Deborah Butterfield
Horse Sculptures
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
Today we will:
 Learn about American female artist Deborah
Butterfield
 Look at several of her amazing horse
sculptures
 Create a horse using the “bas-relief”
technique with a mix of natural and recycled
materials
 Become art critics and discuss our art using
art vocabulary
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
 Deborah Butterfield was born on
Kentucky Derby Day in 1949 (she
believes this is why she has such
an affection for horses)
 Unlike many of the artists we study,
Butterfield is alive and working in
California and Montana – she is 64 years old
 Before Butterfield’s work with horses, most
artists portrayed horses as a weapon of war or
technology (like a work horse on a farm)
French Painting 1891
Japanese art work 1293
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
 Deborah Butterfield was born on
Kentucky Derby Day in 1949 (she
believes this is why she has such
an affection for horses)
 Unlike many of the artists we study,
Butterfield is alive and working in
California and Montana – she is 64 years old
 Before Butterfield’s work with horses, most
artists portrayed horses as a weapon of war or
technology (like a work horse on a farm)
 Butterfield saw some of herself in the horses
and aimed to capture their mood – sad, quiet,
powerful, gentle, curious, caged, etc.
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
 What type of mood
do you think this
horse portrays?
 We see that it’s head
and neck are out and
tilted sideways –
what do you think
that means?
 Butterfield typically
works in recycled
materials; wood scrap
metal, branches,
twigs, and other
items that have
texture (something
bumpy, slimy, rough,
soft)
From the Deborah Butterfield: New Sculpture
traveling gallery show, Chicago, 2010
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
From the Deborah Butterfield: New Sculpture traveling gallery show, Chicago, 2010
 What type of mood do you think this horse portrays?
 How does it compare to the last piece? (turn to a partner
and discuss quietly…now raise your hand to share)
 We might say this one looks more sad with it’s tail and
head lower while the original piece looks interested or
curious
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
Untitled, 1980s
 Now let’s look at this “Untitled” sculpture…
 What does the texture look like?
 Scratchy, rusted, hard? It’s made of metal  Discuss with your partner which piece you like the most and
why – use words like texture, mood, talk about the materials
used, what kind of materials you might like to work with, etc.
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
Now it’s your turn…you are going to create a horse
sculpture using a technique called bas-relief.
• Bas-relief means your art work is mostly flat, but
we are building it up with our natural and recyclable
materials and creating a variety of levels so that it is
no longer completely 2-D or flat
• We will also be creating a background or
environment for our horse and concentrating on
setting a mood with the different colors and
textures we choose
• Let’s get started!
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
First you are going to watch while I demonstrate how
to:
 Quickly sketch a horse onto my corrugated
cardboard piece using the horse photos given as a
guide for my drawing
 Cut my horse out of the cardboard and use that to
trace my horse on another piece of scrap cardboard
 Place items like string, raffia, leaves, etc. in
between the two layers of cardboard for the mane,
tails, etc.
Create a environment for my horse to
live in using our natural and recyclable
materials and paint
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
o First we are going to sketch onto the corrugated
cardboard for about 5 minutes. Use the pictures of
horses on your desks and choose one you want to
make a sketch of based on the mood you want to
create in your art piece
o Next you will cut out your horse and trace it onto
your other piece of cardboard to create your “horse
sandwich”
o Now it’s time to be creative and place any items you
want in between the horses to make a mane or tail,
or saddle
o Now set your horse aside and begin working on the
background
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
o First make sure your name is on the back of your
background paper
o When creating your background please remember to
focus on your mood and use texture to help create
that mood
o When you are ready for paint, take your paper over
to the paint table and use the paint to help create
your background
o Once you are done painting, return to your desk and
glue your horse onto your background
o Lay your project in a place to dry and help clean-up!
o While cleaning up be sure to think of a name for your
project
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
Let’s review the art vocabulary we learned today –
 Mood – the feelings a piece of art work generates
 Texture – how something feels to the touch
 Bas-relief – art work that is mostly flat, but built up
with materials creating a variety of levels so that it is
no longer completely 2-D or flat
 Art Criticism – discussing and giving opinions about
artwork using knowledge of art and art vocabulary
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
• Let’s be art critics!
• This piece is made of mud
and straw on armature
(framework around which
a sculpture is built)
• Raise your hand if you
have one word for the
texture of this piece
Horse - 1976
• This horse looks more realistic than the others but is it
as interesting? Discuss this with your partner and
defend your answer with at least one art word
• Congratulations you are now an art critic as you just
discussed an art piece and gave your opinion based on
your knowledge of art!
Horse Sculptures –
Deborah Butterfield
Discussion Questions • What’s the name of your
bas-relief art piece?
• What mood were you trying to
portray in your piece?
• What different textures did you
choose to work with?
• Do you like this method of creating
art?
• What was your favorite part of this
process?
• If you could have chosen a
different animal, what would you
have picked as your subject?