WEB sites
covering happy painted animals from
different places:
www.cowparadenewyork.com
www.partyanimalsdc.org
http://london.cowparade.net/
http://cincinnati.com/bigpiggig
http://www.tourofturtles.org/artists.htm
www.billingsdepot.org/horseart/
www.lindsborg.org/wild_dala.htm
We thank our sponsors:
SWEA-Horses
The little red Dala Horse has come to
represent all things Swedish, especially for
Swedes living abroad. It reminds us of our
home, childhood and of our traditions that
we hold dear.
In addition, the Dala Horse is suddenly very
popular. IKEA, Orrefors, and many others
are using the horse in patterns and designs,
many with new and modern twists to the old
model.
It is therefore suitable that SWEA will use
this horse as a symbol when we celebrate
our 25th anniversary in 2004. The “SWEAHorse” will be a large, heavy, life-size,
horse made in solid Swedish wood. It will to
some extent symbolize us: “Swedish
women, securely anchored in our culture
and traditions”. A flock of SWEA Horses, of
which most will be painted by talented
Swedish women will adorn the city of
Stockholm in June 2004.
The idea came from the Cow Parades in
New York, Zurich and London, as well as
parades of other animals, such as turtles,
pigs, etc. in other cities, see page 4.
Our organization will use our resources, and
our fantastic network, and we will engage
our members world wide in this project.
Horse facts
wood!
The SWEA horse consists of 288 pieces of
pine wood in different sizes, all trimmed
horizontally: 50 cm (20”) for the nose, 80
cm (31 ½”) to the stomach and 130 cm
(51”) to the backside).
glue!
The wood is glued together by Mora
Snickeri HB in Dalecarlia, the home of the
original Dala horses. This takes approx. 60
hours/horse.
naked horse!
The glued shape is forwarded to Chain Saw
Artist Torbjörn Lindgren close by in
Leksand, who will take 20 hours to sculpt
an elegant naked horse with his saw. The
horse is now 2.1 meter (83”) high and 2
meters (79”) long, and weighs approx. 750
kgs (1,650 lbs).
color!
The basic color is applied before the horse
leaves Torbjörn’s workshop; and 10 liters of
paint is used.
ready to trot!
The horses are now ready to be painted by
the SWEA painters. And then on to
Stockholm in June, 2004.
The first
horse has already made its debut: It was
presented to the Lord Mayor of the City of
Stockholm on the occasion of the 750th
Jubilee on the National Day, June 6, 2002.
This horse has remained in its waterfront
location outside the Stockholm City Hall
since then, and has been a major tourist
attraction.
The artist who painted this horse is
Margareta Sjödin of SWEA Los Angeles.
Axel Wennerholm,
President of the City
Council of Stockholm,
surrounded by Agneta
Nilsson, SWEA Founder,
(left) and Christina
Moliteus, President of
SWEA International (right).