In this episode, Lisa and Julianne introduce listeners to artist Cindy Galloway and filmmaker Cindy Erkel, along with the Billy and Blaze team. The conversation with Cindy Galloway and the panel-style interview with Cindy Erkle were both recorded during the EQUUS Film and Arts Fest at the Kentucky Horse Park in December. The panel with the Billy and Blaze team was recorded at Breyerfest at the Kentucky Horse Park in July of 2019.
About Cindy Galloway:
My love for equines & animals in general began as a young girl, swimming in the creek behind our house and catching carp & tadpoles (my mom had to ask me to return the living aquatic beasts frequently to the creek - I had them in a bucket next to my bed). I consider all living things to have the same importance as humans - I really hate to even kill flies in our horse barn although my horses certainly don’t agree here. On to the equine history....My equestrian activities began with riding english, dabbling in local shows & riding in the Wayne-Dupage Hunt (a drag pack - not fox hunting) club. After some pretty bad wrecks & injuries to match I have jumped ship to enjoy western dressage & moseying’ on the trails with my husband Steve. I am a classically trained oil painter & photographer (I still think in ‘film’ setting) I love to meld different animals & subjects into what could be perceived as a ‘traditional setting’. My brain works akin to Dr. Seuss - designing & creating in my mind a very free, no rules, no box sort of outcome - quirky & eccentric?, perhaps. Painting furniture, decorative yet functional items, signs, event posters & just about anything I please is what I do.
https://www.cindygalloway.com
About Cindy Erkel and the Billy and Blaze project:
One of those small bright spots of the late 1930’s was the first published work of C.W. Anderson, Billy and Blaze. This little book started Mr. Anderson on his prolific book publishing career and set the stage for many happy hours of reflection for children around the world. The hope and triumph of this gentle story contributed positively to the greater universal needs the times demanded. As such, the Billy and Blaze series has become a classic, cherished by those who grew up wishing the pictures of Billy and his bay pony, Blaze, could come to life. As a published children's book author, Cynthia Rogers Erkel took the opportunity to embellish the gentle story with the other people in Billy’s life whom must have existed somewhere between the lines. In order to make a film, the story needed to be expanded with dignity, staying as true to the spirit of the original as possible. The C. W. Anderson Estate, upon reading the script, endorsed it completely.
https://www.billyandblazemovie.com
To learn more about Julianne and her partner Bruce Anderson, tune in to "Whinny Tales: Horse Stories, Pony Legends and Unicorn Yarns," the official podcast of Nature's View and The Marley Project. You can also visit www.naturesview.us or www.equusfilmfestivalcamden.com.
For more information about the festival or for links to the films and literature, visit equusfilmfestival.net. Follow us on social media at EQUUS Film Festival. To see the EQUUS films, visit www.filmfestivalflix.com