Artist Bio - Susan Harvey (Gifted Hands Gallery)

SUSAN HARVEY MEDICINE HORSES Susan harvey was born in Rochester N.B. and is of Scottish German and Iroquois Indian descent. There she received a degree in Art and Comparative Mythologies from Nazareth College of Fine Arts in upstate N.B. For several years afterwards she traveled around the world collecting and researching various horse lore until settling in the southwest. The artist wishes to convey in her work a sense of timelessness, the feel of an ancient piece rediscovered yet still possessing a contemporary statement. In creating each ‘Medicine Horse’ by hand the artist is only able to produce a limited number in a given year. She has received worldwide recognition for her artwork and has numerous awards. Because of the uniqueness they are displayed in the prominent collections od several celebrates, international embassies and private collectors around the world. Occasionally she will create a special small edition of a unique design which ar e eagerly sought out. Her next project is to create a book based on her collection of sketches. About the Medicine Horse Many early horse cultures painted their horses with natural pigments when preparing for ceremonial events or for journeys into enemy territory. Pictographic symbols used include helpers, tell the war exploits and/or were seen as appeals to the spirits for protection or for the horse and rider. Each ‘Medicine Horse’ is the result of a thirteen step process dating back 30,000 years . these include unitizing natural mineral pigments for coloration used in the symbolic designs then fired in a primitive pit kiln. Adorned with glass antique trade beads, caribou, antelope and horse hair crystals and hand carved fetishes, each piece is unique and one of a kind.