Meows and Minis 2012 - CM and AR

I took a large number of photos at Meows and Minis with the intention of sharing them here on the blog. Today's post will focus on my favorites from the CM and AR divisions.

Let's start with this darling HR mini custom by D'Arry Frank. Such a sweet little thing. Her coloring and expression bring to mind one of our pet rats, Sarah, who has now crossed over the bridge. I regret that I didn't snap up this pony for my personal collection when D'Arry first made her. She is now owned by the (very lucky!) Marilou Mol!

My Paul was actually wearing the shirt we made with Sarah's picture on the day of the show!  The shirt has seen a lot of wear, and seen better days, but that just shows how much love we had for our little pet.

Back to the horses, Tiffany Purdy brought a lot of brand new work.  I like this new little Breyer resin in his OF form, but I think that the sculptural changes that Tiff made, along with this lovely color, bring him to a brand new level!

Here are a few more from the Purdy herd:

  I'm uncertain of who owns or painted the following horses, but I certainly enjoyed seeing them.

The black tablecloths really tested my photography skills. I could not correct the color sufficiently to be true, but I hope that the above photo does convey that the little Morgan was an absolute jewel in a coat of the most luminous bay.

Here is another photo with coloring less true than I hoped, but the horse itself is so worth sharing here on the blog.  Vicky Smith used multiple models to create this beautiful custom. It was a wonderful surprise to see the SM Morgan standing for a change!

I get very excited when my dear friend DeeAnn Kjelshus makes it to a show. Not only is it a rare chance for us to catch up, but she is always pushing the limits of the various media to do things that are new and different, not just within her own work, but as far as I know, within the whole hobby!   This Appaloosa Sporthorse is a longtime favorite of mine. Like above, I just could not adjust this photo to show his true richness. I hope DeeAnn makes herself another Sporthorse in the near future, so perhaps this one can come live with me....

This is an older piece of DeeAnn's work, now owned by another shower who was at Meows.   He is DeeAnn's own "Diego" resin sculpture that she painted as a dramatically dappled Kladrubber.

This was the first time out showing for DeeAnn's pinto Working Girl.

I believe that this appaloosa Little Lonestar was painted by the talented Mindy Berg.

This beautiful fellow has a special place in my heart. Kerri Johnson doesn't get out to the shows much these days because she has two little ones at home, but she did make it to Meows and brought this treasured portrait of her real paint horse, "Drummer."  Kerri was there at Drummer's birth, and has been his "Mom" ever since. He has to be well over ten years old by now.  What a lucky horse with a great life!  This wonderful portrait was painted by another friend, who I so wish still lived nearby, Danielle Feldman. 

Brenda Metcalf treated us all to a rare viewing of her Pamela du Boulay horse and scene, which I believe has a proper title including the word "Bedouin."  Perhaps there is someone reading this who can share the official name of this sculpture in the notes. I have never really formulated a "grail" list, but if I did, this piece would most certainly be on it!

This was just a tiny sampling of the models in the CM and AR rings. I was pleased that some of my own horses picked up some nice awards and titles. This is "Allure," a vintage (1995, I believe) Lesli Kathman custom from my personal collection. Lesli's work was (and still is) so ahead of its time, that this old girl claimed the Overall Grand Championship of the CM division!

It can be a most pleasant surprise to see what catches a judge's fancy. This little one named "Ahdanna" is a vintage piece of my own work from the 90's. She claimed the reserve champ award in the CM Light Breeds division.

My little "Cap'n Crunch" took the foal champ in the AR division.

Finally, a piece that I'm tickled to call my own, the dramatic "Torchbearer," painted by Katie Younger-Gehrt, went Overall Grand in the AR rings!