Let's get crafty...a sort-of-step-by-step-tutorial to paper cut portraiture

Apologies in advance if this hurts more than helps explain the process I took to make these portraits! There are lots of teeny, tiny steps along the way and I tried to document as much as I could, but it's a little hard without 2 pairs of hands (next time I might make a video tutorial). Here is the video tutorial that I used to figure out the whole process.

Fair Hill International ***

Photo dump! Details and captions to follow! I realized two things: 1. I should have brought my tried and true Nikon and a zoom lens, 2. I need to learn how to use my fancy pants Sony NEX compact digital SLR (it's such a great camera and I STILL don't know how to use it consistently...it's either awesome, or terrible).

Paper Cuts!

Well, I took it upon my crafty self to use my skills towards something equine-related! I was hoping to work on something for Andrea and Gogo before she had to say goodbye (It will be a lovely photo album)...and so I wanted to practice with another horse to know I could actually pull off the technique! Some researching of paper cut techniques/photoshop tutorials later and voila!

Klein mare in three tones, cut from paper and mounted onto blue cloth (Klein's colors!) and I matted it with some 4-ply mat board!

Apparently, I am ambitious with my first attempt...I didn't think about how difficult getting contrast and depth out of a dappled grey horse would be. I like how it turned out...though next time (and for Andrea's) I will invest in some quality paper...I just printed various colors that I would need rather than purchasing them, because honestly, I wasn't sure I could pull this off. I am fairly adept with an exacto, but I can get frustrated easily with things that are tedious, so I spread this project out over several days so I wouldn't crumple it up along the way. If anyone is curious about the process, I started with this:

Klein and Stacey killin' it

And turned it into this:

And then cut each color layer out of paper!

I'd say it was a success! Contact me if you'd like to know more about this process!

the next to last song

This isn't the last song
there's no violin
the choir is so quiet
and no-one takes a spin
this is the next to last song
and that's all
     - From Dancer in the Dark

Andrea and Gogo

 This is for Andrea and Gogo. Today she says goodbye to her beautiful mare, Gogo. I started reading her blog at the beginning of my journey with Kiki (and found myself going to the very start to read about her entire adventure with her opinionated mare). She was inspiring, to say the least. Honest, comedic, intelligent, patient and compassionate, Andrea was the only girl for this horse. In this dark hour, I know that Gogo is grateful for you...and all of your fans and friends are here for you both.

xo.

Devon, Dressage, and DQs

I've only been to Devon once before...and it was for the Spring Hunter/Jumper show. The whole scene there is a little strange for me...I mean, I grew up riding bad ponies, mucking stalls for lessons. I'm not implying that some of the people who go to Devon didn't start there too, but the money that is seeping out of pores around the Dixon Oval is hard to comprehend. Just waiting for the restroom you get an idea of the caliber of THIS horse world vs. the one you might be playing in. There's not a horse listed on the classifieds wall (outside the restrooms) under 25K. Green 7-8 year olds are going for around 10K. It's pretty amazing really. Don't get me wrong, the horses are gorgeous, but wow. But...long story short, the Grand Prix Freestyle was amazing and two-thirds of the riders performed their tests in a chilly downpour! I felt surrounded by greatness and indeed I was in the company of riders and horses of Olympic caliber.

Busy, busy, busy...

I've been busy lately...but not riding. While I would love this blog to be strictly horse-related, I think that being a multifaceted individual allows me some wiggle room to talk about the other parts of my life that are distracting me from, or keeping me from riding. I am admittedly, a bit of an over-sharer, even though I consider myself intensely private at times.