Welcome to summer! Well, almost summer here in the Colorado Rockies, but it’s still cold at night and there is a LOT of snow on the highest peaks.

Here’s a rundown on my studio doings.

“If I Could Fly” resin plaques

I have shipped out all of the “If I Could Fly” plaques from last month’s initial online offering. Thank you SO much for the great support of this project! This was such a fun, spur-of-the-moment work for me last winter, and I’m so glad it turned out well.

For those of you who bought one or are planning to… I have found a cheap-but-nice source for black wood frames that fit these resin plaques perfectly. I highly recommend showing your plaque off in one of these. They are about $12.00 and can be ordered from Jerry’s Artarama. (Scroll down to the 4×12″ size.) I bought a pack of 8 since I’ll need a lot of them! They are deep enough that you can just stand it up on a table top for display, if you don’t want to hang it. Here’s a photo of how they look in the frame:

FLY Resins Ordering Reminder 
There are 100 pieces in the resin edition, so there’s no problem with selling out yet! I’ve stopped processing and shipping until after BreyerFest (July 10-15). (We are traveling the 2nd half of June and then I only have a few days until I leave for BF.) But you can RESERVE ONE at any time, and I’ll put you on the list. Then I’ll contact you after July 15th for payment. They are $45 each or $70 for two, PPD. Just send me an email with how many you want. Email Karen.

Resins for sale at BreyerFest
I decided to only bring 10 pieces to sell in person at BF. They are heavy and I don’t want to weigh down my flight luggage. But they are only $35 if bought from me there. To find me with them, on Thursday, July 11, 9-10am, I’ll be at the Resin Futurity Live Show, which is a BreyerFest event. Cash only, $35 each. The Resin Futurity (a live show just for artist resins) will be held at the Four Points by Sheraton, 1938 Stanton Way, Lexington, KY. (Across the interstate from the Clarion Hotel.) Here’s how the finished donation plaque I painted looks in the frame:

Ceramic FLY tiles:
I successfully made a ceramics mold, and cast two test tiles, one in earthenware and one in porcelain. They both fired to bisque beautifully. They are now separately being test-fired with simple art and clear glazes in the next couple days. This will be an open edition, but probably not that many total will be made, as, with all ceramics, it’s a slow and tedious process! I am definitely excited about custom glazing some of them. It is more like doing a painting than painting a typical 3-D horse!

What’s Next

Here is my newest sculpture, “Ghazir”, an Arabian stallion. It is almost finished, and I’m in the final push now. His head and ears are the last thing with major work yet to be done. Then I will sculpt the mane and tail. The tail is going to come down to the left and touch the ground, so that the piece will stand on three points. I am pretty much done with the body; last details always get finalized on the master resin cast I make from a waste mold.

My end product for this work is a small edition of bone china or porcelain, on a ceramic base. I’m looking for a Royal Worcester-like high-end presentation/feel. All of which I will custom glaze myself. I am ready for a new piece to glaze and get excited about!! I am undecided about a resin edition at this time. I’m thinking probably not… but I will need to have a good quality resin mold made to get several master resins for china production… so I might make a few resins available from that mold. Stay tuned!

My husband and I have a busy summer of travel; cycling the San Juan Islands, Washington State, in June, and then cycling in Germany near Berlin and touring Prague in August. But once this sculpture is done I am ready to start glazing chinas again!  Plus I did not produce an oil painting in 2018 😦 and I want to get back into that this fall.

We got a Keeshond puppy last November, Wally, who has brought much joy (and a LOT of work in training) but now at nearly 10 month we think he’s going to be the companion dog we’ve dreamed of creating! Here he is already living his best mountain life in our “mud season”:

Thank you so much for your support. I means a lot to me. Have a wonderful summer and I hope to see a lot of you in Kentucky!