Meet Rusty the ‘junk’ horse at HAPPA this summer!
HAPPA (Horses and Ponies Protection Association) are pleased to welcome a new addition to the Farm this summer, who doesn’t cost anything to feed. Rusty will be paying a visit to Shores Hey Farm, Burnley, Lancashire from 24th July until 4th September.
Rusty the horse created by local artist and sculptor, Sarah Mae Francis founder and owner of S.M.ART, is a full-sized sculpture made from unwanted scrap metal and parts and is Sarah’s favourite piece to date, lovingly created from otherwise jettisoned junk. Visitors to the Farm will be able to meet Rusty and all her real-life friends during the summer break.
Sarah Francis, @sarah.mae.art1 says “I took an interest in welding at aged 16 discovering and teaching myself how to work with metal. From that I noticed that my dad, a mechanic, was throwing a lot of car parts and unwanted tools away which seemed such a waste, I thought ‘why not get creative’ and see what I could conjure up, and things just escalated from there. I want people to be able to see and enjoy my work. HAPPA seemed the perfect place to send my Rusty on holiday to showcase my work, hopefully Rusty will inspire fellow artists to recycle and reuse”.
HAPPA’s Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Arthur, explains further “I was introduced to Sarah’s work when dropping off my car for a service at her father’s garage, the absolute talent and artistic creativity shown in Rusty is truly phenomenal. The symbolism of Rusty to the Charity is that as the horses we rescue are thrown away like junk by cruel owners, we find them all an important purpose whether that be through education or by finding them a home as a companion or rideable equine. We applaud Sarah’s work and are sure she will have an extremely successful future as a creator of these beautiful life-sized sculptures.”
Whilst there are plenty of real horses to see at HAPPA the Charity are delighted that Sarah and Rusty would love to be part of summer at Shores Hey Farm. Rusty is a showcase that one person’s junk is another person’s treasure. This fantastic piece of art is something to behold and memory of meeting the life-sized sculpture will stick with you forever.
As a bonus Rusty will also be joined by her friend ‘Electro’ The Ram who was completed by Sarah early this year.
If you find yourself wanting your very own Rusty, Sarah takes on commissions and would love to chat with you, email [email protected]
A visit to Shores Hey Farm is just £6 for up to a group of six people, and all funds help the Charity to continue to give a second chance to abused, neglected and unwanted horses, ponies and donkeys. The farm is open to visitors from 11am to 4pm daily to book your visit go to https://www.happa.org.uk/visit-us/ to find out more about Sarah Mae Art head to sarah-mae-art.co.uk