A Visit with Fara Shimbo

 

On August 8, while I was in Boulder, CO, I was able to visit with Fara Shimbo, and (as she had promised) to pet her horses --- Akhal Tekes both.  Fa and I go way back, to the early 1980s (probably to the late 70s).  This post will cover that visit; a later post will be about the model horses and tack by her that I possess.  I apologize for the weird bluegreen cast to these photos; it was another smoky-hazy day on the Front Range, my camera was set funny and I don't quite have the PhotoShopping skill to remove it.

I had not seen Fa for at least 24 years, since about 1998.  She had turned up on FaceBook approximately a year or so ago.  In that long interim I had known only that she did crystallography, raised roses and was involved with Akhal Tekes, owning them and drawing stationery for their club.  The above photo was the first of the visit, after a slow navigation to Hygiene, about 35 minutes for 11 miles.  (Alone for the first time since leaving PA, I only got lost a little.)

Fa's expression and smiling eyes have not changed, even through a Mets mask.  Of course the first place we went was the horse corral.  "Twink," also known as Twink the Fink, is the buckskin.  This lady was definitely boss. 

It is actually rare that I meet real horses.  I have model horse friends like Fa, and BreyerFest, to thank for the times I do.  I can't really remember the last time I was in a real corral,... certainly not a Front Range one.  The other horse is a bay mare named Katrina.  Fa has owned her since she was a baby.  She is now around 18.  [Bad camera angle.]

Twink was aggressive about getting petted.  She would present her back end and expect to be rump-scratched.  Twink had the most interesting and attractive patterning on her rear dorsal stripe.  I took lots of shots trying to capture this, sometimes standing on my tiptoes and holding the camera over my head.

In the end I think I was successful.

It was sheer heaven to be outside with horses, with a friend, at home, with nobody else around.  Neither horse was broken to ride so there was no question about riding, which actually was a great relief and made the occasion even more laid back.

I had chosen visiting Fa as a substitute for another model horse party when fears of Delta threatened to overwhelm me and my family.  Despite assurances of vaccination (I've been vaccinated since February), too many unknowns -- number of visitors, their possible exposures, location, whether inside or out -- caused me to make yet another difficult heartbreaker of a choice.  (I've had too many of those.)  In the event, this time the choice was right. 

Fa wouldn't let me in her house.  "Too many cats," she said, adding that the mess inside would certainly not stand visitors.  Since I was happy outside this was not a problem.  We sat on the front step and I got to show off everything I'd brought.  And she got to show off too.

Fa was that rarest of possessions in the 80s for me, a model horse friend within easy driving distance.  (Only about 4 miles then.)  Our visits then shimmered with inspiration, creativity and all kinds of animals -- she had ferrets amoung other things, and had written a book about them!  Our visits slowed down after college and all but ended when I moved to PA in 1987.   On this day, we didn't have quite enough time to cover all the 24 years, but we did catch up nicely on the stuff that's important.  

This is just one example of Fa's artistry:  a model horse she'd sculpted, cast and painted herself.  In case you don't recognize it, it's a portrait of Katrina the bay.

It's what I call a solidcast.  Techonology in casting model horses has come a long way since the old days.

Fa made the base as well and covered it with (I believe) coffee grounds.  The mane and tail are 'string.'  The golden coat has a strong metallic sheen.

Fa had been what I call a "Michaelangelo," a model horse artist capable of just about everything.  In addition to her sculpting, casting and tackmaking through the years, she had dabbled in 3D printing.  She casually explained that the front legs of the little red horse were missing "because a cat chewed them off."

I could only admire the correctness of the little red horse's conformation and general proportions.  Fa had known more about 3D printing, earlier, than I did at the present time (even with Maggie's presentation during BreyerFest under my belt!).

These two pieces were so like Fa:  moments of artisanry from a lifetime of enjoying all aspects of models.  In return I tried to bring her up to speed with my current model life and with Breyer's, showing off Fireheart, Icabad and Kaalee.  She liked Kaalee right away.  Of course TSII tack was present.  Fa went in the house and came back out with an astonishing gift for me:  TSII #207!!!!!!!

But more on this later.