Frank Lyne's
Horse Sculptures
High Horse is made from a single piece of black walnut. This billet had a directional change in the grain pattern in what became the head. I carved a while in this grain transitional zone before deciding this area could be a horse's head, turned to the side. After deciding that much, there still didn't seem to be quite enough room straight back from the neck for the horse's body. To add length to the body, I kept inclining it until I ran out of room for where the left back hoof would have to be. That's how this became High Horse.
11 x 5.5 x 14 in. - 1990 - Mahogany; Cherry base; Ebony paste mane, tail, hooves and eyes
Saddle Horse demonstrates a resolution similar to Bison, of the problem of making wood carvings of four footed animals. The body section of the sculpture is two pieces with the wood grain running parallel to the legs. The head and neck are a third piece with the grain parallel to the head. Each ear is also a separate piece inserted like a dowel pin into the head before sculpturing. The black parts are made by first molding on a mixture of Ebony filings and glue, then carving and smoothing this hardened mixture in the same manner as regular wood. Ebony grain structure is practically invisible anyway so this mixture looks almost the same as solid Ebony.
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