Horses, Cats & Dogs of Ocala

Hi Everyone......

On December 20th, I accompanied John to Ocala. He had an appointment that day so I decided to go exploring while he was busy.

I came to the center of town and saw a small garden / square there. I also spied several horse statues.....very similar to the other art statues I have encountered along the way on my walkabout. So I just "HAD TO" stop and investigate!!! LOL

I finally found a parking space, got out and started taking pictures of these horses. In the same area, there was a woman who had a hotdog stand. I found out this woman and her hotdog stand are a well known fixture in the area, and there have been several newspaper articles written about her in the local papers. I asked her if there were anymore horse statues in the area, so I could get their pictures too. She directed me to the visitors center across the street and the Marion Cultural Alliance- down on another street. I thanked her and was on my way to find more horses.

I first went to the visitors center....where I saw a statue of a sm colt. I took it's picture, but there was no literature there that I could see about the horses, and no one was in the office at the time I was there. The visitors center was in same building as Chamber of Commerce, and they had a receptionist. She was very nice and pointed out another horse with in that building, and told me I would be able to get the most information from the Cultural Center......so after taking some more pictures I was off to find the Cultural Center.

I found the center, and within a few minutes was talking to the director. Her name is Nancy Ledding. Nancy was very helpful (as was her staff). Nancy explained that the horses were part of an exhibit called “Horse Fever” She allowed me access to the two horses they had there....then explained where I could find the remaining ones that were still in the area. Most had been auctioned off and moved already. We got to talking and I explained about my travels and how I had come upon several different types of this charity art work. She told me about another project ( a current one) that the Center was working on... it was called “Barkitecture“. It is art statues of cats & dogs and scaled model dog houses that have been displayed through out the Ocala area...and they will be auction off on February 2nd, 2008. The proceeds will help the Cultural Center and the Humane Society of Marion County. Nancy told me I was in luck because the upcoming weekend all of the pieces would be at the old library on display for all to see!! Well needless to say I was very excited with this news, and started to make plans to be back in Ocala that weekend. She also told me about a project going on in California (a state that I'm traveling to very soon) that will have statues of giant tortoises. She even gave me a contact name to reach once I get out there. Nancy said that Anne would be able to tell me where I could find all the pieces...so I'm very excited about seeing these statues too!!!

On Saturday, John & I arrived at the old library. We were greeted by Roseanne and Elsie, then we began to walk around enjoying the very creative works of art on display. I took many pictures - as you'll see above- and then we stopped to talk with Roseanne & Elsie some more. Come to find out they were mother and daughter. Roseanne (the daughter) is very active on the committee that came up with the idea for this project....and it was a family thing...because Roseanne's husband even lent his talents in building one of the dog houses! I told them about my travels and how I had seen other works of art...and how much I have come to enjoy looking for them. After spending almost 2hrs there we decided it was time to leave. This was a very enjoyable experience. I encourage all to check in their local areas to see if any such projects are in the works or have been done in their areas. These beautiful works of art are so wonderful to look at and experience!

Well until my next entry...take care everyone- enjoy and be safe!! - Love Donna

SEE PICTURES IN ALBUM #101:http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880

***** For more info on:

The Marion Cultural Alliance see:

www.mcaocala.com

The horses see:

www.horsefever.org

The Barkitecture see:

www.dogtownflorida.com

Tags: Ocala, FL