Life without horses? I don’t think so! Deborah Butterfield Life without horses? I don’t think so!

*bio* Born: 1949- San Diego, California Education 1998 Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana; Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts.
 1997 Rocky Mountain College, Billings, Montana; Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts
 1996 Black Belt Wado Ryo Karate, Bozeman, Montana
 1973 University of California at Davis, California, M.F.A.
 1972 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine. 
 1970-72 San Diego State College, San Diego California
 1969 University of California, San Diego, California
          1966 - 68 San Diego State College, San Diego, California

ok, so I know you’re wondering… Why Horses?!?! She wanted to express herself in self portraits without using her own human figure. She attempts to show the spirit of the horse and its essence in her creations. "He'd been rolling in the mud," she says, "and there were no hairs visible on his body." Deborah decided to try to make a horse out of mud. "I mixed everything I'd ever worked with--mud, clay, plaster, glue, paper, and brown paper--then smoothed it [over a framing made of steel] with straw and hay and grass and twigs," she says. "That was my first horse."

Horses in a reclined position have extra meaning for the artist Horses in a reclined position have extra meaning for the artist. She sees lying down as an act that only occurs when the animal is truly comfortable, as opposed to their usual dozing while standing up. She was, in a way, living vicariously through the forms of the horses- and taking a nap in the middle of a gallery. Although she has been focused on the subject matter of horses for 30+ years, each piece is unique (other than a few during the 80s that were reproduced).

Her current works combine organic and abstract forms with materials like steel, bronze, and junk metal. In 2006, she had her first traveling show and exhibited many works from her personal collection- most of which had rarely or never been seen by the public.

Her cast bronze works appear to be made of branches and sticks- and they are, in a way. The long process begins with sticks. She uses ceramics, wax, plaster, and bronze to cast the sticks for the armature. After arranging the bronze sticks, she welds them together. Next, she tries out endless combinations of sticks to complete the horse’s form. Once it is completed in this mix of wood and metal, it is documented carefully with pictures and then disassembled so that each stick can be cast and replaced to the sculpture.

She has been commissioned by many prestigious organizations like: Whitney Museum of American Art Greenwich, Connecticut Arts Council Israel Museum Oakland Museum Denver Art Museum Walker Art Center Sculpture Garden Metropolitan Museum of Art Kansas City Zoo Urban Development Corporation of Boston Massachusetts Portland, Oregon International Airport San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Art

A few of her works outdoors

Barbed wire- in contrast to her natural subject matter

BRONZE!!!!

…and a close up of some of the details of this junk metal beauty

One of her smaller, earlier works 