Bill Fuller is a regular at Parker Artists Guild (PAG) Thursday morning painting workshops at Parker Mainstreet Center. He enjoys painting in oils and acrylics and, in a self-deprecating way, describes his ability as 'modest' compared to others. A member for many of the guild's 7 years, Bill gives his time as PAG historian, keeping records of events, photographs, documents and news articles in an ever expanding scrap book.
After 30 years with Martin Marietta, Bill retired in 1990. He and his wife Bev live in a modest home in the wooded hills northwest of Elizabeth and enjoy a spectacular view of Pikes Peak from their living room window. Because he is so modest, few people are aware of Bill's other hobby. He designs and carves wooden carousel horses. Weighing about 200 lbs each, it is a major operation to move his artwork to exhibits or shows. In any event, he has no wish to sell his horses and it is likely that few will ever be able to admire his craftmanship.
In 1989, the year before he retired, Bill began carving a carousel horse for daughter Chana (see photo no. 3). It took almost a year to complete - he estimates about 800 hours altogether - including he says, ". . . time spent just standing back and looking at it, trying to decide what to do next." Chana's golden maned horse remains with Bill and Bev because their daughter hasn't, until recently, had room for it in her own home.
In the 1880's carousels became popular in America and by the 1930s there were 3-4,000 across the country, in amusement and theme parks. There are only about 150 carousels remaining today, but there is a large following of collectors, carvers and annual convention attendees keeping the old traditions alive. The monthly "The Carousel News & Trader" magazinecaters to thousands of readers all over the world and keeps enthusiasts up to date with historical stories, carving ideas and patterns, classified ads, auctions and calendar events. But let's be honest, how many of us were even aware of this interesting pastime?
In late 2005 Bill began another carousel horse (see photos 1 & 2), which he named "Ford." He chose the name because "it's a combination of a pinto, a mustang and a bronco!" Ford was completed in September, after almost a year of work. It is easy to spend time just admiring Bill's creations. His attention to detail is amazing. Real horse-hair tails and artificial glass eyes add a feeling of life to each one. It takes remarkable patience and true craftsmanship to create these beautiful works of art.
Today, a wide variety of animals are used in carousels; dinosaurs, camels, seals, cartoon characters and mythical dragons. It is the horse, however, that came first and Bill's horses are great examples of this historic craft. With luck he may be persuaded to exhibit his horses to the public. We can only hope.
For information about this interesting craft go to
www.carouselnews.com or
www.carouseltrader.com/info.html.