Carl’s Trip — The Journey Behind
Jesus Has a Horse®
How loss, faith, and art reshaped my life.
For more than two decades, I worked as a professional steel sculptor. I didn’t know then that God was preparing me for something far bigger.
The Turning Point
For years, I built large-scale steel sculpture simply because I loved the craft. It wasn’t a ministry — it was welding, sweat, persistence, and imagination. But looking back, I can see that God was quietly shaping something deeper. What I thought was just a career was actually preparation.
God’s Fingerprints
The more I studied the world — science, design, nature — the harder it became to believe we were an accident. Structure, order, beauty, purpose… it all pointed somewhere. That growing conviction became the foundation beneath both my art and my faith.
Becoming an Artist
I never set out to become an artist. I bought a welder to fix steel — not to sculpt wildlife. But something awakened in me. A strange certainty I couldn’t explain. So I followed it. And step by step, that decision reshaped my entire life.
First Creations
My early pieces were rough — sometimes painfully so. But every weld taught me something. Every mistake built skill. Growth didn’t come from perfection; it came from persistence. The first sculpture still reminds me that beginnings matter more than polish.
Loss & A New Beginning
In 2019, my wife Carol passed away. Everything changed. The house went quiet. Life felt paused. Then came a steady nudge: move, simplify, start again. I packed my studio, gave away much of what I owned, and drove west toward my children — two moose strapped behind me. It was the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
The Moose Trip
Driving across the country with two moose on a trailer turned heads everywhere. People photographed them at highway speeds. Strangers marveled. Some asked if they were real. That trip reminded me that art connects people — sometimes in the most unexpected ways.
A Detour Toward Harrison Ford
Yes, I actually drove toward Harrison Ford’s home because I believed he should own my moose. It didn’t go quite as planned—but I learned something important: sometimes the adventure is the point. Obedience isn’t always about the outcome. It is about the willingness to go.
A New Art Calling
After trying to rebuild life on my own terms, I finally stopped forcing the future. When I did, something unexpected began to form: Jesus Has a Horse®. It was not simply another art project, but a creative world for children—a calling I recognized as direction rather than ambition.
The Mission
Jesus Has a Horse® is a peaceful story world where children can experience Jesus as kind, safe, and close. Through stories, art, imagination, friendship, and laughter, children are reminded that they are seen, loved, and welcomed.
Closing
I didn’t plan this life. But looking back, I can see God’s hand across it—through success, loss, detours, and new beginnings. If my journey encourages you to trust the quiet nudges in your own story, then it has served its purpose.
God is not finished with either of us yet.
