Wee Indy and Wee Paddy (b.30 January 2010)

I'd like to introduce Wee Indy and Wee Paddy to you. I was contacted by Vicky, a lovely lass, at the end of January through the website. She wanted a wee momento of her lovely horse, Indy, who was put to sleep last November. She also wanted a wee horse for her friend, who's horse, Paddy, was also lost a few months before that. So it was with a bit of a lump in my throat that I accepted this very touching commission.

Indy was a beautiful horse with A LOT of hair. Although he's shown here with his forelock neatly tied up, we agreed that it would be best to let his mane and forelock flow free and loose. His mane was mostly cream with a few strands of black near the top, and his forelock was mostly black with a few strands of cream. He had a lovely pink muzzle with black spots around his mouth.

It was fun to replicate Indy's lovely black markings as closely as possible - shrinking them down to a one inch ball of clay can be challenging at times, but I've been struck by how similar shapes keep appearing in the horses I've made. So I shaped the two large 'saddle bags' of black on either side of Indy's rump by rolling out a sheet of black clay very thinly and then cutting out the shapes by hand. I've discovered that placing these shapes is like pulling off a plaster in reverse - you've got to do it quickly and confidently to get the best results!

Indy also had a few spots of black and a black underbelly - because I roll the body to make sure the colours are well blended, it's important to bear in mind that the shapes do spread out a bit, so I deliberately make the markings a little bit smaller in the knowledge that they'll reach the proper size once I've blended them in.

Paddy, on the other hand, had very few markings - his most distinctive marking was the white blaze on his nose, and he also had one white sock. I love replicating blazes and stars as closely as possible - again, it's important to remember that the clay tends to spread when I'm blending it in, so what looks like an impossibly thin strip of clay will actually bulk out quite a bit when it's applied. So I cut a very thin strip of white clay which had a bend in it, and then placed it carefully on the face. The best way to blend in clay to the head is by a very, very thin knitting needle.

These two beautiful horses are clearly very sorely missed by their owners. I've really come to appreciate the amazing people and animals in the horse community. I spend a long time examining the photos of my horsey models, and I do get to know them pretty well. And their owners are always happy to give me lots of extra background information about their personalities, quirks, etc. It really makes the whole process so more much enjoyable for me to try and capture something of their personalities when I'm making them. Thanks to everyone who's given me the chance to have fun with these wee horses!

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