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In the beginning, we were normal, rambuncious, hormone-laden 17 year old teenage girls. And mom, well, she was out for every boy within 20 feet of us. This situation was serious. So on one of our many hunting ventures (we collect horse anything), we made our annual treck to Shipshewanna to visit the Craft Barn and Dad's Toys so that we could oogle and spend every last penny we could on Breyer statues. And on our trek home we read in the brochure in the box - you know the one you say ooooww and aahhhh to and wish you could buy them all - about BreyerFest. Wow, a place for others like us! You mean there are more? So off we went to our very first in 1993. And we watched close as mom stared and stared at the creations of all the artists. She got quieter and more intense and didn't pay a bit attention when we went to the pool and... Anyway, on the way home we talked about the grand artwork of the many artists. Mom says, "Gee I would sure like to try that." Bingo! We found something for mom to do. By golly we sure didn't mind donating a few bodies from our collection, although we treasured each and every one. And wowsa life is taking a turn for the better. We give mom a statue and she sits at the table for hours, days even. And is she upset at our boyfriends still? Well, she is really getting her frustrations out on those Breyers. Why, we didn't know they could melt and stretch like that. The rest is history and below are some pictures of mom's work. We hope you like it. If you are having any trouble with your mom, why heck, give her a Breyer, a heat gun, and some paint and epoxy.
Here you see mom's first year of sitting at the table, mutilating and torturing Breyers. Note that we aren't there. And she discovered hairing. It got a little out of control at times but we weren't going to tell her that. And has developed a love for Arabians now too. Her language is changing, too. She is using strange terms such as RRH. Is that a blood type? Magazines are now everywhere, JAH, The Hobby Horse News, The Equine Miniaturist, and everything else mom could find new and used. Mom is now hooked on tenite fumes and sometimes acts a little strange. Her friends at work are always overjoyed to see her pictures.
Well, we made it thru high school. Mom discovered the Holiday Inn (dad really wished shee hadn't). And mom got ribbons! Now we are guaranteed a trouble free existence for ever after. So mom's workshop grew and so did our collection because we found the Holiday Inn. "What?" you say. Well if you aren't an avid collector, let us explain. The Holiday Inn in Lexington at BreyerFest time (usually the last weekend in July) becomes a cornicopia of miniature horsedom. Sheer ecstasy for those who love and collect and a good cover for those who humor their moms and dads. Yep, they're there too, some even willingly. So we loaded mom up on bodies, left behind all our money, and went home with big smiles in our future, even mom. As you can see, we like action - rodeos, bucking, barrel racing. Mom tried to make it all. But the most beloved project we worked on together was the bucking horse scene, for BreyerFest. They had a scene class and we worked hard to put it together. The horse by the way is the grazing mare. But the Troika, now that was work. Combined, we put in about 100 hours. We hand made all the tack and the horses are Legionaro on the outside and, surprise, the FAS. We did all the showing for mom. She can't put all those little buckles and stuff on. Seems dad said we needed to find a way to pay for all this fun, so we started a vendors booth with everything that we could find to sell. Now mom has booths at antique malls around home. The rest of our collection is spread out. We didn't mention that in the mean time we both became normal and got married and live somewhat close to mom. But we aren't fools. She still asks us to sand if we hang around long enough. There was an elephant, and a goat made from the shetland pony, an Okapi (a rainforest giraffe) mom and baby, and Xena. Before Breyer made Argo, we did. We have had Xena fighting a dragon, trying to save Ben Breyer, and, this last year, she saved Ben from Hercules. We have had a horse being bathed by Ben Breyer with real running water, and so on, and so on. And then there came Peter Stone and his horses. Why a whole new batch for mom to torch. How exciting, new blood, err, tenite. Our first year out, we did pretty well. Mom was on a bronze kick and made one after Remington and also the "End of the Trail". And, of course, she had to make something that spins, moves, or runs. We have made many Tennessee Walking Horses, loved by the locals. And for one of our weddings she made the table center piece (we are team ropers). Then, mom found mold making, original sculptures, cold cast bronze, and so on. Do we see another beginning here? As long as she still has time to babysit. We sure have had fun and know that this is only the beginning. We all have some of mom's work now, and she has us. We hope you enjoyed our tour through time, and we hope to see you at BreyerFest.
We will add more when we can. We want to thank our fellow hobbyists and teachers, Sarah M. and Laurie Jo. We also want to thank our close friends, who we drug into the hobby, Margie Para and Karen and Teill Larson. There's even one who we found right here in Tennessee, Kitty Anderson. Thanks for being there with us.
Sincerely,
Pat and Jim Sinnott
Debbie (now Lassiter) and hubby Doug
Andrea (now Nelson) and hubby Aaron
Michael (our son) and his family
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact us.
