Traditional Scale
Chris Nandell & Carol Williams have been close friends and cohorts for many years (over thirteen). We have shared ideas, opinions and techniques all along, and each of us are respected artists in our own right. Since the release of Power Steering, a lot of people have asked us why we decided to do a sculpture together and how it came about.
And since it is an interesting tale we thought you might enjoy, here ya go!
It all started back in the early eighties when Chris asked Carol to do her a cutting horse. Western performance horses were always Carol's specialty and Chris wanted to have a piece of Carol's work that most reflected her area of expertise.
We traded for a bunch of breyer bodies, now we don't even remember what or how many but we made the trade. "I knew it was going to take awhile before I would see anything and I wasn't in any hurry," and several years later on her way thru town, Chris happened to stop by and spend the night. During the course of the evening the subject came up: "By the way, did you ever get that cutting horse done?"
Carol replied, "Well here's what I have so far" and she pulled out a started/half-finished sculpture. Chris asked Carol if she would mind if Chris finished and painted it. Carol replied, "Well, you might as well, it could be ten years before I get it done!" And that was how we ended up doing a collaborative piece.
Power Steering was completed and painted a stunning red dun with a haired mane & tail. Chris showed the model for several years very successfully, accumulating many champs at the live shows she attended. In early 1996, we decided to release the piece to the public. The original haired mane and tail were replaced with sculpted ones, with both artists working in tandem as Carol passed through Chris's town. Then the finished piece was photographed and shipped to DaBar enterprises to be molded.
Since then, somewhere between 120 and 150 copies were cast by the original DaBar Enterprises... unfortunately detailed accurate records were not kept.
Some years later, Chris and Carol discussed the situation, and decided upon a future course of action. Each artist would "update/modify" a copy of the original Power Steering and release the new version independently. Chris completed her modified Power Steering, named it "Whiplash", and had it cast and released it via her own website:
Beau Cheveaux Creations
Please visit Chris's website for more detailed information on the "Whiplash" edition.
To date Carol has never completed her modification of Power Steering, but hopes to some day.... eventually....
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