the gingerbread horse 2017

The Gingerbread Horse was born from a desire to raise Money for MacMillan Cancer Support in memory of Robert Ainsley, a family friend who passed away in December 2017. Rob was like family and was Grandfather to Lacey, who, if you have been reading these clip documentaries in order , you will have seen was the young girl in the previous clip the year before, (2016) The Healing Horse.

At the time, It was without question what the next clip was going to be. As it happened I hadn’t clipped Romeo yet that year. We were past New Year and into January, yet Romeo was still in his full coat. I hadn’t prior to this had inspiration or a solid idea that I wanted to run with. The way it happened, from diagnosis, Robs passing came up very fast. There wasn’t time to plan anything let alone take action and unfortunately Rob passed away in the December.

When January came around, I wanted to use my platform to do something positive and utilise my social media presence with the goal of raising money for the MacMillan Cancer Support pot. Cancer is something that we all have heard about and almost every person has been affected by it whether that is seeing a loved one struggle through the illness or some people reading this will know the battle first hand. So the idea to do a coffee morning was born.

the gingerbread horse

What I really liked was how well received it was, we had our first Horse & Hound magazine feature, which was nice to see and have their support and no doubt it helped in our fundraising efforts.

It was great to see how supportive people were towards each other not only in person but also our online community too. I set up a number that people could text to donate £2 and lots of people did! With the help of friends, we organised a coffee and cake morning at our local equestrian centre, Croft Top!

We had a very generous donation from another riding establishment not too far away from where we are based, from Sabrina Ross and Romeo even went on a trip to World Book Day at her local community primary school. (see below)

It was great to see the children so taken with Romeo! He behaved impeccably on his day out to school!

I’m really pleased to say that we raised £1588 though donations to the text line, donations in the pot and donations received at the Coffee Morning!

From a clip perspective it was often said that the Gingerbread Horse had an Alice In Wonderland feel to it; This was not deliberate however I can see totally where this interpretation of this clip comes from! The checkered pattern on Romeos hind was flowing and not to a specific exact form, almost ‘trippy’, and the teapot being oversized and outspoken. That’s that’s how my work often is, I go wherever the coat takes me, vs planned shapes for example geometric shapes. I will take elements of an idea and apply them, often minimally. Less is more. One of my design process rules of thumb. The only time I tend to work in a fixed style is if I am doing a specific design for a customer who has seen something they want that consist of a fixed symbol, logo or shape. Otherwise, I am always refining and adapting to improve the artwork.

The Gingerbread Horse had a touch more negative space on him than the clip that preceded it, but I think its simplicity worked really well, the oversize buns, a nod to the coffee morning efforts. And finally, his tuxedo and bow tie, I look back at the photos and it makes me smile within! Romeo looks adorable and the tuxedo just ‘happened’. I remember clearly standing next to Romeo and the idea came, I got going and it felt right from the get go, it wasn’t hard to do it at all, it just felt so ‘right’! And I do think it looked so nice! I’m always taken aback by how I always ‘match up’ when it comes to important placements such as the same positioning on the neck and wither for the tuxedo. Its always where it needs to be, even without me looking or marking it up. That comes with being a freehand artist, we build a picture in our brain , and that is our reference.

I have one confession, something I saw a while after the clip was completed , that I didn’t see at the time! It looked like the Gingerbread men were doing poos! Each leg is decorated with gingerbread buttons! Now I can’t unseen it….!