Please check out the new video at www.pick-me-ups.com.  This video will tell you why I have created, and want to get this “little army of feel-good people” out there. There can always be more good in the world, and with Pick-Me-Ups, we can change lives one gift at a time. Here is the latest Pick-Me-Up figure called ”Cowboy At The Cross.”   

This week I have been working on many projects, but here is one that has really been filling my days. I am making a two-part hammered, sheet steel tree for a couple in North Texas for their gate. I started with sheet steel cut to the right pattern, and then hand-hammered the depth and texture in.  This is one rare occasion when I got to sit down on the job!

Once hammered, it looks more 3-dimensional.

The hardest part of this project came after welding and preparing the backside for the gate mounting. Three days later I finally finished and was ready to take the piece to the powder coater for a clear coat.  Here are the final results before the clear coat. It is hard to tell the size, but each piece is 70 inches tall and approximately 48 inches wide.

Life happens here on the farm, and so I had to give some special attention to one of my hens that had lost some feathers and the others were picking on her. I knew I had to get her out of the coop, or the others would peck her until her demise. I built her an annex coop, and have been nursing her back to health. She looks bad here, but she is growing her feathers back and is on the road to recovery.

The other chicken news is that I found a home for our big barred rock rooster. He needed more hens to  call his own, and he now has 25 instead of just 5. Our hens are happier, too.

Then, a new rooster who had had his comb ripped off in a fight somewhere, showed up here. He is very friendly and we have dubbed him “Combless.” Here he is, eating with the horses.

Check out the “What’s New” page on the www.estherbenedict.com site.  I am sculpting a little hummingbird. The final piece will have the hummer hovering at a metal flower, and will be mounted on a wood base. It will be available in the Web Store in a few weeks. Recently I was asked to make something in metal wall sculpture that was South Texas in nature. Here is the new bobcat piece. 

It is 44 inches wide and 30 inches tall. This piece sells for $395.00. I do have a bobcat and kitten that is a “second,” and will be on the Benedict Metal Art site on sale by this weekend. Take a look!  The price will be right!

Keep in mind that whenever you want a custom gift, sign, awards, or any kind of metal art, I am your go-to person. I will talk with you and get a clear idea of what YOU want, then I will make it happen. My job is to make you smile! Thank you for taking the time to check in once again. Please do visit the above mentioned sites, and we will connect again down the road. 

 All the best, 

 Esther

I have had a slow start getting back to the blog in this New  Year,  but finally, here it is. The orders keep coming in, and I thank you all for that.  It seems people now realize that I fill that niche of very unique gifts, signs, and other custom metal art that you just cannot get anywhere else. I love to create that special something of  yours that makes the customer happy! If you have a special occasion, an event, or just want something for your home, please call or email me -  Esther Benedict (830)535-6888 or   estherbenedict160@gmail.com - and let’s get it done!

January flew by, but let's back up a bit before we go there. The Christmas orders got out on time, and here are a few that left from here in Pipe Creek to various parts around the lower 48 states and to Scotland! 

January was largely spent on creating the "Golden Retriever National Specialty Awards," which being held here in Texas this fall. I will not be able to show you the awards until later this year after the show, as they are all secret and are kept as a surprise from the recipients.  

 Here is one of the new Pick-Me-Ups called “Forgiven.” ($135, plus S&H) This piece was inspired by a song by Matthew West called “Forgiveness.”  I will put the lyrics at the end of this blog so that you can see how very powerful it is.  I hope you like this piece. 

    

Another that I just created is called “Self Image.”  It’s up to us to decide who we want to be, and this little piece depicts just that.  The price $45.00, plus S&H. 

  

Also, "Self-Made Woman."  $45.00, plus S&H.

January has also been spent on getting the Pick-Me-Ups ready to launch on a bigger scale. I will soon be introducing them on The Marketplace (http://marketplace.theblaze.com/) and I am going to ask you for a favor, when I do.      I will appreciate any good words you might have for www.Pick-Me-Ups.com once they are launched.  Stay tuned for the formal announcement!

I just finished up the annual Texas Thoroughbred awards and hear they went over well.

Here is one of the UTSA Roadrunner awards for the University of Texas at San Antonio.

I have been doing a lot of awards lately, it seems.  I am presently working on awards for mountain  biking groups, fun races, more for UTSA here in San Antonio, and I am working on the Wild Hog Explosion awards (below)  which will take place in Bandera, Texas on March 16th. It is another great niche I am filling more and more for those unique awards that you can’t find anywhere else.

"Margarita" and "Bloody Mary" Awards

"People's Choice" Award

Here is my most recent mountain bike award for a marathon race held in Texas last month.   

A couple of weekends ago, I delivered a garden-size sculpture to a couple in Boerne, Texas. I put it in place while they were away so that he could surprise her for her birthday.   I am looking forward to getting together with them soon to meet them in person.  Thank you for your sculpture purchase! I hope you enjoy it every day!

Check out this new custom Texas Longhorn Toilet Paper Holder ($50.00, plus S&H).

Time to get back out to the studio and get the creative juices flowing! Thank you for taking the time to read up on the most recent events, and again, I will appreciate the support at The Marketplace by The Blaze. Until next time. . . I hope for you to find something great in every day   All the best,  Esther. 

Song By Matthew West that  inspired my “ Forgiven” Pick-Me-Up.

This is a beautiful song.  Look it up and listen to it, if you have a minute.

 

"Forgiveness"

 It’s the hardest thing to give away

 And the last thing on your mind today

 It always goes to those that don’t deserve

 

It’s the opposite of how you feel

When the pain they caused is just too real

It takes everything you have just to say the word…

 

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

 

It flies in the face of all your pride

It moves away the mad inside

It’s always anger’s own worst enemy

Even when the jury and the judge

Say you gotta right to hold a grudge

It’s the whisper in your ear saying ‘Set It Free’

 

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

 

Show me how to love the unlovable

Show me how to reach the unreachable

Help me now to do the impossible

 

 Forgiveness, Forgiveness

 

Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness

 

It’ll clear the bitterness away

It can even set a prisoner free

There is no end to what its power can do

So, let it go and be amazed

By what you see through eyes of grace

The prisoner that it really frees is you

 

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

 

Show me how to love the unlovable

Show me how to reach the unreachable

Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness

 

I want to finally set it free

So, show me how to see what Your mercy sees

Help me now to give what You gave to me

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Another new piece, "Redeemed," was inspired by the following ($39.00, plus S&H):

BIG DADDY WEAVE LYRICS "Redeemed"

Seems like all I could see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me "son
Stop fighting a fight it's already been won"

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be
I am redeemed, I'm redeemed

All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, "Child lift up your head"
I remember, oh God, You're not done with me yet

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be

Because I don't have to be the old man inside of me
'Cause his day is long dead and gone
Because I've got a new name, a new life, I'm not the same
And a hope that will carry me home

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, 'cause I'm not who I used to be

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, yeah, I'm not who I used to be
Oh, God, I'm not who I used to be
Jesus, I'm not who I used to be
'Cause I am redeemed
Thank God, redeemed

 

 

 

   

The past week and a half, I have been at the World Quarter Horse Show in Oklahoma City, OK. The show started just before the election, and the results, it seems, have had an impact on the show sales as all election years do. After the election was over, there has been little improvement in sales or traffic here at the show.

 

 

PLEASE READ ON.......  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But there have been other blessings that come from the show, because I have met some really incredible people while here - nice customers, and all my vendor friends around me at my booth.  Michelle and Glen are my neighbors, and they have the best massage chairs I have ever sat in. This chair delivers a complete massage head to toe. It was nice of them to let all of us vendors - when things were slow - to have a daily massage. Check out their website www.massagechairprofessional.com   Just awesome!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michelle, trying on a coat she liked!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glen with their awesome massage chairs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glen & Michelle's dog, Mercy, with me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been blessed to be able to stay with my friends, Shorty and Bobbie, while here at the show.  And through them, I have met some incredible friends of theirs, as well.  Last Friday evening, I met Barney, a long time friend of Shorty’s.  

 

 

 

 

 

Shorty & Barney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the incredible western hats on this group!  They were all created at Shorty’s Hattery in OKC. Look up her site at www.shortyshattery.com .  We all sat out on the deck at the Ranch Restaurant on Britton north of OKC on a balmy fall eve and talked next to the fire.  Joni Harms had flown in that day and was entertaining us with her incredible music.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joni and Shorty have been friends for years, and Joni flew in to sing at Shorty’s customer appreciation “Hat Party” Saturday night.   

 

 

 

 

 

Joni & Shorty

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found I had some real connections to Joni and her music through her ranching background and good family values.  She sings it all!  Please check out her Web site  at www.joniharms.com. Her latest CD is “Harms Way,” but they are all fantastic.   

 

 

 

 

 

Joni and me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my buddy Kevin. He works for Shorty’s Hattery, but he has given me rides, carried my stuff, and just helped me out in many ways, so I wanted to say a big THANKS to Kevin. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also got to catch up with Connie and Joey Jemison while they were at Shorty’s Hattery party, and they stopped by the booth just to chat. You must look up their Web site and see some mind-blowing tooling done on their custom saddles. Visit Connie and Joey at www.joey-jemison.com.   Take a look at these awesome spur straps!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, please check out Lyndon Gaithersburg and his incredible contemporary paintings at his site at www.lyndongaither.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shorty’s Hattery is holding a silent auction to fund research for a cancer cure this week at her booth here at the World Show. I donated a Pick-Me-Ups piece called “All Creatures Great and Small” to lend a hand to the cause.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I will be here in OKC at the Fairgrounds until 7 PM on Sat the 17th. Come on in and see me if you are anywhere in the area.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me, with Freedom's Spirit, at my booth!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time, keep saddling your horse and enjoying the ride!

In the weeks leading up to the Quarter Horse World Show in Oklahoma City, I was busily preparing and was a bit behind in getting the blog out. But now I will show you some of the brand new, high detail pieces I have brought into my product stock line.  Some of these pieces are much larger than the ones in the past.

 

Mounted Shooter 30 in. tall X 33 in. wide        Price $325.00 plus S/H  

 

There is also a Mounted Shooter (male rider)  Price $385.00 plus S/H

 

Team Ropers 30 in. tall X 44 in. wide       Price $425.00 plus S/H

This got some great reviews from the World Show crowd!

 

New Western Pleasure.  This can be with a male or female rider.   $110.00 plus S/H

 

I have created two new jumper pieces. The first one is a smaller oval 17 inches tall. I will be enlarging this in future cuts to 20-inch ovals, as I like that size best.

Oval piece 17 inches tall  - Sells for $99.00 plus S/H.

Large "Hunter Over Fence" is 28 in. tall X 31 in. wide.  This is a real nice colorful piece, and also received great reviews from folks at the World Show!

 

Also, a new Halter Horse piece, and a new standing side view of a quarter horse. 

 

Remember, in all of the above pictures you can have the horses custom-colored to look like your horse, or a friend's, if it is a gift.   I also have a selection of bay, palomino, buckskin, sorrel, and chestnut.  Paints and appaloosa colors are also possible. Just contact me and I will be happy to work with you to create a fantastic eye-catching piece!

 

Of course, there are many other regular stock items on the Web site. If you are thinking of Christmas and want custom orders created, get your emails and photos in to me as soon as possible!  

 

This is my new trailer for traveling to art shows. It is really nice, and I'm so glad to have it.!

 

Just before I left on my trip to New York, my friend Doreen Clark came to visit us. We have been friends for 40 years. It was nice to have her stay a day a ahead of her work in San Antonio.

As I have been away for a couple of weeks, I was visiting my parents in upstate NY for my mom’s 88 birthday. The time spent with them was wonderful and we did a few side trips I will share here with you. Falls colors were spectacular!  

Apples were fresh and the aroma was in the air.  

Of course, I brought some home in my carry-on!    

We visited Morrisville College in Morrisville, NY to see a few sculptures that are installed there that I have made over the years. 

Here is the Mustang at the Quad.

We also visited a piece that is down by the horse stables at the college.    

And then on to the new Equine Rehabilitation Center outside of town.  

We then went to see Arnold and Arlene Fisher. They are the sponsors of all my artwork to Morrisville College.  Arnold and my father have been friends since they were five years old, and so, of course, we stopped by to see them at their home in Hamilton, NY. 

Yes, I have gotten back to work since being home. The countdown is on for the Quarter Horse World Show in OKC next month, so I am busy as a bee each day prepping for that, plus filling orders. Here is a barrel racer I did as a custom piece. This one was 30 inches tall. I really like how it came out.  

I also filled an order for a layered custom piece of my clients driving their donkeys. This was a detailed piece and was quite large, so it took a while, but this too came out well. 

Here is a sight I see each week coming home from church. It has been fun to watch them grow.  

Next week I will show you a few new pieces I have made for the upcoming show.

This week I had several projects to bring to completion. One was an accessory for the layered eagle piece that you can find on my Web site  (www.benedictmetalart.com) in the Wall Sculptures under Wildlife.  The folks who purchased the eagle decided that the wall they wanted to put it on was so large that the eagle needed something to go with it. So, I made  a 59 inch tall  x 44 inch wide tree that could be mounted under the eagle and make it look like it was about to land.  Keep in mind when ordering from Benedict Metal Art,  we can do just about anything to make your project turn out just the way you want it. 

 Another piece I made this week was a 24 inch tall by 43 inch wide custom pet portrait of German Shepherds.  I am very excited about the greater detail I can now accomplish with my new electronic drawing tablet.  Making the art better and more detailed for you is my desire, and this new equipment is helping me do just that.   

 My good friend Carol came over this week and took a few pictures of me working in the studio. Here I am brazing on a steel trout.  

It is rainbow trout, but I guess I should be making a steel head!  

The next project I was working on was bending the lines on the hind legs of the life-size horse which is currently in progress.    

 Additionally, I am also cutting and finishing all I can to get ready for the AQHA World Championship Show in OKC in November, so here Carol got a few shots of me heat treating several pieces. 

 

The Mountain Bike Awards have gone over well, so this past week I finished trophies for the 19th Piney Hills Classic Awards Show.  Shown here is a set of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies.  

Also a close-up of one with the engraved plate on it. 

 I get all my engraved plates from CowCreek in Bandera (http://www.cowcreekbandera.com/).  Dorothy and Allen Strong are great people, and I highly recommend them.    

Until next time..

Last week I found myself wearing a different hat than my usual studio hat. I was a receptionist at a doctor’s office to help out when some one needed a vaction week.  I can say I did a good job, but was happy when I could get back into jeans and start playing with metal again. Here I am as a receptionist.  

  

I thought I would catch you up on some other Pick-Me-Ups that I have made and that are not yet on that site.This one was purchased as a gift for some film makers, and here it sits between two Emmys. 

Sports is another hit with the custom Pick-Me-Ups. Here is a pole vaulter.   

And here are a couple doing yoga. 

I had one of my clients order a special custom Mother’s Love PMU because someone had twins! 

"Family Time" here is custom because it was requested that the Mom be in the mix. . .good idea!  

This piece was a twist on “The Gardener,” only someone wanted the person whacking at a weed with a mattock!  

 At the end of last week, my nephew Todd Benedict came down from Pennsylvania to help me out with my new computer.   Here he is by the front gate.   

This past week  I had a great time making a custom order from my Pick-Me-Ups line for a client. It was a street bicyclist.  Some times the challenge is to get the perfect pose to make sure it looks real and accurate, especially when portraying a sport.  Well, I was pleased with how this came out, and here it is.  See what you think.

 “The Cyclist”  from  Pick-Me-Ups.com.                          

I also had a request for a praying figure on its knees. Here is how this one turned out. 

It  is dear to my heart. 

 

“Saying My Prayers”  from Pick-Me-Ups.com  

I made several other stock pick-me-ups this past week, but I also finished the kingfisher and shipped to the customer in Vermont. It is mounted on a piece of cedar from my lower pasture, then mounted on a steel plate I heat-treated to look like water. I painted the bird because the client wanted to be able to have the piece inside or outside. It is ready for either location.           

The week ended with a small art show at Celebrate Bandera.  Here is a picture of the longhorns being driven down Main Street in Bandera, Texas, during the Labor Day parade.        

 

What is the Bandera parade without the "Chicken Car" from Church’s Fried Chicken!   

 

My booth at the show.

Here are the new pets we added to our collection.  Why?  I don’t know - they are cool. Names are “Wild” and “Crazy” because, I guess, that was our mind-set when purchasing…..still pretty cool!   

Labor Day weekend ended with a walk at Crown Ridge Park just to relax a little before a new week.  

On to the next week……

This last week was filled mostly with completing the Family Tree sculpture.  The piece had about 100 leaves, and many leaves had to have names cut into them. Once the tree was done, I took it into San Antonio and had it sand blasted.  

The next step was to patina the piece with Japanese brown  patina. 

Once the Japanese brown patina is applied, the leaves had to be primed by hand-painting on a metal  coat primer.    

 

The next step was to hand-paint on two coats of copper metal coating, and then spray a Tiffany green patina on each leaf.

Finally, a clear coat is applied and the Family Tree was complete.  

Close-up of roots of the tree.

The event, a 50 anniversary celebration, was held on Saturday and I heard the piece was a big hit!  

The next few days, I took a little time off by going to Sea World of San Antonio; Wimberley, Texas; and working on our driving trail on the homestead.    

PLEASE JOIN ME AT MY BOOTH ON THE COURTHOUSE LAWN IN BANDERA, TEXAS, THIS LABOR DAY WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 1 - 2,  2012.  http://www.celebratebandera.com/

This week the kingfisher will be complete.  The bird is now painted with the base color, and now the hand-painted details will be applied.  Here are before and after photos.  I still need to seal the wood,then apply a metal base to it. This piece will be 

ready to ship next week.

  

The Mountain Bike awards are now completed, and here is a shot of the 1st place awards that are ready  to be packed.  The next shot shows the three different sized awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

The weekend was a welcome break from the usual work in the studio.  We went to a friend’s ranch  with our driving horse and waggonette, and had a couple of nice drives.  We found that mesquite thorns and pneumatic tires are not a great mix, but after the learning curve on how to fix a flat on the wagonette, we went on and 

drove some more. Here are a few shots of 

our drive. 

DB looks like he is enjoying this! 

  

Well, now it’s back to work this week with custom pet portraits to make,  UTSA awards to create, a custom Pick-Me-Up bicycling figure, and many other sculptures to work on. Oh, yes, and a  quick trip to Florida to visit my Aunt Esther who just turned 94!  See you next time!