HC Stories 2010-2011
01.15.13
Old wood gets new life as award-winning horse
01.15.13
Old wood gets new life as award-winning horse
Using cedar scraps from a local cemetery, tree limbs cleared from a local farmer’s land, chicken wire and her 6 year old quarter horse, Audi, as a model, Teal Peterson ’13 constructed a life-sized horse sculpture for one purpose: to get into graduate school.
“I finished it three days before my first application was due,” said the studio art major from Grand Island, Neb.
As she awaits responses from schools around the country, Teal entered the sculpture, entitled “A Horse of a Hundred Woods”, in Hastings College’s 2013 All Student Art Show where it earned Best in Show honors.
For Teal, who has ridden horses for as long as she can remember, the sculpture was a six month labor of love. She began by resolving the sculpture’s many structural issues, such as the tilt of the horse’s head, using clay.
“Something about sculpting in clay allows me to get the feel of a piece,” she said. “I’m a very tactile person and work by touch rather than sight. It’s the only way to capture the area underneath a horse’s chin.”
She then constructed the sculpture’s bones by interlocking pieces of wood like a jigsaw puzzle and covered the structure with chicken wire and a cloth comprised of wood shaving, known as excelsior. Finally, she applied the exterior coat – cedar chips which she rescued from a burn pile.
Teal’s use of repurposed wood is part of her trademark.
“I tie my artwork together through the materials,” she said. “I use things which have fallen or been discarded. I don’t cut anything down for my artwork. It’s about bringing castaways back and showing their beauty in the art.”
Sometimes, the fallen items do need attention and manipulation.
“I had to use every kind of saw and sander possible for this project,” Teal said. She credits Hastings resident Jack Sandeen with teaching her to use the woodworking tools necessary to transform the materials into the sculpture.
For the inspiration to pursue a career in art, she credits various members of her family, including her aunt, Cindy Weddington, who “gave her permission” to be an artist, and her cousin, Shelley Rystrom, who has served as an important sounding board for Teal’s ideas.
“Organizing my thoughts is very difficult for me,” she said. “Shelley has always been there when I have called upon her for help. She’s really become like a sister to me.”
Appreciation for Teal’s talents is expanding beyond her family and her Hastings College professors. She sold her first piece earlier this month and already has had several more inquiries.
In upcoming months, she plans to develop her first website for her artwork and hopes to hear from graduate schools soon.
“A Horse of a Hundred Woods”, along with the other entries in the student show, will remain on display in the Hastings College Art Center through January 24, 2013.
