I am delighted with my “stables” automata. The piece was designed to fit into a particular space in our house and does, perfectly. Lisa paid a great deal of attention to detail from my horses’ mannerisms right down to using each one’s own hair for their manes. Everyone who sees it loves it and no one can resist giving it a turn.
Vanessa Sharp
Horse owner Vanessa got in touch to see if I would create her horses in their stable .Capturing markings and mannerisms was a delight. Vanessa sent through photos and took a few small films from her phone and told me about them in an email.
'When not throwing hay around Bovril, the big all brown horse has a very long tongued ‘licky habit.'
'Tiana the big one with white face, funny little dots either side of her nose and rather greying hair (she's the old girl of the group) is a bit of a yawner.'
'Gracie the brighter brown one with a smaller face likes munching on hay'
The size and choice of woods was discussed as the piece was going to located in pride of place the new kitchen. Working on the detail of the horses and applying their mechanical movements to bring them to life was a joy. Each are carved and painted with specialist glass texidermy eyes for realism. Vanessa also sent each horses main and tail trimmings so their horse hair could be included in each character. The challenge was to capture Bovils tongue going in and out which I was very pleased with. Having never been to the New Forrest I decided to deliver the piece and the highlight I got to meet the stars of the automata in person.
