In Review: 2021 (Or "My Year In Saddles")

It’s the close of another year. Another year of the pandemic. Of social distancing and masks and nasal swabs. Of making new friends on Zoom. Of vaccines. Of adapting.

Wow, did I have to do a lot of adapting. 2021 started strong, but a year…and then 18 months of pandemic life wears a body down. Still, the past twelve months saw some of my best and - dare I say it - most innovative work thus far.

February

A lot of things were started in January…but nothing finished. This piece is from February - a saddle seat set for Eris MS, commissioned by the sculptor.

March

Most of the stuff that got underway in January wrapped up in March. A lot happened, y’all, and this month deserves it’s own little slide show. This was my first foray into “larger” scales in at least five years and I decided that I really, really liked it.

April

The third and final Mini Anise commission wrapped up in April. The bridle was a fantastic challenge! I worked on my International Model Tack Month piece at the same time, but I bit off a little more than I could chew…we’ll circle back to that.

May

May was devoted to Breyerfest prep. A LOT of things were finished, but most notable was the set of rainbow Arabian halters.

June

Guess what? More Breyerfest prep! Major shout out to my husband who took on additional parenting duties to give me extra evenings in the studio. I finished a lot of fun things in June, but I am especially proud of the bit on this Tennessee Walking Horse bridle, so it gets the spotlight.

July

At last! Breyerfest! The most important thing that was finished in that final rush was my International Model Tack Month project. I set out to make a fully carved, incredibly fancy western show set for Collecta scale horses. What I did not realize was how much bigger the scope of this project was, even before I dropped the almost-completely-finished saddle and shattered the horn. This piece was auctioned and sold for just a smidge over $900.

(I always say I’d rather have weaknesses exposed in studio, but…it took me a while to recover from that one)

August

I did not technically finish a saddle in August, but I DID finish the mold for Collecta/Venti/Little Bits sized western trees. After the disaster that was the 3D printed tree for the July saddle, I knew I needed to make my own.

September

September saw that tree put to good use - my second ever Little Bits sized western saddle wrapped up that month.

October

This was the last month of real productivity. November was a pretty rough month, but can we just take a minute to enjoy the third fully carved western pleasure saddle of the year? I turned the unexpected success of Breyerfest into some studio upgrades, including a doming block. It was a major upgrade and made a lot of things on this set possible that simply would not have been before.

November

We had a few blissful days before kiddo brought non-Covid crud home from preschool and we were completely derailed until Thanksgiving as it worked it’s way through the family. Nothing, not one thing, was finished in November. And you know what? That’s okay. I had fun making substantial progress on my first pair of buckle open front boots in a LONG time.

December

The Great Slump of 2021 was finished in late December. Burn out + holidays + illness does not equal a productive mind. I didn’t enter the studio in any meaningful way for almost five weeks, but before Christmas I felt some of the enjoyment trickle back. I had to write a hard email to clients informing of them of the changes to the schedule, but every one of them has been gracious and kind. The biggest success of December was tidying up the studio and picking out the color for a new Arabian halter.

I’m looking forward to 2022 - applying the adaptations I’ve learned, recapturing the joy, and trying new things.