Upon reflection, I figured out why Ari didn't get the reaction I thought she would: BronyCon was going on at the same time in DC.

My copy of Life and Times was sadly damaged in a move by ... enthusiastic "he's not packing FAST enough" family members who basically dumped drawers and swept bookcases into banana boxen while I was at work. (! "boxen" doesn't trigger spell check!) I would have been too embarrassed to show it to...

Well, Boston was a bit of a bust... I had maybe 2 people recognize Ari. Most folks were just "Cow Puppet!" "What's with the Cow?" or "Get out of my way, dill weed!" I probably got more chuckles when I had her stuffed into a backpack with her head and hooves over my shoulder, flopping on a pool...

My plan was actually for one of the puppies. Cute overload. Though Tianhuo was my "what am I THINKING!?" idea. LEDs, sheer fabrics, and Fans for the mane and wings...

Completed!!! Mom helped me as a hand model again. I'm looking forward to the reaction at the Con! That said, a few "after action" musings: If I do this again, I'd use a different sculpt philosophy for the head. After covering, her snoot feels too short, and, well, far too complex a...

Спаси́бо за подде́ржку. (Spasíbo za poddéržku!) :arigrin2:"Thank you for the support! -- Wiktionary"

Except for her head scruff, I've got Arizona's head done. I've patterned her lower body,so all I have to do is a lot of sewing. My mom held her for me to take pictures. I had to take a pixel lobby pic!

Day 9.5 Took a couple more progress pics before family aggro took over. This is a loose pin fit. Everything but the snoot can be adjusted. In fact , I can put a foam insert into the ears, but I want some secondary motion when I flop her head around.

Day 9 So much stitching! I apparently overdid it on her seam allowance. Thus, I'll be tucking it in as I do the eyes. I draped her back as well, that's the blue thing on the table. I'm not done for the day just yet. I just wanted to post some pics of the progress.

Bonus day! Seaming by hand takes forever. So I dive to other parts of the head. . Eyes,horns,etc. She won't look nearly as goofy when there's eyelids on. Edit: Darn autocorrect.

Day 8 Important note: this stuff is harder than it looks. Draping Ari's head took HOURS. I'm anticipating similar for her body. Hopefully by the end of day 9, I'll have minimally acceptable puppet (head and necksleeve) finished. At least this stage is easier to do some here, do some there...

Day 7 No pics tonight. I spent most of the day re-drafting the rear legs, and adjusting her body for useful puppetry. What I thought was going to work for her forelegs didn't work at all. So, fiberfill "sausage links" rather than polyfoam notched tube. I'm approximately 4 glue seams from having...

Day 6 Progress pics for today! I pin-fit the horns and ears. My original take on the horns were far too sharp. These will need a trim at the base for rotation and closer fit to the original. I'm rather happy with the ears, actually. These will be attached to the puppet after skinning...

Day 5-6 part one. Two days in a row, but family obligations being what they are, yadda yadda. So, yeah. I screwed up on the dye. Kinda. Her lighter coat color is darker than anticipated. I'll have to wait until it's done in the dryer to see just how badly. But the actual total loss was the...

Okay! Family obligations, locating the "I know I had a mouse pad SOMEWHERE!" and inclement weather screwing with drying time on the glue didn't give me much time to do anything. I'm kinda glad I HAVE the padding to faff around with this. ;) I got a mouth plate in Ari today, though I may go...

Day 3, Complete Okay, the head is glued! Her jaw needs a bit of work to make it functional and better looking, but a more solid mouthplate than I intended... perhaps even the one I did intend ... will pull her into her intended overbite after a slight trim. A test fit with the spoons I'm...

Day 3 part 1 I gave up on patterning her body, so I'm going to cheat by rolling, slicing, etc a tube of foam the right length for the body and each leg. That said: I traced my pattern onto the foam and realized my precut roll may be enough for two puppets, if one of them isn't a proper Ari...

No photos for Day 2, though I did pattern Ari's head. I layered tinfoil over my sculpt and put blue painter's tape over that in thin strips to form a writing/cutting surface. Funnily enough, my sculpt is exactly 1/4 size for my planned final size. Go me. Based on my experience with the back of...

Day 1, Part 1 Okay, here's some pics of my head sculpt before I try to pattern off of it. I just took it out of the oven for curing and I need to wait a bit for it to cool. Also, family stuff interrupting, getting more stuff , sculpting the body, and so on and so on... makes me glad I've got...

"Day 1" will be Tuesday, 27 June 2017. Current progress is materials gathered, and a blown-up copy of Lauren's Arizona turnaround from the campaign for rough sizing. Additionally, trying out my "voice" for performing Ari by smooshing Lawyer Friendly Farmer Equine, Peggy Hill, Janice and Miss...