hailey hoffman/The astorian
John Woodward stands next to the pony ‘Joy,’ designed by Bob Coonts.
Paris Spence and her pony, ‘Siracha.’
Continued from Page 6
collecting quarters from all his horses
around the state.
Fast forward 25 years, 30 of the ponies
sat in a storage shed covered in dust.
“Every single time I go in there, I look
at these things and they’re literally speak-
ing to me, ‘Talley, Talley, take us from the
dusty ledge,’” Talley said.
Shortly after, Talley began giving them
out to artists that passed through her galler-
ies in Depoe Bay. As artists started send-
ing her back what they’d designed, she and
John were blown away.
The ponies are covered in seashells,
splattered with graffiti and coated in tiny,
glittering jewels. Some have wings or
mosaic tiles. Another was painted to look
like a zebra and another dons a tutu.
Paris Spence, who graduated from
Ilwaco High School in 2012 and stud-
ied graphic design at Western Washing-
ton University, is a longtime family friend
of the Woodmark’s and received a pony
to design. Paris, who lives in Ridgefield,
Washington, decide to cover hers in poly-
vinyl sheets covered in spray-painted lay-
ers of red, pink and yellow. The sheets
were cut and laid to make it seem like the
colors were almost melting off of the pony.
Thus came the name “Siracha.”
“It just kind of looked like dripping hot
sauce,” Paris said.
Paris’ mother, Susan Spence of Long
Beach, has been a graphic designer for Tal-
ley and serves as a board member with
her husband, Christopher, for the Wade
J. Woodmark Foundation. As the project
developed, Talley had the idea to create a
coffee table book for all the beautiful ponies
and the artists. She reached out to Susan,
who was immediately enamored with the
idea.
“You really can’t beat doing graphics
with beautiful things,” Susan said.
Susan will also design a pony. She plans
to cover the pony in rope to mirror the beach
baskets she also designs in her free time.
Susan then connected with her sister and
brother-in-law, Ann and Tony Kischner,
to see if they’d like to display some of the
ponies at their restaurant, the Bridgewater
Bistro.
“They were instantly excited,” Susan
said. “I made a point of working with Tal-
ley to pick out what ponies would go well
there.”
“Thunderbolt,” the futuristic steam-punk
pony; “Joy,” the galloping Appaloosa; and
“Phoebe,” the graffiti pony by Michael Dar-
ling, are all on display in the entrance at
Bridgewater Bistro. They will be there for
the next several months.
The auction for the ponies will run
through the end of the year. All pro-
ceeds will go to the Wade J. Woodmark
Foundation.
Susan Spence and her pony.
From protecting your car and home to
preparing for your future, let’s discuss
options to meet your needs.
Sheryl Teuscher, LACP, LUTCF, CPIW
Representative
112 West B Street
Rainier, OR 97048-0310
countryfinancial.com/sheryl.teuscher
sheryl.teuscher@countryfinancial.com
503-556-0186
Auto and Home policies issued by COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company®,
COUNTRY Casualty Insurance Company®, or COUNTRY Preferred Insurance
Company®, Bloomington, IL.
0520-507HC
Thursday, april 29, 2021 // 7