Art Farm Nature Journaling at Barlow Horse Ranch

Carlsbad Art Farm students had a great time this week visiting the Barlow Horse Ranch and sketching in their nature journals. Here students check out a Texas longhorn, who, in turn, seemed to like checking them out. The impression was he doesn't often get to model for young artists.

Students also sketched a couple of mini-donkeys named Luigi and Mario and Toby, a huge draft horse (I guess that they are huge goes without saying, but it really is impressive to stand hoof-to-toe with one of these gentle giants).

For more information about Carlsbad Art Farm or two enroll in our two remaining camp sessions of the summer, visit our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click on the "Camp" tab.

A Mule With a Hankering for Sunflowers

Picasso, our miniature mule, has come a long way since he first came to Art Farm a year ago in April. He was generally anxious and stand-offish, and didn't like to be touched about the head. But now he follows us around like an extra-jumbo-sized Great Dane.

When camp is not in session, we let him out of his pen so he can roam around and get in a good run. He is pictured here with my daughter, Emerson, at the camp registration table. Moments after this picture was taken, he noticed on the table a painting on paper of some sunflowers. It must have been a good likeness, because Picasso got this rascally look in his eye, snapped it up and ran off with it. The paper flapping in the wind caused him to startle and run ever faster, but he wouldn't let go of the painting because he was sure it might be good to eat. After he figured out that the painting wasn't going to harm him, he dropped it on the ground, looked at the flowers for awhile longer, and then, apparently deciding these particular flowers were not for eating, he trotted off looking for something better. Kandinsky, our goat, would have eaten the paper flowers in a heartbeat.

Picasso has been trained to come when we whistle. He'll come to the whistler, and then trot along behind hoping for a treat. Many times his treat is a nice ear scratch. He would prefer some Alfamo, but he thinks the ear scratch is pretty nice.

Art Farm has two summer sessions left before the camp season ends. For details and enrollment forms, visit our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click on the "Camp" tab.

P.S. click on the photo below to enlarge. Picasso's face is pretty endearing.

Can You find the Hidden Animals?

Pictured here are Carlsbad Art Farm Session 5 Campers, all ready for their close-up, except Kandinsky the goat who insisted on facing the other way. It just goes to show that you can lead a goat to a photo shoot, but you can't make her pose (click for larger view).

The little fellow on the far right is a miniature mule (his mother was a pony and his father was a small donkey). The animal with the long neck to the left of the mule is Mr. Weasely, one of our alpacas, and just right of center is Hilda, our German Shepherd and self-appointed guardian of all children.

Campers are learning lots of great new art techniques this week in acrylic, charcoal, and watercolor. They have made their nature journals, are working on artist's trading cards, making soap, and generally having a grand old time being around animals in nature for a week.

If you haven't visited our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com then take a look now. For camp information and forms, click on the "Camp" tab. We have just four more weekly summer sessions before we wrap it up for the summer. There is limited available space remaining in all sessions. We hope to see you here soon!

Designer Dad Makes Monsterous School Lunches

English Designer Jon Hicks knows how to make a kid look forward to lunch. Imagine opening your lunch box everyday and discovering a new monster along side the P& J sammie.

Starting last May, Hicks has daily penned whimsical monster cards for this son Daniel's lunch boxes. He then posts his illustrations at danielsmonster.tumblr.com. Take a look.

Hicks notes he's, "Not totally sure why I started this, but (Daniel) enjoyed the first one, and it’s become a ritual. Every morning when making his lunch, I give myself 5 minutes to draw a monster on paper from one of those memo pad things, give it a name and quickly photograph it with the iPhone.

"Sometimes they come out OK, sometimes they’re not so great. The important thing is seeing his reaction at the end of the day."

It's wonderful for kids to see parents being creative, making it a part of the fabric of life. As Hicks notes, sometimes they're good and sometimes not, but that's hardly the point. What's wonderful is the sense of fun communicated visually. It's something shared, daily, between parent and child.

One thing I run up against time and again with young artists is a fear of somehow drawing a bad picture. I think this is something telegraphed to them every time a parent says, "Oh, I can't draw!" instead of simply doing it. At some time in our childhoods most of us love to draw and then, somehow, fell out of the habit. It's a reversible loss.

Which Way is it to Carlsbad Art Farm?

Session Four campers at Art Farm concluded their week today with a group portrait (click to enlarge) and our weekly Friday All Camp BBQ. This photo was taken by Art Farm Camp Aide April Mitchell.

Pictured here with students are Hilda, the dog posing in front, and Kandinsky, the $20 Art Farm rescue goat. Kandy came from the local animal shelter a year ago in May after she was found wandering around a county road without any identification. She landed on her feet (as goats do) at Art Farm, where she works as an art model when not getting into mischief.

Kandy is part Nubian goat. We're not sure what the other part is. She shares her corral with Picasso, a miniature mule, which is next door to the alpaca paddock. She is a very endearing animal and we are on the lookout for a companion goat with whom she might like to share a corral.

Session Five at Art Farm is now full. We still have limited space in Sessions Six through Nine, continuing into mid-August. Camp sessions are one week. Hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, access our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click on the "Camp" tab. Enrollment and other forms are available for download at the bottom of the camp tab.

Medicine Horse Visits Art Farm

Campers at Carlsbad Art Farm this week were delighted by a surprise visit from Boy Scout, a paint "Medicine Horse". Scout (click on image to enlarge) is 16-hands and about seven-years old. His owner, Tim Barlow, at far right, owns the Barlow Ranch just down the road from Art Farm. Scout LOVES apples slices and had a great time eating them as they were offered by students.

Boy Scout, and his little sister, Girl Scout, come from a 180-year-old horse ranch in Plano, Texas, that specializes in Medicine horses that are a cross between an American Quarter Horse and an Appaloosa.

So what is a "Medicine Horse?"

In an article titled "The Spirit or Medicine Horse", by Nancy Falley of Lockhart, Texas, originally published in the Spring 2003 issue of Caution: Horses, Falley writes:

"Many Native American tribes and families held certain horses in high regard as Spirit or Medicine horses. The designation was made for horses with unusual markings. These horses could range from appaloosas with a 'bearpaw' or ‘handprint' marking in its spotting to paints or pintos with an unusually shaped spot or spots (Medicine Hat or War Bonnet markings were highly prized) to the solid colored animal with an unusual facial marking. Many so-called Spirit or Medicine horses also had blue eyes which were often called Sky-eyes or Heaven-eyes and added to the mystique which surrounded them.

The term Spirit or Medicine horse could also be placed on a more 'normally' marked horse who had shown its owner some unusual talent or power, such as alerting its rider to danger that the rider/owner hadn't discerned or being able to find game.

Warriors and Shamans as well as other members of the tribe or family valued these Spirit or Medicine horses very highly and believed that the good fortune of their people depended in some part on keeping these animals in their possession. Since horse stealing was considered an honored profession among early Native Americans, it was these particular horses that an enemy warrior or tribe might go after. If they could get away undetected with the valued horse, they were considered to have good medicine' and the theft earned the respect of both their tribes and the enemy from whom the animal had been stolen. Of course, it was then the former owner's turn to try and regain his stolen property.

Today Spirit or Medicine marked horses still appear in the various color breeds, as well as the solid colored breeds. The American Indian Horse Registry (AIHR) welcomes these unusually colored horses without discrimination. They may be a combination of appaloosa and paint or pinto or an outcrop from a solid colored breed. Some Indian Horse breeders work very hard to breed these features into their lines, but nature is still the boss and most deliberate breeding programs fail due to the very nature of the elusive coloration."