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In May of 2005 Ford Motor Company rescued 52 wild mustangs from the Rosebud
Indian Reservation destined to be destroyed. Ford purchased a piece of American History by buying the herd and donating them
to Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota.
I was so
moved by the story, I contacted Black Hills and could not have been met with anyone more enthusiastic and helpful than program
manager, Susan Watt. I was so inspired by the story of the Rosebud herd I painted a
classic
1966 Mustang Hood in honor of Ford Motor Co. and Black Hills Sanctuary.
| Four Winds |
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The Story Behind the Painting
Wisdom Walker spoke to me in the dreamtime about the wild herds of sacred
medicine horses that ran free upon the lands of the Americas. Horse and man lived in harmony and brought the gift of freedom
to humanity. The Native peoples had a special relationship with horse, and we are to this day influenced by horse medicine.
Such cliche's as "horse sense" and the term "horsepower" comes from the bond between man and animal.
Ford chose the name Mustang back in 1964, and today it remains a classic, a muscle car and a collector's
car. During the process of designing this hood art, I ran across information about our native herds. In May of 2005 Ford Motor
Company rescued 52 Mustangs now known as the Rosebud Herd and donated them to the safety of Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary..
In speaking with Susan Watt at the Sanctuary, and through her generosity, I am able to bring about an awarness of the wonderful
work being done to preserve our four legged brothers, and our American Heritage.
Although the design is
my own, I used various horses from the Rosebud herd as my models, thanks to their talented photographers Rita and Charles
Summers.
The title of my work is Four Winds. The
black horse lives in the west of the medicine wheel and comes from the great void to take the rider to find answers in the
light of dreamtime.
Yellow horse offers the rider answers to questions as it lives in the east of illumination.
Red horse, full of "horseplay" brings the rider the
joy of experiencing balance on life's journey.
The white mare leads the herd as she comes from the north, the place
of wisdom. She is the embodiment of a balanced medicine shield, and the wise one. Her medicine tells us "no abuse of
power will ever lead to wisdom".
The universe works in strange and wonderful ways. I am grateful for
this journey and hope these horses bring you the joy it's brought to me in creating this piece.
Oh Ho
Mitakuye Oyasin
"We are all related"
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| Breakin' Free |
Recently, I painted this Mustang
Hood as the continuing story of the original 52 Mustangs described above. My article is in the making with much editing, but
for now, many thanks to Bob Langrish who lent me the positioning of the horse from one of his shots I found on his website,
and to Susan Watt of Black Hills who as generously as before updated me on the success of the original herd. Please come back
to this site in about a week for the complete story.
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