Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Happy Hollow visit Leads to Artist and Toy Discovery

Happy Hollow 2010

We went to the newly renovated Happy Hollow in San Jose last weekend. It was minty fresh, but had the generic new park feel to it. That old school charm that was Happy Hollow is all but gone. But the visit did lead to discovering a new artist and even a new toy..!

Happy Hollow 2010

The artist is Tom Otterness from New York. The entire entrance to Happy Hollow is covered in his whimsical sculptures. The size of these scupltures are perfect for little toddlers to climb on. I seriously want one of these cars in my house. If you look carefully, Tom's works also have political/economic messages too..!

Happy Hollow 2010

Happy Hollow 2010

More pics and Tom's toy after the jump...

Gotta love the paint application on this Sea Horse

Happy Hollow 2010

Happy Hollow 2010

Happy Hollow 2010

Happy Hollow 2010

Happy Hollow 2010

Happy Hollow 2010

Happy Hollow 2010

Happy Hollow 2010

ok, so now the toy.

This Horse and Rider statue is a replica of the Horse and Rider sculpture located in the newly renovated and expanded Texas Tech University Student Union Gathering Pavilion. The original piece was commissioned by the Student Union and created by American Sculptor Tom Otterness (b. 1952 in Wichita, Kansas). The smaller versions were specially made as a result of numerous requests for affordable models of the Horse and Rider.

The Horse and Rider is significant to Texas Tech University because it is loosely the artist’s rendition of our mascot, ‘The Masked Rider’. The tradition of the Masked Rider started as a dare in 1936 when an unidentified masked or ghost rider would circle the football field during home games. The Masked Rider became an official mascot in 1954.


You can buy your own Tom Otterness toy by clicking HERE

Happy Hollow 2010

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