March Giveaway - Original ACEOs

For our March giveaway we have three lovely, original ACEOs. What is an ACEO you might ask?
ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions & Originals. It is an offshoot of the ATC or Artist Trading Card. The only requirement for an ACEO is that they measure
2.5" x 3.5", the size of a baseball card. It's a fun way for the art collector to buy original art an inexpensive art prints.
There are all sorts of things you can do with ACEOs. You can put them in an album, frame them in a single frame or collage, give them as gifts or display them in a basket.

Here are our three giveaway pieces for March. Perhaps if you win one, it will kick off your ACEO addiction. Like potato chips, it's hard to have just one!

Click HERE to see other Whoa Team ACEOs for sale on Etsy.

Giveaway rules: Please leave a comment to be entered for a chance to win. Giveaway ends Thursday, March 26th, noon eastern time. Follow this blog for an additional chance to win. Please comment that you are a follower so we will know. The artist will contact the winner and mail their prize after 3/26/09.


Original Palomino ACEO by Jana Johnson.


Original Saddlebred ACEO by Gail Ragsdale.


Original Carriage Horse ACEO by Carol Buck.

Thanks for entering our giveaway!

"The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire." ~ Sharon Ralls Lemon

Spotlight Artist: Gail Ragsdale

Our feature Whoa Team artist this week is Gail Ragsdale who sells under the Etsy name, Carpiss. Gail is from the great state of Tennessee and also has a beautiful blog you should be sure to check out.

Here's a photo of Gail driving her 18 year old Friesian gelding, Alpar, who sadly passed away recently.



How long have you been selling on Etsy?
I have been selling on Etsy since Feb 2008.

What do you like about selling on Etsy?
It's user friendly, listing is inexpensive and there is a growing horse art movement! I also like the long listings and the fact you can have your work featured in a Treasury although I haven't been fortunate enough to snag one!!

What are your earliest memories of creating equine art?
I remember always drawing horses, that is all there was for me! My first real solid memory is when we lived in Japan and I drew a picture of the famous racehorse, Whirlaway. I had just read a story about him and how he was known for his long tail. Needless to say, the tail on this picture was extremely long! I was fortunate that my parents encouraged my art.



What is your favorite medium?
My favorite medium has always been charcoal and graphite followed by watercolors. I love the contrast of lights and darks you can achieve with charcoal and graphite. I don't do a lot of them now, have been using acrylics lately and am enjoying them greatly. I love oils, unfortunately the smell of the oil paint gives me terrible headaches!


What artists have influenced your work or provided inspiration? George Ford Morris to me is the ultimate and my charcoals are heavily influenced by him! Helen Hayse is another I have followed, C.W. Anderson has always been a favorite. The modern day artists are Richard Stone Reeves, James Walls, and James Crow.




Please tell us a little about your pets.
We presently have 4 cats in the house-White Socks, Charlie, Heckle and Little Thing-all females, 2 at the barn-Smokey and Neighgro and I care for an old feral cat at work, Little Guy.

Spotlight Artist: Lynne Anderson

Our spotlight artist this week is Lynne Anderson of Raku4u. Lynne resides in southwestern Colorado and creates gorgeous artwork in clay.
Please take a minute to stop by her Etsy shop, website and blog!


How long have you been selling on Etsy?
I've been selling on Etsy since May of '08. Originally, I had intended to market only my raku jewelry, but later decided to utilize Etsy for my complete line of work.


What do you like about selling on Etsy?
I like selling on Etsy for a number of reasons: exposure on Etsy is global, Etsy is an easy way for my existing customers to access my work when I'm not at Art Shows, & the Etsy community of artists is a wonderful support group! I find I can maximize my studio time and still reach a large viewing audience.


What are your earliest memories of creating equine art?
My earliest memories of creating equine art goes back to Elementary School. I was the eternal "doodler" in margins of my notebooks.....filling the spaces with drawings of horses. I remember continuing to draw horses throughout my school years and later began sculpting them out of clay.


What is your favorite medium?
Raku Fired ceramics is, without a doubt, my favorite medium. For me, it combines the freedom of creating in 3-D then using my other skills to add imagery to my pieces which finish out in the wonderful one of a kind metallic, iridescent coloration typical of raku.


What artists have influenced your work or provided inspiration?
Perhaps the single greatest artist of influence for me has been Georgia O'Keeffe. Her work is filled with visual rhythm and, while our subject matter is quite different, much of the rhythmic nature of my work has been directly influenced by this extraordinary artist.


Please tell us a little about your pets.
Pets which share my world and home consist of two cats: Scotch and Ms. Wings. Scotch has been with me for 12 years and is a butterscotch colored feline gentleman of the first degree! Ms. Wings, aka "Wingers" is a female calico Manx who was so named for her ability to launch herself so high that she appeared to be flying. She is quirky and delightful. Though I have owned several horses in the past, I am currently "horseless" due to the amount of travel required for attending the number of Art Shows I participate in. My love for them is reflected in much of my artwork.

A few nice Whoa Team pieces...

And the winners are...

Our first giveaway was a smashing success and we already have several artists lined up for March and April's giveaways! Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment.

So this morning I wrote down all 50+ names and put them in my daughter's little riding helmet. She loves it when I have a giveaway because she gets to pick the names.

The first name she pulled from the hat, and the winner of Linda's gorgeous prize, belonged to Solitaire Mare.

The second name, winner of Dale Ann's lovely ACEO prints, is Kitty Forseth.

The third name and winner of the Gypsy Mare Studios pendant is Meghann.



Check back in a few weeks for our March giveaway!

Our 1st Giveaway!

We are very excited to announce today Whoa Team's first monthly giveaway. Every month we will be hosting a giveaway with items from our wonderful team artists.
This month you have three chances to win! All you have to do to enter is click on this link which will take you to an Etsy Whoa Team search page, and let us know what one of your favorite pieces is. You could also click on the box on the left sidebar that says "Shop".

You must leave a comment on this post only. Also, please make sure we have an easy way to reach you by leaving an email address, or having one tied to your blogger account. If we cannot contact you in a few days your prize will go to another person.

We will draw the winner's names in 10 days on Thursday, February 26, 2009.

And now, without further ado, here are February's giveaway prizes...

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A very pretty pegasus purse mirror and magnet from Artwolf.

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Two gorgeous ACEO prints from De La Renaissance


"Bunny Ears"

"Beauty and the Dragonfly"

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Handpainted black horse pendant from Gypsy Mare Studios.

Horse Love

Check back Monday to enter our first giveaway! We will have three wonderful prizes.
Hopefully every month we will have a giveaway with different Whoa Team artists.

In honor of Valentine's Day, a few Whoa Team member offerings...