved in the politics of the issue. You might be surprised by what I might have to say. Suffice to say that we Americans ship quite a large number of horses to these slaughter houses outside the US. And where we have regulations in place for the humane care for the animals that are killed for human consumption here in the US...there are no such controls once the animals leave our borders. And the transportation of the horses within the US is not monitored, so they are shipped days without food or water, crammed into stock trailers where they are frightened, fighting and miserable. Not right for these animals that we have breed merely to serve our whims. And let's face it, they are not bred or kept as livestock for human consumption. So the USDA regs for beef cattle are not in place. So the horse meat from the US that does eventually end up on the tables of Europe and Asia...is chock full of steroids, anti-inflammatory meds and antibiotics. I wouldn't want to eat that! But that is all I am going to say on the issue, because for me it is really about our propensity for money grubbing overbreeding and the high cost of humane euthanasia in this climate of extreme financial tragedies. If you would like to read more about these issues, you should read the article Dark Horses in the current issue of Orion Magazine. And take a look at the website for the Unwanted Horses Coalition - http://www.unwantedhorsecoalition.org/

But this story is really about, Baylie. One of the things that I watch on Facebook, is a page for horses that are owned by a kill broker in Pennsylvania. The kill broker is the guy that buys horses for next to nothing at auction and if he is unable to sell them to private groups or rescues within a few days, he trucks them to Mexico and Canada to resell them for $/pound at the slaughter houses. This particular page was put together by a group of horse lovers and rescues that go weekly to this guys barn...they work and video tape there horses there each week. then they post a less than 2 min. video the page, still photos and as much information as they can get on the animal. They try to determine it's age from the teeth and it's general use for riding, breeding, working, etc. The information is minimal to say the least. But it is the best they can do with what they have. They also post the cost to get that horse bailed out of the kill pen. And each week, these people have, with herculean efforts, rescued a huge number of horses. What happens is an amazing coordination between those who have room to home the horses, and those with some fund to offer, however minimal, to help raise funds to bail and transport the horses.

So to get to Baylie. Just over two weeks ago, I spotted 4 horses on the broker owned list that I thought were remarkable...they were each good, straight legged, well broke using horses. All of a size and type that I would love. Now, I can in no way take on ownership of another horse. But what I did was to repost their information on my facebook wall so that the friends and fans that I have could see them too. You never know. Very quickly 3 of the 4 were bailed and had new homes offered. The last was a Bay Roan Morgan type horse. 4-5 years old that reported rode nice and drove. I decided that since he was slow to find a home, I would donate $100.00 to his bail and I did so. By the deadline I saw that he was completely bailed and happily thought that all 4 were heading to new homes.

This week, when I started looking at the posting of new horses....I noticed to my horror that this one horse was in the kill pen. What it looks like happened is that a woman offered to purchase 11 horses from his week. She "paid" for them through Paypal. But what she did was use a prepaid credit card, which is not ok with Paypal...so the refunded all the money back to her. To me...it sounds like a new kind of scam. But this time it left 11 horses destined again for the slaughter houses. And one of those the lovely young Bay Roan gelding. I was horrified. I immediately posted about him everywhere I could. Telling everyone I could think of. And up popped my friend and fellow equine artist, Sue Steiner. http://www.suesteiner.com/ Sue had already taken in 4 horses from out of this same kill brokers pen in the past year. and she offered the cost for transport and her home to take the Roan. I decided that, although I sent is $100.00 the previous week, that money was used to bail out another horse since it seemed he had a home then....I would offer another $250.00 towards his perminant bail. but that was only going to take care of less then 1/2 of what we needed. So I again...put out the call on Facebook and twitter to all my friends to see if any could help. I hate doing that. It is not at all my style to fundraise for causes. It is not that I don't believe in it. It is more that I don't believe in imposing my concept of what is important on others. We all have places we donate our time and money. doing so is an individual choice. But my uncomfortable efforts paid off. I am honored to say that my friends donated....small amounts that added up and one, Pamela Koo http://twitter.com/thepamkoo went above and beyond in putting us over the top and allowing us to bail him completely.

Baylie, as he is now called (Sue let me name him) arrived at his new home in the middle of last night. He will get to be a horse for a few days before Sue evaluates him for temperament and riding.

I am so proud to have been able to be the impetus for getting this one lovely horse to safety. I am humbled by the response from all my friends and fans. And I am sold on the power of social networking in a way I never expected. We all hope he has a long and happy life. I don't think I will ever be able to do this again. And I have issues with the whole process from overbreeding in the US to some of the practices of some of the rescue organizations. But for this one horse......my heart is full!

Juliet

Love Our Local Landscapes at the Gazen Gallery

2010-07-12T14:07:00.001-04:00

My Rhapsody in White and Frozen photographs are in the show.