“New Moon” Year of the Horse Brainstorm

So I've been drawing my face off trying to find an angle to approach Year of the Horse for My Plastic Heart's "New Moon" show in January. Time is limited but the more I draw the more I realize I'll most likely be doing more than one piece. I'm thinking a sculpt, a painting, and a few drawings (all small - the shop is small and there will be lots of other artists). I'm sure my eyes are bigger than my stomach on this (that makes no sense) but I can't help myself. I'm a workhorse.

A little background on these sketches - research for Year of the Horse revealed that there are 5 parts to being a Horse. 5 elements each with unique traits - water, fire, earth, metal, wood. So most of this brainstorm sesh was just about visualizing the elements and finding a visual language to convey the unique traits in each Horse. The drawings are super straightforward but hopefully fun and I think a good start.


Earth Horse had this trait about being able to see all sides of something. Got me thinking of facets, then of diamonds - so Earth Horse is diamond eyes.


FIRE!


This guy doesn't really work for me at all but I thought the drawing was kinda hilarious. He's falling apart but super happy about it.


This Water Horse drawing is my least favorite so far. I am just sure I can come up with a more sophisticated caricature than this but I do like the spontaneity of the swirling water so there is still something salvageable here.


Sculpt?