All about the fur sculpture process.

HI and Welcome, I am artist Deborah Johnson. I live in WNY with my husband of 15 yrs. We own and opperate a modest equine faciluty and enjoy our small chunk of Gods creation.
I have some images posted of my fur sculptures and want to elaborate more on them here to give a more complete understanding. My mule Anna Mae grows a VERY heavy fur coat each year, In the spring as the weather warms she can get very uncomfortable, hot and sticky. As a mule she dosen't shed the winter fur as quickly as do horses. So to make her more comfortable i clip her fur in late April eary May, depending on the weather. If we get an odd chilly day or night I have warm blankets to put on her to keep her comfy. My first clip was inspired by the election in 2008, that was when i did the first "fur sculpture" Star Spangled Mule. This was a fall (late Oct.) clip, I clip at this time of year if I anticipate riding her through the winter, so she won't get sweated up and hard to get dry during the cold weather.
My next was the "Nifty Fifty" clip to honor my in-laws wedding anniversary. This clip took about two hours of creative thinking and 6 hours of actual clipping over a 3 day/session. Design is predominatly on one side with a few hearts and roses on the other side.
Now as I find another spring approaching I have begun to contemplate designs for the 2011 clip, (or clips as she is two sided.)
I am even willing to take special requests for a clip. Fee determined by complexity of design , time it takes to clip and if it utilizes one or two sides of Anna Mae.
Keep an eye for the clips and i welcome talling and visting about them.