the cow chronicles

2003-08-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back! Any parents out there can relate to this scenario. First child, lots of pictures; second child, fewer pictures. It seems to be the same with cows! True to Scarlett's words, I thought about it (the blog) tomorrow.
And tomorrow and tomorrow...

The following are pictures of Scarlett from her inception (or conception?) to her debut. Her name is now officially sUDDERn Belle Cow. She is sponsored by the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau and they felt the reference to Gone with the Wind might turn off some groups whom they might be trying to attract to our fair city. At least that's the story I got. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn - she'll always be Scarlett O'Heifer to me!

Scarlett is currently residing at the Cow Hospital/Museum at Underground Atlanta. No, she is not sick, just delicate!

Scarlett's Design

Artist's Statement

What could be more representative of Atlanta than Margaret Mitchell's heroine, Scarlett O'Hara? With beauty, charm and strength, both have risen from the ashes and prevailed. Scarlett O'Heifer embodies these qualities. In the dress and straw hat Scarlett wore to the picnic, she is the essence of femininity and charm.

The skirt, lace, ribbons and hat will be modeled in stiffened fabric draped over an armature of screen, then painted and sealed with the requisite protective finish. Since she is concerned about protecting her peaches and cream complexion, Scarlett would prefer to be placed under shelter!

Devine bovine inspiration

Scarlett in the raw

and in the works...

An eye for detail

Design Process

Scarlett's dress is actual fabric, ribbon and lace stiffened with white glue or gel medium. I attempted to find fabric with a suitable floral print in an appropriate scale but was unsuccessful. I did find sheets in an off white with a fern-ish design. When I consulted my daughter Celeste, she reminded me that many GWTW fans would not "cotton to" anything that was not pretty accurate. (She even suggested that they might go so far as to throw red paint on my cow in outrage!) Not wanting to dismay any Scarlett fans, I set about stenciling Scarlett's skirt.

You might note that Scarlett looks pretty much like the design. I didn't plan to put hair on her, but she looked so very bald. After yet another search, I found a rather ratty looking Halloween wig at a party supply store. I was able to talk them down to $6. I think they just wanted me out of their store after I told them it was for my cow!

The other big challenge was finding a hat. Cows have really big heads! I finally resorted to buying three straw hats at Michaels, taking them apart and hot gluing them into one very large hat. I then had to engineer a way to fit the hat over the horns. I put the brim on, added the crown, a large plastic container, and glued the straw on top of the container. Another $6 in materials and LOTS of work!

At "sUDDERn Belle's" debut at Perimeter Mall I was assured of my success when I heard someone yell from afar, "Look, there's Scarlett!" Scarlett by any other name is still Scarlett!

Scarlett's stenciled skirt

Another view

A much safer means of conveyance!

Perimeter Mall Debut

Scarlett and somewhat southern belle

Jo Ann Haden-Miller of ACVB

2003-08-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

Scarlett is ready for the great cattle drive.

And she is off...

...the truck!
On the interstate. But she made the news!

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Good Neighbors column, Saturday, June 28:

Roadside assist especially 'mooving'

Traffic was heavy on I-75. My artist friend Linda and I had picked up the model for her second contribution to the Cow Parade and were on the on-ramp accelerating to merging speed when we heard a sickening thump. The bovine model had slid out the back of the pickup truck onto the pavement.

Linda, realizing the cow's head was protruding into the freeway, threw herself out the door as soon as I stopped, and on sheer adrenaline managed to pull the cow away from the heavy tractor-trailers streaming past.

While we struggled to lift the model, a passing motorist stopped to help. He easily lifted and restored the cow to her truck bed and tied it down.

I want to publicly express our gratitude to this thoughtful and kind man, Charlie Mitchell, for coming to our aid in a scary and potentially dangerous situation.

LEANNA HARRIS-DAWSON, Roswell

2003-08-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

By the way, the Atlanta Journal Constitution has a play on American Idol to Pick the Bum Steer.

Since Cowleen was not in the running and there is no way to write her in, it is of very little interest to us. According to the article, "Our selection committee based its picks on creativity, clever use of cow-punnery and the general Atlanta-ness of the cow." Now I question the relevance of Moo-Tador and Nascow. And I simply don't get ELE. At least there is a North Highland in Atlanta. No sour grapes here, though! We know our cow is the best!

2003-08-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Cowleen's Parting Words

For those of you who will not have the opportunity to see Cowleen in person, this is the information that appears about her on the plaque:

Cow Statement:
Highland cows are known for their gentle disposition, hardiness in adverse weather conditions and strong resistance to disease. The breed exemplifies the hearty, gentle nature of the Celtic people. Cowleen is clad in traditional Scottish dress.

And about the artist:

Artist Statement:
Linda LeTard has worked professionally as an interior designer since 1981. She is the owner of Linda LeTard Unlimited Interiors and is an Allied Member of the American Society of Interior Designers.

(A gentle reminder that I don't just do cows...although it seems that way lately!)

2003-08-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

We finally visited Cowleen at her present home at the Fox Theater. It is mighty dark at the Fox, so the pictures are not great. I will try to get better shots when the sun is shining -- if it ever shines again!

In the meantime, I am off to work on cow number two!

Cowleen attends the theater

Foxy cows

2003-08-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

As promised, these are some of the other clever creations. (Because of the length of my blog, I have deleted the other pictures. You can find other cows at CowParade Atlanta's website.) And the AJC said it was not high art! So what is Kudzudora doing in front of the High Museum? Of course, the participation of Peter Max takes it out of the realm of high art, since he has even sold out to Target! It could be worse...he could have joined Martha at KMart...

Kudzudora Duncow with Suzanne and Pat

Lemon-n-Aidan?

2003-08-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Cowleen has arrived! She made her debut at Centennial Olympic Park to rave reviews. She was photographed countless times and was even mentioned in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Sunday. (Her creator was not mentioned however, but she will get over it...)

She is now welcoming theater-goers at the fabulous Fox Theater -- a very fitting location for a very foxy cow!

Pictures of some of our favorite creations will be posted tomorrow! (Yeah, I know, I said that before!)

Cowleen among friends awaiting her debut.

More friends at the Beavex barn

Three beautiful visitors from Louisiana!

And their equally beautiful mother - who happens to be my daughter!

2003-08-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

Friday morning we prepared for the departure, Cowleen bidding farewell to our very gracious hosts, Stephanie and King Thornton and their beautiful month-old daughter, Maura Evelyn. After taking numerous pictures (with three cameras!) and with the able assistance of my son-in-law, Wheat Williams, we loaded Cowleen for the big journey. My good and willing friend Leanna Dawson was able to borrow her husband Tom's truck for the trek. Since the tailgate could not be raised, we securely tied Cowleen and set off on our merry way, arriving at Beavex to join the rest of the herd to await the opening ceremony.

Sneak previews of some of the wonderful creations will be forthcoming.

By the way, have I mentioned I am doing TWO cows?

Cowleen and proud friend

The Thorntons, gracious stablers...

Off to the big corral!

Leanna, the very able driver (drover?)

2003-08-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

So much has transpired since my last written post. First, let me express my gratitude to Monica Ulzheimer and Denise Doyle from Cowleen's sponsor, The North Highland Company , for their able assistance in applying the finishing coats. I don't think the cow detail is in their job description, but they rose to the challenge!

It seems the gel medium recommended by Cow Parade needed to be gloss medium. I could only find semi-gloss, and thought there would not be that much difference - just the shine - right? Well, it seems that the semi-gloss has something in it to cut the shine which also makes it translucent. And perhaps I did not make it thin enough. The result was a milky finish over the entire cow, including the plaid. While milk might seem appropriate, it was not the look I was going for. After trying several remedies to correct the situation, I realized the only course of action was to repaint the cow, including the plaid. Just a small setback!

Dauntless, I set about matching the colors in the plaid. I have always prided myself on my color sense, but it seems that this time it failed me. I will blame it on inadequate light and fatigue. The error of my ways was realized when our hostess, Stephanie, came out and exclaimed, "She's PINK! She's a preppy cow!" At that point, I went home and went to bed. The next day, in the light of day, I was able to do some color correction with yet another layer of paint.

After my two day setback, I completed the assembly including tam and shawl, applied a coat of gloss medium and anxiously awaited the arrival of the Golden Hard MSA Varnish. Of course, I did not buy the varnish when I saw it locally and those cow producers who were not procrastinators had bought all that was to be had. After intensive and extensive internet search I was able to find it from In2Art.com, who had it drop-shipped from Golden. Since the MSA stands for mineral spirits acrylic which is a volatile material, it had to go via pony express. I did learn that the two gallons I ordered is enough to cover approximately eight cows.

Finally, Cowleen was finished and delivered to the great Beavex corral where she awaits her debut on June 26th at the opening ceremony. Pictures will follow tomorrow!

Cowleen is coming, slowly, but surely...

She really likes her clothes...

And she looks pretty much like the design!

She's patiently waiting for her tam and shawl.

Denise and Monica from The North Highland Company lend a helping hand.

It just appears that Denise is milking the cow!

Oh,no! A milky cow!

A plaid is a plaid is a plaid...

Back to square one...

2003-08-16T21:37:00.000-07:00
I am finally getting around to writing a post! (This was first published back in early June, but I switched bloggers in order to archive).

Contrary to popular thought, I do not have a blog because my daughter and sister have their blogs and I had blog envy! I am grateful to my sister Sage for setting up my blog and am providing a link to her blog (Actually, SHE provided it!) I decided to write the blog because I found very little information about creating a cow - materials, process, etc. - on the internet. I hope this will help other cow artists. Of course, it is also blatant self-promotion.

The Cow Parade is coming to Atlanta. No, there will not be actual cows parading through the streets. This is an event that originated in Switzerland and has been held in about 13 cities in the U.S. It benefits the American Cancer Society. You can read more about it at the Cow Parade link.

I became aware of the Cow Parade Atlanta around Christmas and requested information. I received a call to artists in the spring and submitted two designs. I then received a request for a concept cow for the North Highland Company. Since my maiden name is McKenzie and I fell in love with the Highland cows on a visit to Scotland, this was a natural! I submitted a design for a Highland cow in a tam and a shawl, hoping to get off easy. The North Highland Company liked my design but wanted her a bit more clad, so I countered with a cow in full Highland dress.

Okay, so I am into conceptual art - I didn't necessarily want to execute the cow! (Maybe I should use another verb...) But I have risen to the challenge. The cows are life-size three dimensional fiberglass figures that weigh about 60 pounds. Because I have been sewing since I was six years old and my profession for 22 years has involved working with fabric, I chose to use actual fabric dipped in fabric stiffener. It was a challenge to find a plaid this time of year, but I succeeded. It was even more of a challenge to get 2 additional yards of fabric when the 3 1/2 yards was not enough since Cowleen has an 84" waist. After trips to three fabric stores, I finally succeeded. I believe the plaid is a Lindsay tartan and I am not sure that the Lindsays are a Highland clan, but let's not split heirs!

This has been an exercise in creative problem solving, a process I am very familiar with in my interior design business. I found the perfect mop for Cowleen's mane which I dipped in Elmer's glue (a rather appropriate material) and waited for DAYS for it to dry. I painted her a nice, rich brown and then determined she was the wrong color and needed texture. Highland cows are quite shaggy and range from golden to reddish brown. I used Golden Regular Gel Medium applied with a pallet knife. The new color was better, but I decided she needed lowlights. Now I think her mane needs highlights - we females are never satisfied with our hair! You can see the progress in the photos...

This week, Cowleen will get dressed and will have a couple of coats of varnish applied. Stay tuned for a cow's progress!

Cowleen's New Do. She decided to go heavy on the highlights.

I MUST have highlights!

How? Now not so brown cow.

Linda loading Cowleen

Cowleen

North Highland Cowleen design

I thought you might like to see some of Cowleen's relatives.

Photo by Laurie Campbell

Serenery/Suzanne & Jim Arnold

Painting by Rob Gordon