Running Horses Studio

Once I committed to the theme of the carousel to influence my art practice,  I did a little research and came across an antique carousel restorers studio here in Los Angeles and simply wrote to them asking if I could volunteer once a week to learn techniques such as gold leaf gilding. It has been nearly two months since I first walked into Running Horses Studio in Irwindale and have not only been listening to some amazing facts and stories about the history of the carousel in America by an industry professional but getting my hands dirty with oil paint, gold leaf and sanding dust! Feels great to be getting dirty again! By the way, the studio is a two hour public transport ride, one way, from where I live in Los Angeles, but a 35 minute drive! Gotta love Los Angeles public transport system....NOT!

I wanted to share a visual of Running Horses Studio so you could see what the inside of a warehouse studio with nearly 400 carousel horses looks like. As you can imagine, it is out of this world! The first day I walked in, I nearly needed a slap to get over the awe of the place! 

Lourinda Bray owns Running Horses Studio, has been in the business for 30 or so years and really knows her stuff. She has her own personal collection of nearly 400 hundred horses here at the studio, including a complete carousel in storage. Crazy! She is the one sitting on the right while Caroline is sitting on the left, who has her own small collection of horses. She comes in to help out sometimes and has some wonderful stories to tell of working at carousels throughout her life.

Below are some random shots of the studio. I have taken hundreds of photos within the studio as every turn is a really great photo opportunity!

  

 

 

In future posts, I will share the techniques I have been taught at the studio. I'm really looking forward to hitting the studio on my return to Melbourne and get playing with gold leaf and oil paints!