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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2020)
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 11 On the road to adventure at Arabian Horse Show By Helen Schmidling Correspondent transporting artwork, gas, car, lodging, promotion, and behind-the-scenes art prepara- tion & it adds up,= Jelen said. And it all came together in less than three months. This is not Jelen9s first dis- play at a major horse show. In 2014, she packed her art- work and shipped it to a gal- lery that was part of the World Equestrian Games in France. For that event, she produced and shipped all of her artwork, but she had help with setup and sales. This time she9s had to do it all 3 including renting and setting up the show booth, all its required accouterments, even a carpeted floor. Jelen, her loyal dog Harley, and her friend and co-driver Kim Luckini, left Sisters on a sunny Sunday morning for a 1,200-mile, two-day dash to Scottsdale in a 15-foot U-Haul Equestrian artist, trainer, and rider Kimry Jelen embarked on a challenge that is both a leap of faith and a fulfillment of a dream. Her colorful and fanciful equine artwork is being displayed and sold at the celebrated Scottsdale Arabian Horse show, February 13-23. <This is one of the larg- est, most prestigious and well-attended breed shows in America,= Jelen wrote on her blog. <My artwork will be accessible to a whole new worldwide audience of horse lovers.= The Scottsdale event attracts more than 300,000 visitors and approximately 2,400 horses competing for more than a million dollars in prize money. Jelen, formerly of Sisters but now living in Talent out- side of Ashland, still has a cadre of supporters in this area, and her fan base is grow- ing around the country and the world. In a brief but powerful Kickstarter campaign, they donated nearly $27,000 to meet Jelen9s major expenses involved in this event. PHOTO COURTESY KATY YODER <The booth, booth fee, insurance, producing and Hard-working volunteers package Kimry Jelen’s show art. truck filled with original paint- ings, framed and unframed giclee prints, notecards, 2020 art calendars, miscellaneous arts supplies, and grocery bags full of organic and nutritious snacks for women and dog. Over the weekend, doz- ens of volunteers 4 friends of Kimry9s from Portland to Baker City 4 met at Sheryl Rudolph9s home outside Sisters to help. They folded hundreds of notecards, paired them with envelopes, and stuffed them into crystal bags. They sorted giclee prints, put sticky corners on them, adhered them to foam core boards, and slipped them into larger crystal bags. Meanwhile, in Sisters, another crew was hard at work making more giclee prints, cutting foam core, and shrink- wrapping even more products for display. Other volunteers picked up and transported art- work and supplies, cooked and served food, unpacked and repacked boxes, and lent moral support to Jelen9s escapade. By Sunday, the work was ready for some of the world9s finest horse-lovers, from cow- boys and cowgirls to sheiks and titans of industry, and competitors in the show ring. Jelen faced one obstacle after another with a coolness that belied any nerves she might be harboring. One vol- unteer speculated that Jelen has angels going before her. Consider the following: Less than a month ago, See JELEN on page 30 CALL THE SWEENEY PLUMBING G T TEAM E A PLUMBING EMERGENCIES S CTION REMODELS • NEW CONSTRUCTION Lo o call. Professional. Re eliab ble e. 541-549-4349 260 N. Pine St., Sisters L Licensed Lic ic cens enns ed d Insured Bonded Bon on ded ed / I Ins ns ure re CCB#87587 C CCB B#87 # #87 87 7 587 58 8