Carl’s Trip — The Journey Behind Jesus Has a Horse
How loss, faith, and art reshaped my life.
For over two decades, I worked as a professional steel sculptor. I didn’t know then that God was preparing 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 2018, 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 giant steel 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 massive steel moose on a trailer turned heads everywhere. People photographed them at highway speeds. Strangers laughed. Some asked if they were real. That trip reminded me that art connects people — sometimes in the most unexpected ways.
A Stop at Harrison Ford’s Gate
Yes, I actually drove to Harrison Ford’s house. I thought he should see 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’s about the willingness to go.
A New Art Calling
After trying to rebuild life on my own terms, I finally stopped forcing the future. And when I did, something unexpected began to form — the Jesus Has a Horse project. Not just art, but a creative world for children. A mission I instantly recognized as direction, not ambition.
The Mission
Jesus Has a Horse is about helping children experience Jesus through joy, imagination, and creativity. Not pressure. Not lectures. Just stories, art, and warmth that prepare young hearts to know Him personally.
Closing
I didn’t plan this life. But I can see God’s hand across it — through success, loss, detours, and beginnings. If my journey encourages you to trust the nudges in your own story, then it has served its purpose. God isn’t finished with either of us yet.
