Payton and Kaya

Today I had a very special visit while I was painting from two girls from Batavia, Illinois. Visiting family in Ithaca for the summer, they came down to the park after seeing the article about repainting the carousel. Payton Jewell, below, was one of the first kids to ride our newly painted horse, which was put back on the carousel this morning. After their ride, Payton, Kaya, and their mother came over to see me. They could not have been sweeter! They were so polite, careful around the horse I was working on, and very excited about the painting. It's wonderful to see happy kids!          -Julia

Horse #2 Finished!

Before:

 

After! We've nicknamed her the Irish horse. 

We Made The Paper!

Thanks to Kitty Hall-Thurnheer for the great article in the Ithaca Journal today, and to Simon Wheeler for the photo!

-Julia

Horse #2

I have begun the second horse! Here is a photo after sanding and priming, but originally she was a white horse with a black saddle with red accents, though quite faded. Much of the paint fell off when I was washing her.

Here is an in progress picture:

(Thank you Mom for taking it!)

I'll finish her up tomorrow, but in the meantime, there are a few more introductions to be made. 

In this picture below, there I am on the left, next to Brandon, who works for the park, Jeanne Grace, the City Forester, and Tony, who also works for the park. They've all been so helpful in getting the project rolling. Thank you!  

-Julia

If Wishes Were Horses, Beggars Would Ride

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." It's an English proverb, and at first the message seems to dismiss wishing, for wishing will get a person nowhere. Taking action is a far better way to achieve dreams. Often a nursery rhyme, this saying is used to teach children to take charge. However, when I thought about this a little longer, I found the proverb to be quite sweet. To me, it is human to wish and it is human to daydream. It is something we all do, and there is some sort of magic in simply hoping. Something I've been daydreaming about lately are horses, carousel horses that is, and it seems to me that if you wish for a while, (and take actions, of course) then wishes really can come true. 

So, here is Claire Lynch's take on the old proverb "If wishes were horses.." 

-Julia

29 more to go

We finished the first horse today!  Here are photos, of Julia putting the finishing touches on some stripes on the saddle blankets. 

The weather was threatening rain, so we worked just inside the big open doors of the maintenance shed at the park.  The maintenance staff have been really great to us, including building these awesome stands to put the horses on for painting, with wheels to make them easy to move around.

We have learned that many of the colors need multiple coats to look really good.  We have also learned that it's tricky to get to some of the nether regions of these horses with a paintbrush.  We've learned how to make the eyes looks sparkly, and how to mix a great lime green from the colors we have to work with.

-Christi

Who are we?

Who are we, anyway?  This is me on the left looking that gift horse in the mouth, and Julia on the right, as we were scrubbing off the first horse.  The carousel is in the background.  We worked together on this horse, to see what was involved in the process and how the paints work.  It was a beautiful hot summer day, right up until a huge sudden thunderstorm chased us away.

Photo by Kitty Hall-Thurnheer, with the Ithaca Journal.

-Christi

A bit of history

Since the Stewart Park carousel has been around since 1951, it has a long history.  Before Monty and Ellie May took over operating the carousel in the early 1980's, it had fallen into a pretty bad state of disrepair and was actually condemned and slated for removal from the park.  The Mays completely refurbished it, including new mechanics and a new awning, and that is also when they hired Annie Campbell to paint it.  Before she painted it, they completely stripped the horses down to their bare aluminum in big dip tanks, and then baked on a good solid coat of primer.  For the most part, that primer is still intact (which makes our job a lot easier).

Polly Joan, local photographer and all-around wonderful lady, sent me a photo she took of one of the horses before Annie painted it.  Check out the morning glories!

(You can find more of Polly's photos on her website, and also look for her at the Ithaca Farmers' Market!)

-Christi 

Horse #1

Christi and I spent a beautiful (but hot!) day in the park today working together on our first horse. We're so excited to have finally started, and we had a lot of fun! I'm still so happy we are able to do this. The maintenance staff at the park could not have been nicer or more helpful to us. We had an interview with Kitty from the Ithaca Journal, so keep your eyes peeled for a story about the project! Chased away by high winds and oncoming rain, we did not quite finish our first horse, but she is already looking so much better. She's a copper colored horse with a black mane and tail, and a nice black sock on one of her feet. Brightly colored saddle and bridle.  -Julia

This is before:

Coated in primer: 

And in progress: 

(Love those happy eyes!)

Why?

I wanted to share Christi's and my own reasons for wanting to paint the carousel in a little more detail. These statements were a part of our original proposal for the project. There's been a lot of thought and a lot of love put into it already, and there is sure to be plenty more. -Julia 

My name is Julia John and I am a third generation Ithaca kid. I absolutely love this town, the people in it, its beauty and its personality. It’s been a wonderful place to grow up. More specifically, I have fond memories of picnics and play dates in Stewart Park, and of course, of the beautiful carousel.  The thought of those brightly painted horses makes me bubble up full of joy. What breaks my heart is to see them with peeling paint. But here’s an idea. I have been an artist since my carousel days, and currently I am a rising sophomore at the Maryland Institute College of Art. I am a seamstress, a painter, and a drawer. Something that has always bothered me is the way the art world often seems to exclude children, because art hangs high on a wall and cannot be touched. I have been wracking my brain for projects that can engage kids and let them interact with art. What better than a carousel? Let’s let kids play on our art, touch it, hug it, dream about it, make it their own.  I want to repaint this carousel, and make it beautiful again.

I am Christi Sobel, a local artist and scientific illustrator.  I was born in the hospital on the hill, and raised in the beautiful town of Brooktondale just outside of Ithaca.  I was away for a while for college, grad school and travel and adventure, but returned in 1999 by default and settled in by choice.  I am a member of the Ithaca Farmers' Market, where I sell my art in various forms, and freelance for a variety of clients.  I love to work with clients with an environmental mission, especially if the work leads to travel and adventure.  Having grown up here, though, I have a huge fondness for the beauty around Ithaca, and have great memories of going to the lake and the parks.  My appreciation for Stewart Park in particular was just rekindled by two young girls who have entered my life through my relationship.  They LOVE running around the park, playing hard on the playground and in the fountain, and always plead for rides on the carousel.  It's really so magic that there's a carousel in the middle of the park.  I would love to give something back to the community and make the Stewart Park carousel a freshly beautiful sparkling jewel.  Plus it sounds like a lot of fun. 

Paint chips!

We chose our colors this morning!!!  A nice vibrant and harmonious palette, with some good browns and tans for horses and a selection of other colors which will let us mix just about any other shade we need.  We are still on the lookout for some exterior enamel in metallic gold and silver, harder to find than I expected.

I'd love to make a little comment here that we are actually raising funds to cover our work.  The Friends of Stewart Park are kindly helping us with the fundraising (and they are a non-profit, so you can get tax credit for any donations), and you can donate on their website.  If you or your business would like to "adopt a horse," please contact them as well.

-Christi

At the starting gate

These horses were bright and fresh and beautifully painted by Annie Campbell in 1986.  After almost 30 years of wear and a lot of kids' butts sitting in those saddles and kids' hands petting those noses, it's time to paint them again.  We are so excited to start, and we are out of the gates (note the horse-racing metaphor) this week.  We will work on our first horses at the park, to iron out any wrinkles in the process before going to the public.

We plan to follow the precedent set by Annie and the past history of the carousel, and keep the horses themselves in realistic colors but to give the saddles and blankets some vibrant new colors and patterns.

-Christi