~Speiser Studio~ The Art of Lora Speiser

Beautiful Batik!

2010-04-05T16:16:00.001-05:00

I just spoke on the phone with the wonderful artist that painted the most amazing Batik piece I have ever seen!

I am so in love with this piece painted by Dikki Van Helsland: This is a FaceBook link to Horse Scents for Cents Rescue FB page photo HERE

I had searched all over to see if I could buy a print of this piece and I could not find any information, until I found some general text on Google with a phone number saying ask for Seis... When the other end answered, I asked for Seis... The lady didn't know anyone by that name. I told her who I was looking for and ..it was her! LOL I just started giggling like a child and I know my face turned red :)

Dikki Van Helsland, is a lovely lady and wonderful to chat with! I did not expect for *her to answer the phone. She has an amazing talent and I can't wait to see more of her work! I will be ordering a print of this painting as soon as I can! It will be 12x12 inches printed area, and I will be framing it myself. I think I will be making my own frame and maybe sculpting some decoration on it :)

Highlight of my day! Now I will have a beautiful piece of her artwork to grace my new living room walls after all the repairs.

Almost Done!

2010-04-03T20:01:00.001-05:00

Yay! Our house is almost done! I can't wait to get back home permanently!
All that is left is to do is to put the final coat on the ceiling and paint it, then to install my new beautiful carpet! I will then be working my butt off on horses! I want to at least have one piece available before BreyerFest, so the owner can show it there. This particular piece has been in progress for a long time, so I will be happy to release it for auction. There have been some really lovely customs lately too! A gorgeous Friesian by Tiffany Purdy, another gorgeous Friesian by Sue Kern, and that beautiful QH by Jen Read-Burton (Unicorn Farms). There are a lot more out there too! Tara Louiselle is really coming along in her finish work and putting out some nice pieces, Karenetta Smith is progressing really well, and so many others! Also, if you need dog props or portraits of your best furry friend, Karla Zdroik is who to go to for awesome Dog sculptures, my goodness! I love to watch people getting better and better :)
I can't wait to see Gail Aspinwall's new one....Custom Araloosa resculpt by LerMond...oh my! I also want so badly to get a hold of Sarah Minkie's new Haffies!!! Talk about beautiful pieces! I would be overjoyed to paint a set for someone, if they do not have an artist picked out yet...hint, hint... :D I am going to try to buy a set, but the house fire has set us back so much, I am not sure if that is going to be possible.

Anyway, I will be writing more later :) Have a Great Easter!

Ahhh...The Soapmaker's Gauntlet by Lora Speiser

2010-01-10T00:24:00.010-06:00

(4-3-2010 Blog is opened back up to public)
I am sorry for having to make this a Private Blog now, but I am still being stalked and harassed. If you are reading this, you have been put on my safe list here.
The funny thing is...that the uninvited trolls can only read this for up to 30 days :) Then they will not be able to see anything because you have to be invited by me personally to read my blog :) Or maybe I should tell them about the million bar batch of soap I made last night...and...

A very crappy new year start for me.
Kind of long, but it explains what is going on right now.

I will warn anyone new to making home made soap, it is a wonderful and addicting experience, and if you are lucky, your soap will turn out well the first time like mine did. However, apparently it is a horrible, horrible thing, to be happy and excited about this as I have been told recently in a horrid forum.
I have a knack for things to come out well the first time, because I research things and I love to learn. I was happy and excited that I made my own soap! I am a terrible person for this...and um....they also told me that I came in on my high horse and I think I know everything because I made a batch of soap....that is not even a drop in the bucket of bashing I received for posting a photo of my amateur but pretty soap bars. Sounds pretty stupid doesn't it? Just wait...

Do Not join in any forum until you see what kind of people are in there....And, Be Careful in trusting your so-called "Friend" that you haven't seen in a lot of years too.
See, she will tell you the site to go to for beginners, and then accuse you in public of being slick and sweet talking to get information from her. She will pretend to "know" exactly what she is doing when making soap, even though she, herself, has not been making it for very long either! (as I found out later) It seems quite strange, that I am writing about this, but I have to let people know what is going on....and I mean the Truth, not the lies and crap that is being spread to dirty my good name.

We all know there are thousands and thousands of lovely people that make home made soaps. I have wanted to make my own for about a year or so since I had found some beautiful soaps on a handmade crafts sales site. I thought it would be really neat to know how to make it and what was involved. I had read a little bit about it and then it kind of slipped from my mind until November of 2009. So, I read here and there little by little, and then really read as much as I could for a couple weeks before I made my first batch. ...in the mean time...

I had found one of my childhood friends on Facebook and I added her to my 'friends'. We chatted on the phone and among many things we talked about, she brought up the fact that she makes home made soap. I was thrilled to find that she made soap and I wanted to order some from her. Instead, she told me she would send me some samples to see which I liked... We talked about some of the process and she explained a few things about the long curing times and things, and she told me to go to the Miller Soap site to learn about it, and that the site was good for beginners. I was really interested because I love anything crafty and gaining knowledge about being more self sufficient at the same time, I love to learn! So, I ordered a couple books on soap making and also read all kinds of information on the internet while waiting on her samples....a couple weeks went by until I received the samples in my mailbox.

Now, keep in mind here, I had never in my life seen in hand, nor ever smelled, a bar of home made soap...so I had no idea what to expect after reading all the things about how it is so much better. Well, I could smell her soap through the padded envelope! Not strong at the time, but I could smell it. (I can also walk by bathroom towels and smell if they are mildewed too...another story) anyway...I was sooo excited, I had a friend that made lovely soaps and I could not wait to open that package! When I opened it, the smell was really strong...and I am not talking a nice fragrance either, I am talking about a very strong soap smell...as strong as Zest or Coast or something, but not those scents. This smells almost chemical! It didn't smell bad, just very ..well...soapy! Each little sample was in a clear baggie and labeled with the scent and her business information etc.

I opened the "Peppermint" one first, and I could barely, I mean just barely, smell the mint. The same with the other scents...only light hints of scents because the other smell was way overpowering. So, I thought "Ok, this is what home made soap is supposed to smell like. Ok then.". I decided to wash my hands with it and try it out, so I took the goatmilk sample out and washed my hands with it. It lathered pretty nice, felt smooth, and seemed to be a nice soap... Now, since they all smelled the same(even though they are different scents)I just kind of molded them all together into one small bar with a bit of water and squeezing them together in my hands really tight.(all except the Patchouli ones, because I cannot stand that stuff...yuck. I gave those samples away)

I called her up and talked for a bit with her, and I asked her four times if I could buy two bars of soap from her, to let me know the total with shipping and I would paypal it to her. Each time she avoided my question, saying she didn't know what the shipping would be or some other crap changing the subject. So, I stopped asking about it since it seemed she did not want to sell it to me.
I had not used her soap except to try it out that one time until I talked to her that day. Since she apparently was not interested in selling any to me, I put the little bar made of samples on my kitchen sink to use and I then ordered some from a lovely lady on Ebay. I had been using my "friend's" soap for a few days, and my hands broke out in tiny red bumps that looked like a light rash or cracked sunburn and it itched a little, and they stung when I would put lotion on. I thought I just had dry skin... but when I stopped using her soap, the rash went away...hmmmmmm. Thank God I did not use it on my face or I might have gotten one of those painful chemical peels that ladies pay a lot of money for!

I made my batch, and it turned out beautiful for my first time! ..and mine had no smell either...just a little bit of a cream scent from the oatmeal and honey and goat milk. I didn't use any fragrance at all in mine.

I received the soap from the lovely Ebay lady and they are the most wonderful soaps I have ever smelled in my life! OMG, they were so delicious smelling, I just wanted to eat them! These soaps have absolutely no soapy smell to them at all! I could smell the wonderful scented essential oils and fragrance oils, but no chemical type soap smell...so now I was kind of puzzled since the two people's soaps smelled completely different.

I decided to look for information on this, so I found a forum for soap makers. I looked around in it read a few things and then joined. There are quite a few members there, but not much activity. So, I looked for more forums and found one that was very active with tons of members. The thing I should have listened to my gut about is, You had to join it to even be able to see what the forum was like. Big mistake!

In my opinion and experiences, Do not join any forum in which you are not allowed to look around in before joining it. Now I know why it is all locked. Rudeness, harassment, nastiness, personal attacks and defamation of character are condoned and even encouraged in that forum. I was repeatedly ripped apart by 6 or 7 different people in there because I posted a photo of my first soap, and I was happy and excited that it turned out well. Sadly, One of these people, was my so-called "friend". I was even told in big bold letters, that newbies "are.not.welcome.here." and also asked me if I knew how many other people they had done this to!

This and much worse went on for several pages, I do mean several. They asked me to post my recipe, so I did...one girl said that some of them would be calculating my recipe... well, I am not stupid, I had run it through 3 different calculators before making my soap to check it thoroughly. Of course, they could not say anything about it because it was right. So, that peed them off even worse because they couldn't say anything bad about it! None of them could keep up with intelligent conversation one on one, so all of them jumped on me at once picking every thing I said apart...and even made up things I didn't even say! LOL! I tried and tried to get them to at least comprehend what I kept quoting over and over, but you can't reason with a box of rocks I guess. No mods stepped in, the board owner didn't say a word to them. They just let it continue on until I was scared to open my email anymore. I had to go in and change it so I would not keep getting nasty messages.
This is the most rude, nasty, and UNPROFESSIONAL forum I have ever seen. They told me that one soap maker represents all other soap makers... No, I think not. I would never be considered one of them. I would not buy soap from anyone that continues to have anything to do with this place, ever. I would never, ever tolerate people like this in any forum I owned.
I was told to save the thread file for legal reasons after I made my last post asking nicely for them to stop posting in the thread to keep it alive, to smear my name more and more. Now, these ..um...women...yeah, that is a really nice word for them....even went as far as to stalk me outside this forum.

Now, what are these...um...women afraid of? With thousands of other people making soap, are they afraid I was going to try and take their business away from them or something? Give me a break! There is no excuse for me or anyone else being treated that way, none. I stated that I had no intention of starting a soap business, I was just going to mainly make it for family and for gifts. I would love to see them start acting like that in the Blab! LMAO! They wouldn't get even 1/4 as far. So, that is what is going on to start my new year off.

I am sickened by the rudeness and just petty childish crap that people dish out and think they are really something. I answered every question I was asked, being calm and rational even though I was being harassed and bashed repeatedly. Not too easily done when you are being torn at by so many at once and it made me physically ill from my nerves.

Oh, and to you... April, good luck. I really feel sorry for you. It must be lonely where you are.

You know, If someone emails me and asks me questions about sculpting, or painting horses..I HELP them. I do not get paranoid that they are going to take my business away. There are many, many painters and sculptors that blow me out of the water. Do I feel threatened? No, I feel inspired to make myself do better, and I still help anyone that wants to ask me for help. I love to see people I have helped do better painting or win ribbons. I think it is awesome :)

I am very sorry to anyone that I have gotten things out to late, or emails I didn't reply to quickly. I will hopefully be better now and I hope everyone has a great new year!

Lora Speiser
Hugs to all my Real Friends, the ones that care and support me, I am very lucky to have you all.

2 Slots

2009-11-23T15:27:00.004-06:00

I have 2 Slots opening up, Book Now!
My finish work commission slots are extremely rare anymore, and I do not see any change in this in the future, so please visit my website Gallery for "Some" examples of my work. www.3dequine.com Although some pieces are newer, some are also older and I have really worked to improve my artwork. I really don't even like looking at my older pieces now LOL. Anyway, if there is a color in there that you like, just let me know :)
I can and will paint any color or pattern, and yes, the price is affected by what is chosen. On any Traditional size peice, nothing is below $650.00. That is the 'Start' price example only. This does not include the model or resin, prepping, or customizing. I do not prep anymore so you will need to have your piece prepped before sending to me. I use Heidie Reaves or Gina Hyatt.
I do take time payments on some pieces and I am sure we can work something out. please be sure to read and agree to my policies.
Thanks for reading!
Lora Speiser
paintedponyranch @ msn. com

OMG~~~I Just WON Paula Deen's "Honey" recipe contest!!!!!

2009-10-07T22:25:00.007-05:00

OMG OMG OMG!!! LOLOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bqAuQ00NJk
Here is the page and the video...My photo and name is at the end of the video and below the video in the text!

Woo hooo!

And...here is my dish I created for the contest...
Lora's Honey Peanut Butter Chicken Wraps served with my delicious Honey Orange Cornbread Poppers

Amazing-est Cinnimon Rolls ever!

2009-10-04T10:59:00.002-05:00

http://cookincanuck.blogspot.com/2009/05/amazing-cinnamon-rolls.html

Casting a Resin Medallion...

2009-08-20T08:41:00.003-05:00

I don't remember posting this! I made this about a year ago.
It does have sound to explain what I am doing in each step also. (Our son was 2 at the time, he is in the background singing abc's and counting...and saying other stuff....) Anyway, if you have any questions, I would be happy to try to help answer them :)
Lora

Ducks, Birthday Cake, and Mini Ravenhill...

2009-08-19T07:14:00.006-05:00

Well, I know it has been a while since I have done anything constructive. Yep. So I managed to finish up 3 of my last commission pieces this passed week!!! I could not believe it either... I feel a little weight lifted off the very top nerve of my head now, and I can continue to get the other few finished, cured and sent out to my clients.

In between all of last week, our son turned 3 years old (3YEARS!)OMG. He is completely obsessed with John Deere ...anything. It is to the point where I am thinking he will be one of three things when he grows up; a Farmer(with John Deere equipment of course), a Firefighter(he is also obsessed with Fire extinguishers), or a Construction worker(this kid can play in his big sandbox for hours...and I do mean Hours!)
He loved his birthday presents, which consisted of cars, trucks, CAT Dozers and Loaders, and of course John Deere Tractors and such. He did receive some more nice gifts too, but we could not pry these things from his being. My goodness, he gets cuter and smarter every day, i just cannot believe he is 3 years old now. Yeah, that means I will be 37 at the end of September too uuuugh! LOLOL...and Matt and I will be married for 3 years too. It seems like we have been together forever since our first little cells were developing, but we have only been together for about 5 years now. It is kind of scary to a lot of poeple how compatible and "Made for each other" we are. I absolutely love it really. I never have to guess, neither does he, and we always have fun, no matter what we are doing...and we share EVERYTHING, right down to the last bite of potato salad :) I love him so much. Mushy Mush I know...

As for our Ducks, they are like they early stage of velociraptors! They are hilarious! I mean, they even come and knock on the door when they are hungry! Scared the crap out of me and my friend Susan!
So, there we were... it was about 3:00 am and we were sitting in the studio, painting away...not saying much because we were concentrating and we hear...Knock Knock Knock!!! We both jumped out of our skin and she looked at me with the same stupid expression as I was looking at her, and she asked if there was someone out there. I said I didn't know and proceeded to go to the back door and check. When I looked out I did not see anyone, but I happened to look down, and there was Blondie, sitting there looking up at the window witha half cocked expression and she knocked again! I about peed my pants laughing so hard!
We have 6 ducks,a nd all of them have their own personality...very entertaining critters, you must get some!
Blondie is the one on the far left.

I also managed to finish a Mini Raven hill...who is at auction right now on Ebay :) 10% of my profit goes to Susan G. komen for the cure of Breast Cancer.
His starting bid is only 99 cents as usual :)
Here is his auctionSOLD
and a teaser photo :)

Newest Piece Finished for Sharon :)

2009-08-12T10:49:00.005-05:00

Sorry for such a long time between Blogging!!!
We have had a heck of a lot going on...still do...but now it should be a bit more calm...I hope Uuugh!
First of all I want to thank Sharon for being so patieint and wonderful. I have had this girl a long time, too long really :bow Thanks for not hunting me down an shooting me LOL.
Second, I want to also thank Stacey for sculpting such a beautiful horse for all of us artists to paint.

OK, On to the photos...Hope you all like her :)
Now I only have a few more commissions to finish up! yay!!! So, if you have one with me, please know it is being worked on and should be ready very soon :)
Lora

OMG! LOLOL

2009-06-07T03:17:00.000-05:00

You all have got to watch this!

Hello All!

2009-05-20T01:34:00.002-05:00

Wow...it has been almost a month since I have posted! I'm sorry about that. We have had some not so good things going on around here so I have been a total nut.

During the madness, I did manage to get Susan's pretty guy out to her(Finally), and she said she loves him. I am so thankful I can bring happiness to people in some way. Susan is one of those people that makes everything worth while. I have met some truly wonderful people through my artwork. Sometimes, it is those few people that keep me going.

I will post an update on my new guy soon, I have been fiddling with his back legs...I just cannot decide which way I like best yet LOL. He sure is going to be nice though! I am aiming for about a month or so for his release, as long as all goes well.

I will be taking one painting slot for later this year. It will be Artist Choice color only. Keep a watch for thta. I will be offering it up here soon :)
Have a great morning!

Sneak Peek Time!

2009-04-10T17:16:00.004-05:00

I just thought I would throw out a little peek at one resin that will be coming this spring.....
He will be hollow cast, Traditional Size ...and No Mini will be released of this sculpture, sorry.
Right now I have a ways to go on him, but he is looking really nice :) I am sculpting with Super Sculpey Firm over a wire armature. I will be posting the process photos after his release. I am not letting his name slip out yet...
I am still working on his pretty face, so I know you can see the tool marks and things. He will be all smooth and gorgeous in the end :)
Any Comments, Critiques, or Questions are welcomed :)

Anyway, enjoy :)
Lora

Things To Come...

2009-04-07T23:27:00.002-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know that I am on limited time for a bit here. So, If you have emailed me and I have not gotten back to you, I will be sending you a reply email tomorrow if I have not already done so.

I will possibly have one Breyer Custom up for sale before BreyerFest...So, if you might be interested in that, you may want to keep wtch for it. I am not telling what it is right now though LOL. I have not done a Custom Breyer in over a year and a half, I am thinking it is time for one. As most of you know, you are only allowed to show Breyers at BreyerFest...no Stones or Resins or anything else.... Last year, I made Tequilla Skye (a customized PS ISH) which went on to win Overall Champion in the Custom QH class at NAN. He was not able to show at BF because he was a Peter Stone model. This year I wanted to create something that could be shown at BF too.

I also have a couple small resins to come out this year and a Big Surprise too! Keep your eyes peeled!
~Lora

It's been a while...

2009-04-03T06:30:00.003-05:00

I am sorry for not posting anything in a long time! I have been extremelybusy with many things. Trying to get commissions done and sent out, working on my last few now...Here is what I have to get finished up...a Traditional Scarlett, Bogey, SM Drafter, Akhal Teke(I cannot decide a color to save my life), Traditional Stomper(on hold due to a very bad prepper issue), Delilah, and I think I forgot something right now. I have to go look at my board...Anyway...

I am also working on a couple new things...one is a SM Arabian, which has been INW for about 7 or 8 months now, A Miniature Horse Foal...has been ITW for a couple months, and a HUGE Surprise to come soon...Ya better save for this one...

Plus I have been dealing with banks since the beginning of February, trying to get our home loan straightened out...UUUUGH! This is driving me nuts. I have extremely little time to paint commissions since my Mom's 3rd Breast Cancer surgery March 4th. She used to be able to take Darrell home with her and Dad a couple days a week so I could work, but with the staged surgeries, she gets healed up and the next surgery is done so she has not been able to keep him for me. Matt's Mom takes him about 1 day every couple weeks, but I cannot hardly get anything done.
My Mom only has one more surgery and then she will be taking him again after she is healed.
We are going through the Potty Training thing, and I have no clue what I am doing LOL, I have never potty trained a little one before. I am glad Darrell is our only one! Plus, since we had Matt "Broken" we do not have to worry about any more little monsters! LOL.

OK, so that is what is going on with us here. I am just glad spring is here so I can start sculpting outside again soon.

Valentine Special...

2009-01-23T17:15:00.004-06:00

I absolutely love Valentines Day...I collect hearts and all the 'Love' decorations, photo frames etc that come out about now.....I am offering up 1 Decorator paint slot with a lovely theme. All choices as color or markings are mine. Your Model must be prepped before it comes to me. Total is to be paid in full before I start on your horse, and yes, you may make payments :) I will be able to start on this project in February or March. Right now I am working on getting everyone's horses all finished up and sent home! I only have a couple left to go now! Wooo hooo!

So, if you are interested in a Decorator with Love, Please email me and reserve your slot! I hardly ever do a fantasy colored model so this is a treat for us both! I look forward to hearing from you :) This slot is for Plastics or Resins, Stablemate size up to Classic Size only. (Will include Traditional Foals or Ponies since they are close in size)

Lora

paintedponyranch @ msn .com

Misconceptions about Oil Painting on Model Horses...

2009-01-13T20:57:00.003-06:00

I have received many, many questions about oil painting on models and resins so I thought I would write a small post about a couple things.

YES...you CAN paint Acrylics over Oils!!! I do it on almost every horse I paint. I have never had a reaction nor peeling or anything go wrong. You can also paint oils over acrylics....

NO...you do NOT have to have a colored base coat on your model. I do not use any color base coat, I paint directly on my white primer. Some artists do use an airbrushed base color though, and that is fine...but you do not have to.

NO...All oil painted pieces do not have brush strokes! Many Oil artists' horses are extremely smooth, with no brush strokes. One possibility is that you are using too much paint. I paint mine in many thin layers of color. This gives the horses coat a very deep and velvety appearance, and it lets the light into the layers so my horses just glow :)

Yes...Oils take a while to dry, usually 5 to 10 days, depending on how thick you paint each layer. Very thin layers should not take any more than 4 or 5 days, then you can continue with the next layer of color. If you are using a lot of Titanium white, it may take a bit longer.

If you have a question you would like to ask, please email me and I will try to help! I work in all mediums, so I might be able to help with most questions :)

In the Studio...

2009-01-12T15:55:00.008-06:00

I figured I had better put something art related in here LOL

These are some IP pics of a Lipizzan I am painting for one of my clients. He isn't far from being sent home now. This is a young lipizzan stallion greying out and in training performing the Caprole'. He is a sculpture named Unbridled Joy by Michelle Platt. He is painted by hand in many layers of color. I am strictly using oil paints on this guy, although his eyes will have some acrylic in them.
Enjoy the pics :) Don't mind my mess...

Christmas was Wonderful :)

2008-12-27T21:47:00.008-06:00

We had a great Christmas! Darrell was a blast to watch opening all his presents since he really knew how to tear into them this year. Matt and his friend, Kelly, had fun playing with Darrell's toys afterwards too LOL. Here is a pic of them all playing with the 6 foot racetrack in our living room. (2 Thirty two year old men playing with a racetrack was extremely entertaining LOL)

Then, Matt was digging in Darrell's toy box to find more cars...they were trying all of the Hotwheels to see which one was the fastest LOL.

Darrell had to also help daddy open his presents too LOL. He had opened about 20 or so of his own and he was not ready to stop! He kept asking for more presents to open LOL. He was just so sweet, and such a good boy..My God, he got so much loot this year from both Grandma's and Grandpa's, Aunts, Uncles and cousins...sheesh. I guess we need to go through his old toys now and give some away.

I got a beautiful Rifle and Scope from my Hubby and some good lovin too! LOL I am not posting any pictures of me right now...I need to lose at last half of my ass first! I will post my gun-porn later...Matt still has to get the mounting bracket for my scope. He tried to get it on ebay but ran out of time.

I hope everyone had a terrific Holiday full of Love and Happiness.
Hugs to you all :)
Lora

.•:¨¨:•.SUN GOD.•:¨¨:•. Indian Silver Resin

2008-11-15T23:22:00.010-06:00

For Sale $1,525.00 SOLD
Please click his photo to see more.

I have only seen a couple of these guys for sale, and there are very few castings out...I think only around 35 or so due to molding problems (according to Deb's site).

Sun God is a mixed media piece...Painted entirely by hand in oils, pastels, acrylics. I have given him a glowing golden bay coat with a velvet look. He is a solid cast resin with wire reinforced legs. I have sealed him in a satin finish to show off his glow and muscle detail. He looks much better in person...or in horse :D My photos are not picking up the subtle shading in his mane and tail, they aren't just painted black. Also, his skin on his face is shades of grey, umber and white...like a soft velvety real muzzle. His armpits (brisket pits?) lol and flanks are shaded with umber and grey also, and very soft looking. His eyes and hooves are very detailed and coated with clear resin which produces a deep gloss. I'm sorry, I just cannot seem to get better photos right now and it is rainy outside :( Maybe if the sun comes out tomorrow, I can get better ones!

For more photos, please go here... http://www.3dequine.com/
Thanks, and have a Wonderful day!
Lora Speiser

Brand New from the Studio!

2008-10-13T12:14:00.007-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I have 2 brand new resin Medallions/Christmas Ornaments for sale. One is a Warmblood with a braided mane, and the other is a Western Pleasure Horse. Castings are ready to ship. The medallions measure 3" inches tall x 2½" inches wide and are solid cast of ivory colored resin. They are also the perfect size for Christmas ornaments! I sculpted a simple little ornate hanger right on the top for a ribbon or ornament hanger, you could easily remove it if you would like to.
These have nice detail, I could not get it to show up in my pictures. If you purchase more than one of these, The first One of each style is $15.00each additional of the same style medallion is only $13.00...all PPD of course.

They are fully customizable, with the exception of leaving my name and © in tact/visible, all changes must be noted and credited to who did them, and no recasting of any part of my sculpture/resin.

Email me at: paintedponyranch @ msn . com

International shipping is $2.00 for one, and .50 for each additional. (I am paying some toward the shipping cost) This shipping method is by first class mail and insurance is not available with it unless you request registered mail and that is an added $10.00 plus insurance cost. I am not responsible to replace any damaged, lost, or missing items if insurance is not paid for.
Have a Wonderful Day!

You may email me if you would like one :)

The Clay Review...

2008-10-09T03:13:00.005-05:00

So...I have been trying to find a nice clay to sculpt with (that I like) and this has been extremely frustrating :(

A couple of years ago I bought some Chevant Clay in Medium and Hard...OMG I Love this stuff...But, it is sulphur based and it smells horrible :( You just cannot get it off your hands and they smell like stinky sulphur for a few days....I did eventually figure out that if you wash really well with lemon scented comet, it takes the smell off pretty good. (I almost typed Lemon Flavored Comet LOLOL) Anyway...This clay sculpts so nice, it is so smooth, never stuck to my tools and it smooths out really well with alcohol or mineral spirits. I just cannot stand the smell so I bought something new...

My new resin "Jewel" was sculpted with Super Sculpey Firm. This stuff is really nice! Also, you do not have to worry about making waste castings, since the clay is baked. However, It is just not hard enough :( I do like the fact that you can sculpt parts and then bake it, then continue sculpting again and the baked parts will not get ruined. Keep in mind though, unbaked Sculpey does not stick well at all to baked Sculpey so it is very hard to get the two parts to blend together. Besides those two things, I loved it. So...

...Onto Chevant Le Beau Touche'...OMG. Nightmare.
This clay sticks to the armature and almost everything else really well...that is the good thing about it. BUT, it also sticks to all of your tools! The surface grabs and you just cannot smooth it out with tools at all unless you use a solvent. Then, it turns to rust colored pudding. I have no clue how anyone uses this stuff. I guess if you are using your fingers mainly and you don't have much carving off and smoothing to do with tools, you would be ok. I tried freezing my tools, heating them, and everything else I could think of...just not good :(

I have now ordered a sample pack of several Non-Sulphur Clays made by Chevant...hopefully they will be here really soon! I will test them all out and see which one I like best. If none of them are comparable to the sulphur based, as far as smoothness and workability, I will probably go back to Sculpey Firm. I will update when I get my samples :)

I hope this information helps someone!

Beautiful Jewel painted by Jaimie Baker!

2008-10-04T02:25:00.005-05:00

Jaimie did such an awesome job on my little resin, "Jewel"... I just had to share! She has this copy up on ebay right now, the auction is Here.
Photos are courtesy of Jaimie :)
Love Ya Girl!

I am 36 now LOL

2008-10-02T01:21:00.002-05:00

September 30th was my 36th Birthday :)
I really don't feel 36, I guess that is good! It also helps that my husband is 32 lol.
Matt got home Sunday night, and his vacation started Monday so he is home with me for the week! Yay! I sure did miss him! Tuesday, we took the little one to his G-Ma's house to stay a couple days...he always has fun there :) This also gave us some private time together for my B-Day. We didn't do much, just relaxed together and watched movies and went out to eat. It has been really nice though. Matt got me the most beautiful card, and so did our little one, I could not ever have more blessed with such a wonderful Husband and Son.
Thanks to all that emailed me a Happy Birthday note! That was so nice!
I hope everyone is well,
Lora

Bored outa my Gourd!!!

2008-09-27T03:28:00.000-05:00

OK...So, My Matt is gone up north to a LAN Party in Peoria for three days, My Baby Boy is at My Mom's for a couple days so I can work on horses, and my dogs are stuck to my ass like Velcro! Where ever I go, I cannot get away from them, they have even decided to follow me into the bathroom and wait for me to get out of the shower. I think they miss Daddy too.

I have not been away from Matt for... sheesh, like 2 years LOL. You must understand that we are perfectly compatible and soul mates in every way. We never argue or fight and we always have fun together. Everyone says we make them sick because we are so in love and we get along so great LOL. Of course, then they say "I wish I could find what you two have". We have been together for 3½ years, will be married 2 years in November....but feels like we have been together our whole lives. Not in a bad way, it is actually a wonderful feeling. We both know neither of us would ever do anything to hurt the other and we both have complete trust to one another. Matt even knows that if Bruce Willis knocked on the door, I might be standing in a pool of drool but I would never cheat on him...Matt I mean LOL.

So, since everyone is gone, I have been cleaning the house, which is nearly impossible with our two year old home, doing the laundry, and also working on the last of my commission pieces. I have also been working on my new sculptures. I will try to have a customized and painted piece available sometime near Christmas. I have got to get these commissions finished first so I am working hard on them.

Even with all the things I am trying to get done, I am mentally bored! I am so used to talking to Matt about everything, I just don't know what to do with myself LOL. I know he is busy playing so I won't call him and bother him. There were 9 guys all went together and got motel rooms for the two nights so I am sure they are having a blast! I think it is wonderful that they can all go be guys you know? I guess a lot of women would never let their guy go on a 3 day/night trip like that but I really don't understand why not either. I always get into arguements with women about this sort of thing. They cannot see how I trust him to go. I truly don't understand why you would want to be with someone you do not trust. This could be a really long subject so I will stop here :)

I have ordered some new clay to try out!
I have been using Super Sculpey Firm, and I do like it, but it is just not hard enough. I like the fact that you can bake it at different points of the sculpture so you do not ruin those parts and then continue working and bake again. Raw SSF does not like to stick to baked SSF...that part sucks! It is really hard to get it to blend together.
I have some Roma Plasteline clay and I LOVE it...but it has sulphur in it and smells pretty bad. I love the smooth texture and they way it stays where you put it, but the smell is awful. I ordered some new Non-Sulphur clay so we will see how it goes with that!

I had better go for now, I hope everyone is doing great!
Lora

I finally got around to this Blog thing...

2008-09-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

I figured it would be easier to update a blog than to update my website every time I wanted to post something small or just quick updates on my life and artwork.

I don't really know what to say specifically today because I just wanted to get this started.

I do still have my Jewel resin available as well as both Renaissance Medallions. Also available is my little Baby Sea Turtle sculpture. I have several new sculptures in the works in the Wildlife Series. Most of these have been in process for a while, but I am slow LOL.

I have a new Christmas Ornament coming out soon too! No photos available of it yet though :) It will be available painted and unpainted.

Have a great day, and thanks for reading!
Lora