Jean's Website: Amethyst Hills

Why should you be a Panelist?
I made my first custom in early 1999 and have found joy in them since. Along the way I've learned many techniques and better methods, and pushed the artistic possibilities of these little plastic horses again and again. Learning and observing and sharpening my skills helps me not only to better convey my creations, but to make ponies that others can love and cherish also. Although I've never yet made a pony of my own volition and sold it, I've made many customs on request from others, and the happiness with which they greet their new arrivals is absolutely contagious. It's a wonderful feeling to be praised by someone who loves your work even more than you do! Custom ponies are a nearly limitless outlet, and a peaceful and relaxing hobby. Customizers are a community in themselves, and I like others am eager for the admiration and encouragement of my fellows. I enter the Awards with the hope that my work with customs and pony art for these 3 a! nd a half years has earned me a place of merit among all those who enjoy customizing as I do.

The Guardian [Chimera]

This fearsome beast is based on the Chimera of greek legend, who terrorized a kingdom until he was slain by the hero Bellerophon. He has been protrayed in many forms, but most traditionally he has the head of a lion, the body of a horse, and the tail of a serpent. He also often has additional goat's and dragon's heads, and dragon's wings. I've opted for the full version. ;)

Chimera is my most recent effort, and has been one of my most labor-intensive customs to date, integrating body parts from Tabby, princess Misty, Sundance, Firefly, and Lickety Split, as well as various appendages molded from pony parts, and a sculpted tail with head hand-carved in the likeness of Spike the baby dragon. This Awards is his unveiling. I hope he is recieved well!

Baby Munchy

Baby Munchy is one of the first set of TAF babies I did on commission from TJ. Each of that set was presented bagged up in a blanket as if being delivered by the stork, and each blanket was tied closed with a special tag, which is what you see around her neck. She was made from a baby Tic-Tac-Toe and given new hair and new symbols, which I painted with great care. Her donor hair presented many difficulties. It did not curl well and had to be boiled to maintain its shape. I affectionately call her my McDonald's pony due to her vivid colors.

Baby Bonnie Bonnets & Family

Another of that first set for TJ. Baby Bonnie is the spitting-image of her mother, again with symbols detailed and scaled-down to accurately match her mom's. This is TJ's favorite. ^-^ For that reason, TJ later had me make a brother and dad for baby Bonnie. As flowers and bonnets didn't seem right for boys, we changed the theme to pennants, stars, and baseball caps. Brother Caps and Daddy Caps have symbols that carefully emulate the symbols of the females in the family, and feature the addition of greenish stripes in their hair.

Baby Pillow Talk

My personal favorite of the first set for TJ, baby pillow talk is made from a baby Cuddles, with hand-painted blanket of symbols. She is bright and cheerful and has a sweet expression.

Fireborne Wind

The first custom I ever made, Fireborne Wind has been around a long time. She is a dragon-flutter with a dark and unpleasant past, but she is good-hearted. I recently refinished her, as her first paint used unstable materials which eventually broke down. Her glossy coat has at last returned to its original beauty, and her eyes have been given back their detail. (The view with my hand in it shows her before her gloss was applied.) She has been often emulated but never duplicated, and remains one of my favorite customs ever.

Silverbow

Silverbow, in all her finery, is deceptively pretty, but who ever knows what she is thinking? She's the seductive charmer of my custom herd, and can use her feminine wiles to get anything her heart desires. She's made from a tail-less lemon drop painted a midnight color. The "scales" on her back are snips of silver ribbon strategically placed in a blanket. She took some effort to make but she was well-worth it.

Baby Night Glider

This sweet baby hails from the second set of TAF Babies for TJ, all of whom have some difference from their parents. Often it is a reversal of colors somewhere on the body, and in Baby Nightglider's case, she vaguely swaps the colors of her mother's body and her mother's planet colors, as well as her mother's body and eye colors. When she and her mom are placed together the effect is quite charming!

Baby Sand Digger

When Kris saw TJ's new TAF babies she wanted one of her own, and thus baby Sand Digger came into being. She is a unicorn, while her mother is an earth pony, but hey! Hasbro has done the same on several occasions, so why not? ^-^ She is such a perfect darling and was a joy to photograph, even if some of the pictures came out slightly blurry.

Icewaters

Icewaters is the regal queen of the polar seas. She rules over her subjects in the frigid waters where sunnier sea ponies dare not swim. She was drawn and blended with colored pencils in time for two winter contests held by Icefeather and Sugarberry. She did excellently in each, placing second in IceFeather's and tied for first in Sugarberry's. She is a dear addition to my sketchbook. ;)

Sacred

This custom, though having been in the works since late 1999, is also being presented for the first time here at the Awards. Her name is Sacred, and she is the bearer of a singular and terrible curse. With greed in her heart she touched the sacred crystal at the center of Ponyland, and paid the price. Though she lives and moves, her body is being consumed by crystal and glass and she is being transformed into a living work of art: a stained-glass pony.

She was once a Banana Surprise, but I took her and peirced geometric shapes all over her sides, down one leg, and up her neck. The panes are not true glass, but an effective mimic obtained through much trial-and-error. One eye is now glass, and shines as light refracts through it. It was difficult to capture the beautiful effect that comes from having light shined through her body, or up through the hollows made in her feet, but trust that she is a thing of eerie beauty nonetheless.