Leaping Horse #005

Dun Frame Overo Leaping War Pony - Hanging

Behold, the perfect steed to do battle on any fridge or magnetic whiteboard!

This little guy was the first of my non-resin, non-present copies of this mold. I sculpted the original leaping horse out of Sculpey and created a silicone mold. I cast him using a plaster of paris and wood glue mixture and additional layers of wood glue were used to help harden him before painting.

He’s one of my ‘break off the background’ versions, so there will never been another pony quite like this one! (Plaster won’t do a ‘no-background’ version without the tail breaking off, alas.)

He was painted into a dun frame overo using Craft Smart Tan for the basecoat and Apple Barrel 20504 Black and Sargent Art chalk pastels for the dark markings. Pastels are such an easy way to blend light colors into black that I’ve defaulted to always using them.

The ‘war paint’ markings are based off of things I found on the internet that looked aesthetically fun, so assume no historical accuracy at all. Negative accuracy, even! 😉 But in theory this pony is fast, has great eyesight, been in two battles, one where he was wounded, and he has helped capture two other ponies. So if you need help holding up a grocery list, this is your guy. *solemn nod*

He was finished off with several coats of Testors Dullcote, instead of my usual gloss addiction and he’s ready to rumble, but probably not go for a swim. That’s the weird balance with plaster magnets, if they are meant for the kitchen they should be as waterproof as possible… but they’re plaster. So. Yeah. Still figuring that one out. :p

This little guy is Art and not Toy, so he will probably still be heading for the morgue if he hits the floor. Unlike his smaller magnet cousins, he’s just too thin in spots to bounce gracefully.

Medium: Gesso, FolkArt Acrylics (436 Engine Red), Apple Barrel Acrylics (20504 Black, 20503 White, 21479 New Shamrock, 20225 Bright Blue), Craft Smart Acrylics (Tan, Coral, Butter Cream), and Sargent Art chalk pastels.

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2 responses to “Leaping Horse #005”

  1. Rashara shyamalee Avatar
    Rashara shyamalee

    Hai martha. Can i know plz..how make fiber sculpture paste?? I try all of diy video,but all sculpture is broken no stronger..can you help me??

    1. Martha Bechtel Avatar

      There are a couple of things you can try! 🎨

      First off, I have a mixture of wood glue and plaster of paris that I worked out that’s pretty strong, but it works best with smaller objects (or thin layers). Check out this post: https://martha.net/2015/12/perfecting-the-plaster-of-paris-and-wood-glue-mix/

      The other thing you can try is to add cloth fibers to the plaster of paris, either by using the paper/cloth strips or by boiling the paper and then mixing it in. With a few layers, it gets pretty sturdy! Check out this post: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-make-paper-mache-pulp-1245288

      You could also try embedding a thin wire mesh to the object you are making, this will give it a little more body, but it will still crack if it gets flexed.

      Hope that helps! 😁

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