Lynn A. Fraley–Equine Sculpture at Laf’n Bear Studio

01.25.2012 A Fling with an Old Flame...

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn A. Fraley) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

He's dashing, dark and handsome.

It's amazing I hadn't fallen under his spell for so long --

But then again he's been on a shelf in the back of a dusty closet for about five years. Out of sight, far out of mind.

This zippy little cutter started out as a demonstration piece at a live show, seriously, about five years ago. Maybe longer. I took him as far as I could and then got frustrated with him. So he got shelved.

Last Saturday, my sculpting buddy Leslie Tengelsen came over to hang out and work on one of her sculptures, and she gifted me with an issue of a stock horse magazine. Seeing the cool cutting horse pictures in it made me think of this little guy. I dusted him off (aahhcooooo!). I tweaked his pose just a snidge. And the romance was rekindled!

Ah, but I feel so guilty, like I'm cheating on Vata! Mr. ChaCha must be put aside once more (poor guy's going to get a complex).

I wonder if any of my artist friends out there have ever had similar such, um, dalliances and flirtations?

01.18.2012 Breathe...

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn A. Fraley) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:47:00 +0000

Almost exactly two years ago, I was inspired by the last image in this post at The Equestrian Vagabond to sculpt a pair of horses playing. I contacted the blog owner/photographer and obtained her permission to use the photo as the basis of a sculpture.

As I sculpted my mind wandered back in time to a group of young Kentucky Thoroughbreds I watched over a period of several days. It seemed that an early morning wind would inspire the lads to new heights of frivolity.

Young Thoroughbreds at play

Almost exactly a year ago, I started attending a yoga class that is offered to cancer patients (and caregivers) at the Mountain States Tumor Institute, and began to learn the importance of breathing. Sounds silly on the surface, I know.

Breath happens with you or without you. Think about it. Or don't. You still breathe.

No matter that winds of change whip through your life, you can exert some control over your breath. To energize you, to calm you. You choose.

Winds, breath, movement, change -- I wanted this pair, and their names, to encapsulate these concepts somehow. And so the word search began.

"Vata", I learned in my yoga class, is Sanskirt for "wind". It also implies movement and change. "Ruah" is the Hebrew word for breath, air, wind or spirit.

Perfect.

Ruah, I'm happy to report, is now covered in pink silicone goo; the molding process has begun! Here are a few photos of him before any goo...

In this sculpture I chose to use a different type of clay for his mane and tail. The lighter colored clay is J-Mac Classic Clay in Firm. In addition to the stiffer texture which helped achieve some nice thin crisp edges, I liked being able to visually differentiate between "strands" of mane and the body of the sculpture.

Now that Barry is working his magic with Ruah, I can switch my attention to Vata. Look for some new pictures of him soon!

By the way, "Ruah" is also the name of a nice bottle of red wine produced by Desert Wind Winery over in the Columbia River Valley. A glass or two produces a happy sigh at the end of a long day. After proper meditation of course.

01.12.2012 Guest Sculpture, The Babysitter

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn A. Fraley) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:56:00 +0000

Unpainted resin copies of the The Babysitter by Kelly Savage

Recently the production studio has been graced by the presence of this elegantly proportioned mini resin, The Babysitter, sculpted by Kelly Savage.

Barry, BearCast Molding, molded The Babysitter and is casting her for US distribution. If you're interested in adding this piece to your collection, please contact Kelly directly.

01.05.2012 Tinstallation Opening

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn A. Fraley) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:08:00 +0000

Jaki Katz Ashford arranges Altoids tin art on a panel at Art Source Gallery.

Monday was "Tinstallation Day" at Art Source Gallery in Boise, and tonight is Opening Night!

"Tins?" You ask, "What the heck?"

Yup, artists from three Boise art organizations were invited to create art based on the ever beloved Altoids tin. It was a lot of fun to work on these projects, certainly a challenge to step beyond one's normal bounds.

Art buddies Lisa Cheney-Jorgensen (top) and Marianne Konvalinka (immediately above), came over to the studio a couple of Sunday afternoons in December for a little tin-making fest. With Barry's help we layered in images and various items.

I ended up making eight tins, here's sampling: Oh -- they're all so sale, just $20.00 each and all proceeds from the sale of my tins will benefit the Boise Open Studios Tour (BOSCO). Email me if you're interested in one. Or leave a note in the comments. Also, check out Art Source's Facebook page for more images of the tins!

SOLD

01.18.2012 new image -- I thought I'd lost the image of this last one, but found it hiding still on the camera's memory card, whew!

01.03.2012 Let There Be...

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn A. Fraley) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:06:00 +0000

Let There be Friendship,

Let There be Courage,

Let There be Love,

Let There be Joy,

Let There be Light

I've read that these five themes were depicted in different designs formed by the hundreds of LED lit triangular Waterford crystal tiles that sparkle in the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball. (dvice.com)

Such universal sentiments don't require the glitz and glamor of Times Square; a friendly little bonfire and luminarios lend equal cheer to a long cold winter night in my book.

As midnight approached, the tiny tealights in the luminarios flickered out. Barry added the paper bags to the fire, one by one. Each was surrendered to the flames with a grateful remembrance of the kindness we experienced last year, a banishment of bad juju from the past year, or a wish for the New Year.

We wish you and yours the very best in 2012 ~ Lynn and Barry

11.09.11 "Sadie" in Living Color!

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn A. Fraley) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

This is so fun! Pictures of painted (or nearly completed) Sadie Shoofly resins are starting to filter into my inbox -- it's like an early Christmas!!

The varnish roan appy above was painted by Lisa Shepard, and the blanket appy below was painted by Mindy Berg -- so pretty, what a treat to see both of them!

Sadie resins won't be available forever, be sure to order yours before the deadline.

Just a reminder --
unpainted Sadie resins are available for order
only until November 30th, 2011

11.01.11 Sculpting Binge

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn A. Fraley) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +0000