A trip around the world: the carousel goes to India!

We had a really wonderful time painting at the Tompkins Trust Co., talking to many people and gathering lots of good comments and donations.  Thanks to everyone for that great experience.

Now we are also having a great time at the History Center!  We will be painting there for the month of February, and the people there have been so enthusiastic and welcoming.  We had a program last weekend where the Mays (former owners of the carousel) and Annie Campbell (the last painter) told their stories and put some of the history of the carousel and Stewart Park together.

I finished a horse this week, which had been in process both at the bank and the History Center.  This is a horse inspired by the colors and patterns of India.  I chose hot orange and pink colors for the saddle blankets, like colorful saris, bordered and patterned with bright gold.  For the saddle, I used traditional henna patterns, also called mehndi.  I had a great time working with these colors, although one technical problem came up.  Some of these paints really don't cover well, especially on the red end of the spectrum.  Both the orange and pink took about 6 coats of paint, with some layering of other colors to try to get a solid cover.  These are definitely not fine art paints...

The last photo shows the next horse, primed and ready to paint, on location at the History Center.  That one needed serious structural reconstruction...thanks to Rob at the the park and his expertise with Bondo.  Photos of that one to come next week.

The History Center is located at 401 East State St, in Ithaca, and is open on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays from 11:00–5:00.

-Christi