Muddy Hoofprints Down Memory Lane

Hard to believe it's been almost 1.5 years since I first shared my research on the Mystery Horses of Maureen Love. This entry's title is even more appropriate because some of today's information comes from a phone interview with a collector, recalling these models at one of their original retailers. It was fun to hear her excitement in reliving the past, and we share a candy-store-window enthusiasm for their variety. If you thought these horses had a lot of variations as we knew them, brace yourself.

Before we get to that, a little public notice: I have not given anyone permission to copy my blog. Further, some dealers have started leading their customers to think any old horse by Lane is a Maureen Love, and thus worth a small fortune. A little information is a dangerous thing! Not all Lane horse molds are designed by Maureen (as covered in the first post on this topic). In a nutshell: anything copying this blog's exact syntax and diction does not signify an endorsement. Fact check any seller's Love identity claim against what you have seen here, and be a wise consumer.

What is permitted use of this blog? The raw data is here for your education and collecting enjoyment. It's easy to put it in your own words when describing items for sale or on collectibility cards, as you would from a reference guide. You are welcome to share the link to this blog. Please contact me if you have new photos, a vintage Lane sales sheet, questions, or if you need help identifying a Lane horse. I finally fixed my Profile here, and my email is now available.

A Rainbow of Factory Finishes

For now, we have to leave the door open for all molds possible in all OF colors. Just because I've seen some glazes on certain molds more frequently, doesn't mean that's the only mold decorated that way.

Last year, I spoke with collector Diane Knoth, and she shared her personal memories of seeing Love Lanes for sale at Grant's Department Store. This chain became defunct in 1976, so we're talking about memories from the late sixties-early seventies, the height of variety in Lane glazes.

She listed the following colors, which were news to me:

Blue-Green

Black Orange Lava/Flame

Woodgrain

Black with Gold Accents

Black Pearl (I had been calling these "Iridescent", but that overglaze formula's name is Mother of Pearl, so...)

She also mentioned a larger version of the Leg-Out Facing Left horse, that was on a scale with the 25" Facing Right mold, in all-over metallic silver.

She startled me further by saying that the mold that I thought was only a hobby mold copy, the ring-necked thicker-base 17" Leg-Out mold, was paired in matching OF glazes with the original 16" Leg-Out mold. I guess we can call them "father-son" sets. She specifically mentioned the woodgrain sets like this at Grant's. Coming from my model horse background, to me, "woodgrain" is a color found on plastic horses, so my brain went, "What?!" The next week, I found a father-son set in woodgrain on eBay that proved her memory correct! Unfortunately, the pair photo file I saved has an "unspecified error", so this example (and another in the mold section below) will have to suffice.

Woodgrain 239 v.2

The woodgrain glaze look is not always sharply detailed rings, nor bubbled, as one might see on plastics. Some are just alternating brown shades in linear washes, and a satin finish. It is distinct from the translucent glossy dark brown glaze, reposted here for comparison. Notice how the translucent glaze makes the high points of the sculpture's relief show up paler than the rest of the color.

Gloss translucent brown on 239 v.2, photo by author.

I have seen black with lava/flame glaze on other ceramics of the era, just not yet on the Love Lanes. I think it might be something akin to this, without the "Canada", of course.

239 v.5, is that a Fjord on fire?!

I haven't seen any Loves in blue-green, so I can't even describe that. Sadly, I can't yet confirm the giant Leg-Out mold, nor the metallic silver colourway on any mold. Keep your eyes peeled!

Collector Susan Brady provided photos of the Black Pearl.

Black Pearl A-9 v.1, photo courtesy Susan Brady.

Diane also listed colors I'd already independently confirmed with other sources, such as White Pearl.

White Pearl A-9 v.1, old photo from Goodwill.

Natural

Natural A-9 v.2, photo courtesy Simrat Khalsa.

Mustard with Gold (scroll down)

Caramel Brown with Gold

Airbrushed Smoke with Natural base and Gold

Smoke A-9 v.1, which even has a touch of purple on its mane and tail areas.

Airbrushed Purple on White with Natural base and Gold

239 v.2 airbrushed purple on white with gold.

The horses with gold accents even had distinct variations of where gold was applied to their bodies. Some even had it sprayed around their girths and necks. Some had gold dot-liner eyes, and others had gold airbrushed blobs for eyes. Here are two Mustard with Gold on the H-1 v.2 Added Branch Mold:

Distinct gold areas, photo by author.

Gold overspray, photos courtesy Diana R. Dubbeld.

It lends an even more sculptural and fantastic air to the mold, as if he's turning into gold.

Black with Gold

Did you catch that they are not the same mold? Yup, the upper pic was v.1 and the lower is v.2 (added base height and neck rings).

There is also a Black with Bone color on mane, tail, hooves, and base.

239 v.2 photo by author, in the wild.

Before we judge Lane on what seems to be an anachronistic choice of gold accents, they weren't alone. There are examples on eBay of ceramic, pot metal, and chalkware non-Love horses with similar gold decoration. It was a weird time. Horses got gold accents in odd places, and people bought them.

The burden of naming these colors for general collector reference has fallen to me, and my tendency is to over-describe because I see the glaze and overglaze elements as distinct. In my experience, they are separate firings, which translates to more work. They have significance to me, and so I tend to make sure they are listed in a color name. Feel free to suggest more succinct color names that we all can embrace. I really am not committed to any of the color names, except the Pearls.

Identifying the Love Lane Molds

I like keeping the OF inscribed mold number in the name, so that we can have an instant mental picture of the horse in discussion. When we talk about molds that were modified then reissued as OFs, the name has to target the most obvious modification. I also tried to number the versions in order of production, but a couple may be in order of when I became aware of them. Without inscribed dates in the molds, it's the best I can do for now.

Mold # H-1 v.1 first version Facing Right, marked © H-1 CALIF. USA

This model's forelegs were not connected to each other.

Apologies for the drawing, but the the original photo's owner could not be reached for permission.

Mold # H-1 v.2 second version Facing Right Added Branch 13" tall (inscription is moved and redone)

marked H-1 CALIF © U.S.A.

Note the difference in the base marking between versions. This shows that the modified H-1 v.2 is a whole other MOLD, not just that a branch was slipstuck in, connecting the forelegs of some castings.

H-1 v.2 photo courtesy Scott, in this blog's Comments.

It is possible to collect ALL of the molds in this matching color.

We might be able to tell chronology by how they did the pour holes, too. Note that the first version above has a ragged pour hole, where the excess clay was just ripped off there. So does the crisply detailed (early mold use) H-1 v.2 here.

This softer-detailed, later casting has a smoothed-out pour hole.

It seems they became more sophisticated with practice.

So far, no open base bottom versions, nor hobby molds, of the 13" H-1 have come to light. It doesn't mean they aren't out there! The closest thing is the giant 25" hobby mold, but it is a different sculpture entirely.

Mold # A-9 v.1 first version Running Horse, marked Made In CALiF U.S.A. A-9

Check it out: fettled pour holes! Closer to being smoothed out, but not quite.

The original owner noted when and where this item was purchased.

Mold # A-9 v.2 second version Running (open base bottom)

See further down for a side-by-side comparison of v.1 and v.2 of this mold.

This version has an abbreviated base.

Mold # A-9 v.3 hobby mold version, with grass sculpted solid up to the groin (open base bottom)

This version has the long base, as the v.1 does.

Hobby mold A-9 v.3, painted by a hobbyist, not an OF.

Mold # 239 v.1 first version Rearing Horse Facing Left Leg-Out, marked CALIF USA 239

239 v.1 base bottom

This 239 v.1 photo courtesy Arlene Soderlund.

Mold # 239 v.2 second version, Added Neck Rings and Base Height (open base bottom)

Open bottom of an OF 239 v.2, easily mistaken for hobby mold because of this!

Woodgrain 239 v.2, note another sculptor added base height and three rings to the neck!

Photo by author, taken in the wild.

Mold # P-159 the 239's third known version, a Provincial Molds brand hobby mold (open base bottom)

P-159 hobby mold bisque. This version has fine hair texture in the mane and tail.

Mold # 239 v.4 fourth version, open base bottom hobby mold (manufacturer unknown)

This is 239 v.2 as it became available to the ceramics hobby for home glazing.

239 v.4 hobbyist custom glazed, photo by author, in the wild.

239 v.4 hobby photo courtesy Kim Ford. She knew the lady who glazed this childhood gift.

It even has glass eyes added.

Check out this craziness! A near twin to the above, except no star on this one's head.

Mold # 239 v.5 fifth version, drafty, Roman mane and standing on oval base (photo in colors section above)

Mold # 1156 v.1 (the actual inscribed mold number of this derived version of 239) Bent Leg 15" tall x 12" wide

Base bottom marked 1156 USA

Compare with photo above of 239 v.1 base bottom.

Base bottom of 1156 v.1 in OF Airbrushed Purple on White with Natural base and Gold,

photos courtesy of junkinmarcia.

OF 1156 Airbrushed Purple on White with Natural base and Gold

1156 in Gold, and assuming this is an OF because it has the connected forelegs.

Mold # 1156 v.2 Bent Leg hobby mold, open bottom base.

Note that both forelegs are free, and not tightly curled, unlike the OF version.

Bent Leg-Out 1156 v.2 as a cold-painted hobby mold,

in the wild photos courtesy Diana R. Dubbeld.

Side-By-Side Comparison of Lane A-9 Running Horse Original Mold

and Derived A-9 v.2 in Similar OF Color

Now that I have seen two similar OF models in side-by-side comparison, it is clear that somewhere in the A-9's production, they decided to cut costs, or at least changed managers. As a potter, I can tell they cheaped out on the v.2 because

1. They edited the original base in two ways, to save on clay (and, ultimately, weight). A whole section under the out-stretched foreleg is missing, as is the base bottom.

Lane A-9 v.1 background; v.2 foreground.

2. The quality control is poor on v.2. This v.2 has a tear all the way through the casting wall, by a hind leg. Some were carelessly dipped, and pendulous drips of glaze hang from the belly or chin.

3. They ran molds until the detail was shot, and the ears, hooves, etc. well rounded off.

Lane A-9 v.1 left; v.2 right.

Lane A-9 v.1 left; v.2 right.

Lane A-9 v.1 left; v.2 right.

Lane A-9 v.1 left; v.2 right.

Lane A-9 v.1 Running Horse in OF Natural (red brown).

Natural A-9 v.2, photo courtesy Simrat Khalsa.

This horse is an in-between of v.1 and v.2, as it has the v.1 red brown, but is on the v.2 mold.

Natural A-9 v.2 (dark brown), photo courtesy Lisa Garcia.

This one has good mold detail.

A-9 v.2 Running Horse in OF Natural (dark brown).

The factory ran these molds until they were blobs without detail.

How to Identify Derived Molds

As a ceramics artist myself, this is a subject that bothers me. To me, it is very obvious when a mold I sculpted has been reworked by another artist. It's clear that the derived molds were not reworked by Maureen's own hand. The derived-from-Love molds are not as intimate or detailed as the older Love Lane molds. Some of the magical flow is missing, and the edits are jarring.

I think it's only fair to mention in sales descriptions and collectibility entries whether or not it is a derived mold (version 2 or later). My thought is that the first versions are the closest to Maureen's original models, and thus the best representatives of their kind.

The bottomless molds are tricky to ID without a clear, felt-free view of the underside, as it has been illustrated that OFs exist on them, too. You never know what may be lurking underneath that felt bottom, maybe even an original price sticker, as you'll see further into this post. The photo below shows a wear-shadow that hints of a hollow base on this feller. If in person, give the bottom center a thunk; you'll know right away if it has a ceramic wall there. So far, it looks like the factory never put these on, but rather, consumers did, to protect their furnishings.

Black with Gold 239 v.2 with previous owner-added felt.

Black Pearl A-9 v.1 with previous owner-added felt, photo courtesy Susan Brady.

Still, the bottomless molds are overall smaller (down a generation, and further, as plaster and clay reductions combine), except for the Leg-Out Facing Left. They cheated his size up by extending his neck with those rings and adding a couple inches of non-Love base. All of the bottomless molds have softer detail, wider seams, thicker legs, rounded ears, and rounded hooves compared to most of the inscribed-bottom molds, as one would expect if molded off of a glazed (and thus, flooded detail) master. All of these points are quite obvious in the side-by-side comparison above.

To illustrate that not all hobby mold versions are easy to tell at a glance:

This is a custom glaze on the 25" tall Facing Right hobby mold.

It could easily fool one to think H-1, if you don't give the grass a close look.

Photo courtesy Laura Behning.

Values of Factory Love-sculpted and Derived Lanes

For a general idea of age, let's stick with the Lane trademark dates for the OF (factory glazed) horses. This means 1973-1974 is the last year the company kept its name. It does not rule out that they might have sold their molds to another factory. There could have been post-1974 Love OFs by a different pottery, using the Lane molds. The bottom-less, unmarked mold variations could support this, and selling/copying molds certainly was a common practice among potteries. Even after Lane or whatever factory was no more, it can take years to sell off inventory. Don't be surprised to find provenance that claims these horses were bought new in the mid-late '70's. These horses are vintage, in the "not-quite-antiques-but-at-least-30-years-old" sense. Chips, cracks, gold surface wear, and breaks are very common. So are the models.

These horses were not high-end porcelain limited editions. In fact, they are not porcelain at all. They are earthenware (low fire) clay, a much cheaper and easier material to manufacture. They were made by Lane, a company that mass produced TV lamps and planters. These horses, figural home decor for the working class, produced by a functional-ware pottery, were retailed in discount department stores. Today's equivalent retailers would be Target or K Mart; in other words, they were not in jewelry shops, nor the Nordstrom's fine china department.*

For example, here is an original Arlan's Discount Department Store price tag on a Lane A-9 Running Horse in OF Pearl Black:

Black Pearl A-9, photo courtesy Susan Brady.

Some stores had the inventory year stamped on their price stickers. Let's pretend that "68" indicates 1968, so

US$ 4.99 in 2010 dollars is about US$ 31.30, according to this site.

Even in 1974, the last year of Lane as a brand name, that's only US$ 22.10 in 2010 dollars.

If you don't like that method of valuation, as it doesn't take into account the rise of Love's popularity since they were made, ask your fellow collectors what they paid. What I have been told is the prices today average US$10 each, with only two examples in excess of that. One was $50 and another $80 at auction, both several years ago, when the model horse market was much stronger. One or two have set Buy-It-Now prices much higher, but those are the only high actual selling prices I have heard.

I have never paid more than $30 for any one, including a 25" giant horse, that I have found online or in shops. Most were in the $9 to $14 range. I have left some behind, like the "in the wild" photos, because they didn't strike my fancy. Some antique dealers online think that because they are so large, they deserve a large BIN price tag. I know of two that have sat at $75 each for the full year since I last researched this topic. I personally have some derived mold examples that make for good examples for this blog, but beyond that, I don't value them. Love purists are probably in agreement there. If you're going to pay $100+ for a "Maureen Love Lane", make sure it is a first versiongenuine article of whichever mold you like, and in mint condition.

Were the first version Lanes ever high-dollar items? No.

Were they offered exclusively through one elite retailer? Absolutely not.

Only one or two colors? Clearly, no.

Are they really "rare"? Not by any normal collecting definition, but they are collectible, as the same can be said of many Hagen-Renakers. No one denies HR collectibility!

Are these Lane molds loved because of who sculpted them? Yes, and that fondness sees beyond the craziest of glazes. It is up to individual collectors whether they will value the subsequent mold versions.

The internet changed everything; things we once thought rare are now turning out to be fairly common. I find at least one of these horses a month online, and I frequently stumble across them in person, at resale shops or swap meets/flea markets. My advice is to protect yourself as an online buyer; always get a photo of the base underside, and an exact description of condition. Spend based on how long you are willing to wait for another one in that exact color and detail to come along.

I'm torn in delivering this bad news on values and rarity, because I would prefer to see all of Maureen's work highly valued. I'm impartially putting my research out there, make of it what you will. I invite others to share what they have learned about these horses and the manufacturers. Values of custom glazes by hobbyists on derived hobby molds are going to be based on the quality of the custom glazing and the crispness of the casting. I can't even begin to discuss their values because there is such a massive range of quality.

*I don't know if Grant's was a discount department store in the same vein as Arlan's or Target. I'm told it was more like J.C.Penney's.

Bulls In A China Shop

This tangent brought to you by an uncommon youth. While my fellow teens-to-early-twenties were indulging in chemically-induced shenanigans, I was networking in my future field. I had been trustworthy at collectibles shows since an early age, and later had to be reliable as the lead working student at the barn. As a result, most of my social circle was comprised of adults, already well-established in their lives. The other great thing about mature friends is that they have cars, and are pretty awesome about letting "the kid" tag along for road trips to big model horse shows in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

I jumped at the chances for shorter trips to run errands, visit potters, or going to pick up new models. I was very fortunate to have fallen in with the authors of the first Hagen-Renaker Handbook (now the Charlton Standard Catalog) and other local collectors. My journals of those years record details about visits to the Renakers and some of their designers. One of these personalities was a former moldmaker for Hagen-Renaker. We knew him as the dude with some HRs for sale, which was unusual in the hobby back then, and as a friend who used to play card games with Joan, Susan Candelaria, and little ol' me.

Part of Skip's sales list, from 1993:


Now, you may be thinking, "A misspent youth, going to Vegas and playing cards!" Nope. It was innocent Uno, at Joan's old dining table, under that retractable lamp that was replaced so long ago. The game earned him his nickname: "Skip". Back then, long before Pour Horse had a kiln and added the word "Pottery" to its name, the ceramics fun was where Skip worked. A tile maker had leased a couple Renaker family-owned greenhouses. Skip was using part of that space, and as he was no longer an HR employee, he was working on free-lance moldmaking, including dolls, etc. Looking back on it now, it was a pretty sweet deal for a potter. He was surrounded by molds, samples, discarded pieces, and even had a working fiber kiln. The guy was like an art student on a self-directed semester; he experimented with reglazing, and once, he attempted to immortalize a mouse. Yes, in the kiln, which was in the area where he slept.

"[Skip], moldmaker to H-R at San Marcos, and previously moldmaker to Freelin McFarlane, was a very interesting man. He told us about dipping a dead mouse in slip until it was covered, and then firing it to achieve a perfect (and perfectly useless) shell mold of the mouse. Something tells me that being in the room with the firing kiln that day was not very pleasant. Or, likely, for some time to come. Besides, who wants a mold of a dead mouse? Is that what happens when moldmakers are bored?..."
Joan Berkwitz, March, 2003

When Pour Horse started, Joan was just learning about resin casting. She entrusted our first big venture, the Roped Calf model horse prop, to Skip's moldmaking. This was one of my first full-body sculptures, and I had so much emotionally invested in it. Let's just say, the last thing a nervous novice wants to hear is this, in a deadpan tone:


That would be an accurate self-portrait of that moment, recorded in my journal for February 9th, 1994. And then:
"The guy in the studio next to Skip... saw my [Pour Horse Roped Calf]... And so, my friend Skip introduced my name to him... Laird wants to hire a part-time sculptor to do some modeling* and some relief tile work. He said that people write to him from back East, asking for jobs in his studio... He didn't want to hire someone that was artistically 'set in their ways', but rather a new talent who could be trained and groomed to the business' style."

February 13th, 1994:
"I did a frog tile today! I was interviewed yesterday and accepted as part-time sculptor (designer). Last night, I went out to dinner with Joan, her husband, Susie, and Skip to celebrate. We ended up playing cards 'til midnight, hoarse from laughing."

Of course, only until midnight, as I was a good kid and had to sculpt at Laird's the next morning! In three weeks' time, Laird asked to me spend the Summer working full time as his designer. From there, my dual career was started as a professional commercial sculptor/ceramist.

Sometimes, I rode along on trips to Skip's to pick up very special HRs from his collection, too rare to risk shipping. These pieces were not like his sales list items, some were tests and custom glazes. As a youth, I never dreamed I would ever be able to afford such treasures; I just stared, with eyes like chicken eggs, much as in the drawing above. I'm really glad I kept my ears open and have these memories of the models' provenance.

During one such visit, Skip sold his two custom glazes of the DW Longhorn mold in 1994 or 1995. I have the year 1995 from another source, but my journal timeline leans toward 1994. Skip told us that these Longhorns were originally commissions for a non-hobbyist private collector. One of these customs now resides in the late Karen Grimm's model horse museum collection. Skip made it very clear to us that these were both custom glazes, not tests. These are pretty amazing to have survived at all, as the Longhorn models were very easily tipped over and broken, due to their touchy balance. Here is the other one he sold:



He has a pinpoint of missing color on one horn tip, which is how he came from Skip. It's staying that way, as a sort of salute to his origin. There is no signature to the glaze. He was decorated in the factory, making him a factory custom, in collector terms. When I first saw this bull, he enthralled me; I found his face, hair, and skeletal details so beautiful. He has very crisp mold detail. I was an aspiring cattle artist, with my modest Roped Calf sculpture so weak by comparison. I wished I could capture cattle like his designer, Maureen Love.

In retrospect, it makes me smile that both Skip and this model resonated together with my first apprenticeship, which led to my career. Skip made the people-connection and the same species subject got me "discovered". Let's not forget, Joan got the ball rolling by both introducing me to Skip and commissioning that hapless Roped Calf, in the first place.

Years later, this Longhorn changed collector hands. Fortunately, when he came up for sale a third time, I was in a position to acquire him. Of course, this bull is named, "Skip".



The regular run HR San Marcos DW Longhorn looks quite different, and it was made for only one season (in HR terms, a "season" is half a year), Fall of 1981. The older (Monrovia) regular run color was a dark brown pinto, achieved by some resist or sgraffito technique (or both), and was only made two years. There is one to view at this interesting site. I'm very curious to handle one in person and see exactly how it was decorated. "Skip" the custom bull was decorated by airbrushed spots, in contrast.

It is a great joy when old friends and good times are immortalized by the very ceramics we collect. I like having a bull in my china (work)shop.



* meaning, modeling clay, not catwalk stuff

Four Heads Are Better Than One

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.

Oddly, necessities of moldmaking first steered me in this direction, that eventually led to sculpture improvement. It would be helpful if this occurred more frequently, but that would make my job easier. We certainly can't have that. Another factor, the choice to offer two breed versions of this stock horse, clinched the decision which led to better results. Usually, the opposite is the case, because a sculptor can generalize too much! There has been a trend, nay, a tradition, among model horse exhibitors (and producers) to use one mold for multiple breed designations. For some molds, this works fine, as some breeds have the same foundations. In other cases, it doesn't work. The more I researched for the the two versions of this horse, the more it became clear that one head was not going to work for two breeds. The client desired the changes in grooming and overall hair volume between the two versions. We agreed that to better capture each individual breed, it had to go beyond the hair-do. We also agreed that the second head, the one he was wearing at the end of this blog post, didn't fit and seemed too general.

Under the client's direction, I sculpted a third head, before their very eyes. The Mustang head is on the right. A little later, the Applaoosa head on the left was sculpted. The coarseness of the Mustang really stands out when side-by-side with the pedigree Appaloosa. They are shown here in the original Chavant clay.



We're both much happier with this solution. The previous Mustang heads look stylized, like "artist's conceptions", compared to these revisions. Remember?



The new Mustang head could have some draft in the woodpile, and he sports a beard and fully-fuzzed ears (sculpted separately).

Where did I get my idea of an Appaloosa head? My client searched the web for photos of Appaloosas of the 1960's and earlier. I pulled two books from my shelves, Appaloosa (1972) and Champion Horses of the Americas (1971). Like a Mustang, there was a range of overall face types, with a few features in common. The eye, shaped like an almond, seemed to show up the most frequently. Just one photograph, of "High Thunderbird", looked strikingly like Carol Williams' QH-1 (the Stone QH mold) in the head and large, round eye. Another old Appy looked like a spotted Thoroughbred (and was, virtually, by descent). I certainly don't want to get too close to what others have done before, so I chose to go with the alternate, the look I saw most frequently among those '60's Apps. This Appalooosa head is refined without being overly wedged or Arab-y; it has the eye shape I saw on so many of the old photographs. Very different, but both new heads have stock horse substance, honesty, work ethic.

Then, it was time to recapitate him. My husband molded the heads and their respective ear sets (fuzzy and clean-shaven), and poured resin castings for me to work with. I played with the ear positioning on the Appy head, after attaching it to the body. Somehow, it needed to be less like the designated position for the Mustang, and more like the Appies in the old photos. Forward, pointing slightly outwards, not airplaning, but not with the tips touching, either. Pleased with the progress, I went to bed.



The next morning, I walked in, looked at his head set, and immediately decapitated him a third time. I mean, I didn't even sit down yet. Wrong wrong wrong. Let's try that again. Much better. Oh, and I was curious to see if my Cowgirl Poetry (classic scale) custom tack set would fit him. I couldn't find my matching saddle pad, and looks like I need a new girth to slide that saddle back.



Then, it was ON. I was sending pix before even completing mane sections! The client asked for a rattier tail than previously sculpted, and since it no longer needed to be a plug for the pourhole, I was free to reduce it and get really ratty. Next, the client wanted a sparse, flipping-on-both-sides mane. Even though the old show photos had completely roached (or with just a tuft of forelock) manes, the client wanted that little bit of outline break-up, that "umph" of a sparse App mane.



The tail needed another edit, because it STILL had too much hair. I kept going back to the photos, which showed shaved or very short hairs on the upper tail, which fanned out farther down into sparse, longer hair. Underneath, his tail bone is visible.



Have I toyed with you enough? Here is my rat-tail Appaloosa, as he stands tonight. The few tasks yet to be done may not even be noticeable in later photos (a tail key, a signature, etc.), so these are a fair representation of the final Appaloosa sculpt. The Mustang will follow, of course.





Many more photos, brighter images, will be in galleries at my yahoogroup and Facebook art page.

I hope this sculpt serves a niche that was not well addressed in the hobby. There are so few specific Appaloosa resin molds, and I can count the existing Appaloosa ceramic molds on one hand (one is the same as a resin). It's a shame there are so few, because so many artists love painting and glazing Appaloosas! This guy, my little "ratrod", was made for exhibitors and collectors who dearly love the differences in breed morphology.

Would You Like That "Extra Crispy"?

This is a topic that I hope will inspire some collector participation, as in, send your photos. There will be a follow-up post.

We all know that these ceramic artworks are fired in kilns to achieve their permanence and luster. What some don't know is that despite careful monitoring and loads (literally) of experience, temperatures can fluctuate inside the kiln. Sometimes, it's a matter of the arrangement of the kiln load, or how close an individual piece is to a heat source (be it gas jets or electrical elements). At other, more infuriating times, it is due to a spontaneous malfunction of a regulator, relay, or other modifying mechanism. Those are the times that try potters' souls, but not nearly as mind-melting as when you are a factory with a load of dozens or hundreds of pieces. Some of these "Toasties" can be salvaged and sold; some, well, they sort of melt where they stand.

Not all factories are horrified by the resulting glaze variants. Some, like the first studio where I served an apprenticeship, absolutely delight in variants. It gave that pottery's stoneware tiles a color family range, exactly as the original Batchelder tiles. I remember Laird being a big fan of his glazes' extremes, particularly when they got a little toasted by the jets.

Another pottery, Hagen-Renaker, kiln fires large numbers (compared to us hobby ceramists) in each load. Over the years, I have seen a few HR factory "Toasties". These appear different from the blackened miniatures resulting from accidental reduction firings (without oxygen). Toasties retain some of their intended hue, but usually only in their deepest detail. I don't want to wax overly technical here, but things are happening underneath the glaze on a chemical level, beyond the human hand's application of that pigment. Please forgive the label, "Toasty"; it's all I have to work with until I learn a more friendly term. "Over-fired" is just not a cute word.

When were these made? They have happened occasionally, over the decades, and still happen. I bought these two HR reissue Native Dancer models in June of 2009. They were in a regular, brick-and-mortar gift shop HR retailer, from the same fresh shipment.



This is the normal one.



Here you can see how the Toasty's pigment is reduced and grainy over the broad surfaces, and only the details cling to color. These areas only have blotchy rich color. It's almost the look of hand-brushed watercolors, not airbrushed underglazes! This effect is universal on Toasty glazes. The airbrushed pigments are, in fact, dissipated chemically, without the influence of the human hand. In my own ceramics experience, I've seen this happen when pieces are glaze fired repeatedly (or accidentally overcooked).



In a HR firing moment between 1981-1984, probably early on in that period, judging by her fully tri-eyes, a regular palomino large Zilla got toasted. Zilla photos courtesy of collector Karen Beeson.


She was over-heated so much that her seamlines, greenware sponge wipes, and white mineral specks rose up under her glaze (see her back).





I get that it "looks" like color was swiped on top, but it's actually the pigment settled into her clay surface texture and minerals (grog) of the clay changing the surface, as it attained a higher temperature. At HR, sponging the seams down is standard practice. This removes the outer "silt" layer of fine clay and exposes the micro texture of the clay (fine grog). Those white specks are the grog exposed after greenware sponging, usually unnoticed under normal firing conditions.



The body shading is on all SM palominos, it just is palomino color when fired correctly. Some underglazes are unstable when heated above the ^04 range. Weird things happen to over-cooked dirt.


Note that her belly, where no sprayed underglaze was applied, looks fairly normal.



Everybody wants to know if these are more valuable, since they are factory OF variants. Honestly, some people are grossed out by them. Do not expect a Toasty to win a Breed class at a model horse show. They don't look like real horse colors. There is no way of telling if they are even all that rare, and this is not a condition that is only found on one color, nor one mold. The circumstance is random and an equal opportunity underglaze obliterator. Fresh Toasties retail right alongside normal siblings, so it is not like the factory retains them, out of collector hands. They are out there.

On a more personal note, I was present for the following over-firing, back in 1996. The Manual Kiln Sitter had a bar failure, and roasted a whole batch of Joanie's early Pour Horse Pottery Owynn. Talk about scorched earth! These earthenware fellows were vitrified, and drooped upon their stilts like Vlad's victims. They couldn't be glazed, so technically they are bisque Toasties. They don't have the pigment dissipation effect only seen in glazed Toasties. Instead, the overdone Owynns show the instability of gray and black underglazes at excessive temperatures. Here is one of the lucky ones, and even he stands 1/2" shorter than a normal gray Owynn. Yes, the gray one is what he was supposed to look like, had he survived past this fatal bisque firing. If this had been a glaze firing, I don't even want to think about the collateral damage that would have done to the kiln's furniture. Meltdown.



Toasties happen, and they can't be 100% prevented. They aren't realistic nor gem-like, and their collectibility is subjective. People like them or hate them. One thing is certain: no one orders their horses "extra crispy".

Glazing: Old and New, Both Good

With my backlog nearly completed, I took one day off and ran up to the Breakables and Fairytales Live at Breyerfest for the evening. This is a North American Model Horse Shows Association qualifier competition for all ceramic (and OF resin) model horses. It is the only model horse show at Breyerfest where you will see horses aged 100 years or more competing -and winning!- against the latest issues. There are categories for horse ceramics from every corner of the earth, made from every type of earth! You couldn't tell by now that I love the vintage pieces, adore the unusual- and this show did not disappoint. I did some proxy exhibiting for clients, but I managed to get a couple of photos of pieces that struck me as interesting.

The problem all horse artist-potters face is, how do you make a piece of china look like a horse, with all the variety of markings and colors? As many potters as there were and are, there are just as many answers, and that is what makes an all-ceramic model horse show such a great treat.

Dapples and Reverse Dapples





This dapper gent (unusually, it's not a mare polo pony) was the Rosenthal factory's answer to the question of dappling and reverse dappling, back in 1911. Some modern collectors may overlook this fellow, but there is a lot going on here. His roached mane and forelock have individually painted hairs. His eye is detailed, and even his nostril has an interior gray spot. Both types of dapples are subtle without hard edges or runs. There is a great deal to be learned from this piece, even one hundred years after it was made.

Here is a very subtle and elegant answer to the dapple question, from Nymphenburg, sometime after 1915:



This is a modern piece, recently decorated by Horsing Around of the UK. Each factory has its unique flair in decoration, and it becomes readily identifiable to collectors. A little further down is a photo of this same mold, addressing the same color, as an example of the endless variety in approach.



Here are two more modern takes on the dapple concept. The pony on the left is a RW custom glazed by the late Anthony (of Alchemy and formerly, Royal Worcester) and the on the right is a dapple rose gray by myself, of about 2 years ago.



Although she was not entered at this show, this model was on my table as a sample. I custom glazed this model (same mold as the Horsing Around above) this year. I aimed for a nice blend of the old and the new, soft and yet detailed.



The Smooth Body Surface

What do you do when your model has a soft form? How do you make its few details "pop"? By selective shading, without compromising or muddying up the slip pigmentation. Here is a Hagen-Renaker Sespe Violette, with strategic directional shading on her withers wrinkles, throat wrinkles, and leg feathers. She dates around 1954-55. There are many more heavily shaded examples, several were at this show.



Here is a current release, a Callahan sculpted and glazed by Addalee Hude, which rises to the challenge with pattern detail, rather than relying on strategic shading alone.



Making a "Blah" Color Sing

Here is a lovely vintage example of what many collectors would call a "boring" color choice: a solid bay. The Royal Worcester "Mill Reef" edition translated a bay color, that could easily have been flat, into a chocolate enrobement that exalts the sculpture. True, it takes a little stylist side trip here and there, following some sharply delineated contours, but that speaks to their commitment to the original designer's concept. That's cool. Overall, the shading and application, and attention to detail (nostril interior sinus pink!), has volumes to teach modern glaze artists.




I saw many rare and beautiful models that I simply couldn't get to fast enough to photograph on the judging tables. I hope this little sampler inspires you to attend the next all-ceramic horse show near you, or at least look at the china classes at the next horse show with fresh eyes. So much thought and technical work goes into each piece, be it an edition or one-of-a-kind. The appreciation knows no bounds of time or nationality.