Equestrian Network Magazine

Spotlight On The Artist: Poni-Girl

by M. Y. Mim

Susan Wells' nom de arte as Poni-Girl suits her perfectly.

Susan Wells'
Poni Girl logo.

"When I was growing up people would say she's a 'horse girl' or she is horsy. However I always call my horses 'ponies' - even my 16.3h Swedish gelding. Therefore I always thought of myself as a Pony-girl. The spelling with an 'I' instead of a 'y' was just for fun."

Susan creates individual, custom jewelry: wearable art for horse fans.

"This line of jewelry is my passion. It is a tribute to horses generally, to a couple of horses specifically, and to my uncle who first introduced me to horses and allowed me the privilege of observing and participating in his love of horses."

Each piece is a limited edition, hand carved in wax and cast in precious metal. These pieces are made-to-order through custom commissions. Susan spends many hours hand-finishing them and no two are
exactly alike.

She creates primarily necklaces, bracelets, and belt buckles, and uses Swarovski crystals in an enormous selection of colors, as well as fresh-water pearls. The pieces may be gold or platinum.

She always begins by sketching the piece first.

The artist with Ulissa.

"I can usually tell if the drawing will translate to a good piece. Once I have a sketch I like, I just start carving it in wax. The wax is then cast into a piece of silver or gold jewelry. Then I hand finish the piece by sanding and polishing it, and finally I assemble the piece into a pendant or bracelet. The hardest part of the process is carving it in wax, and given that my pieces can be delicate, the wax can be somewhat fragile. So that process alone can take many hours."

Susan finds inspiration by watching her horses in the pasture and in the paddock (she currently owns six horses). She attempts to capture the essence of the horse: the arch of the neck, the tilt of the head, or the always changing position of the ears.

"I'm sure that every horse lover has, at some time, been captivated by those subtle little movements and the simple but beautiful shape or curve, or line that those movements create. I often tell people that although I have always loved horses, it took me a long time to appreciate the fundamentally honorable and honest nature of horses. My jewelry is a labor of love. I feel that I have been blessed having horses in my life."

Ring and pendant.

Poni Girl's jewelry art stands out as unique and special. ENM asked Susan why her artwork is so unusual in the large field of equine jewelry.

"My designs celebrate horses. They are meant to be 'generic' in that they don't really pay tribute to a particular breed or a particular discipline. I want to create pieces that could be worn for any occasion. I have some pieces in which non-horse people don't recognize the 'horse' in the jewelry!. I like that as it makes it kind of a secret among horse lovers. The horse lovers always see the horse!"

Dazzling pendants.

To learn more about Poni Girl's work and commission a piece, visit her website: www.poni-girl.com.
Source: Susan Wells

About the Author: M. Y. Mim is a free-lance journalist based in Santa Barbara, Ca. She may be reached at mymim3@cox.net, or through her agent R. Almqvist, 805-705-5349. The author wishes to thank Mr. Almqvist for his assistance in making this article possible.