This is my favorite photo, so far, from the 2010 American Farrier's Association Convention, which was held last week in Portland, Oregon.The gentleman reflected in the mirror looks somber, but I can assure you, he is probably just either a) stunned by the artistry of the mirror (as was I) or b) humbled by the fact that, when this photo was taken, he had less than 24 hours left in his term as president of the American Farrier's Association. With luck, he'd make it after all. The man in the mirror is Dick Fanguy, who survived a heart attack and several personal tragedies during his year as AFA president, and probably did need a moment to reflect.
And what a mirror to catch anyone's gaze! It was made, leaf by leaf and twig by twig, by our friend Mike Chisham of Petaluma, California. The mirror design was inspired by the late Edward Martin's iconic "Nessie" Loch Ness monster, which you can see clinging to the mid-left of the mirror frame. Mike donated the mirror to the American Farrier's Association's annual fundraising auction, held on Friday night during the convention. The annual auction is a showplace for the talented members of the association, who donate their most beautiful creative work.
Thanks to April Raine for the loan of her great photo. If you double-click on the photo, you should be able to see the mirror frame (and Dick) in greater detail.
PS Happy Birthday, Dick!
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
