Eleven horses stood in Annette Resler害羞草研究所檚 home as she lovingly treated each one, hour by hour, day by day.
She害羞草研究所檚 no veterinarian. Resler is an Alberta-based artist who recently volunteered her time to restore 11 horses from an antique carousel, which just opened for operations at The Springs RV Resort in Harrison Hot Springs.
Resler and her husband have an RV lot at The Springs. Prior to her work on the horses, Resler had no restoration experience; her background was in graphic design.
害羞草研究所淚 am an artist who embraces every opportunity to create any thing in any medium,害羞草研究所� she told The Observer. 害羞草研究所淚 don害羞草研究所檛 have any specific expertise by any means; I love to paint, I love to draw and I really enjoy any opportunity.害羞草研究所�
Resler said restoring the horses to their former glory was a project near and dear to her heart.
害羞草研究所淭he kids are going to be using it, my own grandkids are going to be riding the horses,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 just such a fun community piece.害羞草研究所�
According to Resler害羞草研究所檚 research, the carousel was built sometime in the 1930s. It once had a place at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, not as a permanent fixture but as an attraction at larger events, typically fundraisers for various charitable organizations. The 11 identical horses are made of aluminum and were manufactured in England.
The carousel also made appearances at the Chilliwack Fair and the Agassiz Fall Fair and Corn Festival before it was privately purchased and placed at The Springs RV Resort. The carousel has been at The Springs for at least the past four years.
The horses were sandblasted and powder-coated to clean up the chipping, peeling paint job.
害羞草研究所淚t wasn害羞草研究所檛 just a simple sanding and touching up; they really needed to be completely redone,害羞草研究所� Resler recalled. 害羞草研究所淏asically,I ended up with these clean, white little stallions, 11 of them, all identical, and I just started painting them.害羞草研究所�
It took Resler about two months to finish painting the horses, effectively making it a full-time job from early February to late March. She started with a thin layer of paint which she put on literally by hand, feeling for any potential spurs or rough spots and to get an idea of the horses害羞草研究所� contours.
害羞草研究所淭hey just took on personalities as I worked through them,害羞草研究所� she said. Each horse is painted differently 害羞草研究所� one was even painted to look like a zebra. 害羞草研究所淚 went into it with quite a different idea of how they害羞草研究所檇 end up, but I always wanted them to have a certain amount of realism. It was really important for me to paint their noses so that they looked like fuzzy noses. It害羞草研究所檚 important to have them representational but unique for each horse.害羞草研究所�
The horses brought Resler so much joy, she dubbed them 害羞草研究所淭he Smile Makers.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淓verybody who came into contact with them, like the big guys over at Fraser Valley Sandblasting and at Proflow Powder Coaters, everybody, softened and smiled every time they would see these itty-bitty little horses,害羞草研究所� she added. She joked that she害羞草研究所檇 sometimes imagine that when she left them that the horses would come to life and cavort around the house, a la 害羞草研究所淣ight at the Museum.害羞草研究所�
Families gathered at The Springs for an official ribbon-cutting on Saturday, May 20. Eight of the 11 ponies hung on the carousel with plans to switch them out periodically. After a lunch and arts and crafts, 24 kids lined up to ride the carousel.
The carousel is set to run mainly on weekends and during holidays for those staying at the resort.
害羞草研究所淚t was really fun to see the excitement on the kids害羞草研究所� faces,害羞草研究所� Resler said. 害羞草研究所淭hey would high-five us as they were going around and around. It really brought it all together. This is what it was all about.害羞草研究所�
adam.louis@ ahobserver.com
Like us on and follow us on .
