Kentucky Derby means hats and horses!

And they're off! Almost, but not quite yet. "They" -- are the world-class three-year-old thoroughbreds that grace the Kentucky Derby at world-famous Churchill Downs. The fastest two minutes in sports will soon be held May 2 in Louisville, Kentucky.

I enjoyed photographing the hats which is something I have never done around Derby time because I'm so hung up on the horses. I've been working in the studio to "hang the hats".  The hats are courtesy of Laura Whitlock Millinery, Loreta Corsetti Millinery, both of Chicago, and Forme Millinery in Louisville. "Millinery" is an  old-world term for hats. These fancy hats and fascinators are very pretty, delicate, done in meticulous work, beautiful materials, just glorious. I marvel at the craftmanship and detailing. Hope you will too! Thanks to the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft for allowing me to use their facility as a backdrop for the hats.

Resources for creating Kentucky Derby Fine Art: 

Churchill Downs, racehorses, run for the roses and dawn at the downs

Next week the city of Louisville will be in full swing for the Kentucky Derby. Artists -- such as myself -- have been creating and designing hats, art prints, mint julep cups and interesting handmade clothing. I've been hanging around the track admiring the horses.

My photographs of  racing thoroughbreds, horses being 'hot walked' at Churchill Downs backside and the paddock are available in all sizes, framed or unframed, and as fine art greeting cards sized a generous 4 by 6 inches. These variations of Derby fine art make wonderful mementos for friends and family or business associates. I use handmade paper as matting material, cloth or even a canvas frame upon which to mount or "paint" the photos.

My fine art piece pictured below is titled, "The Paddock with Roses," and it will soon be available for purchase at Block Party Handmade Boutique, 560 E. 4th Street in Louisville, Ky. The piece is in its final stages of development -- I will add some handmade paper, paint the frame with a wash, adhere some ribbon and assemble a few other embellishments to finish out the 3-D affect I strive for  -- that which makes "Scrapboarding" so unique. A thoroughbred 3-D racehorse will appear in the collage.

The fine art piece is 14 by 17 inches, framed and ready to hang. Large blooming faux roses are adhered to the archival paper for a full 3-D affect.  Professional sealants, glue and archival papers make the wall hanging one that endures over time. It is UV protected, as are all scrapboards. The second photo is a detail of jewel-toned sequins upon the cardstock mat. You can also purchase via my Scrapboarding shop on Etsy at:

 http://scrapboarding.etsy.com