The Acronym Cometh

Well, it's January and suddenly that can only mean one thing: time to prepare for NaMoPaiMo!

I say suddenly because this is a fairly new occurrence in my life.  NaMoPaiMo, or National Model Painting Month (a.k.a. February), is only three years old itself, but last February was the first time I ever participated in it.

Two years before that (2017) was the first ever NaMoPaiMo and, while I did hear something about it at the time, I assumed (mistakenly, as it turns out) that it was something just for hobby artists, not for untalented enthusiasts like myself.

It was only when I looked into it last year, after reading about it in Jennifer Buxton's "Braymere Custom Saddlery" blog, that I discovered that it was a month for everybody to experiment with simple customization, regardless of skill or experience.  There are sometimes "prizes," but NaMoPaiMo is not a competition -- if one is lucky enough to get a NaMoPaiMo prize it's for participation, not for artistry.  What you are pretty much guaranteed to get, as far as I can tell, is a little congratulatory post from Jennifer if you're able to complete your project and post its picture online.

These congratulations are not nothing.  They're heart-warming, sincere, and a tremendous boost to the self-esteem.  I received one last year, and it gave me the warm fuzzies for days afterwards.  Sometimes, a little recognition is all we need.

A line-up of possible NaMoPaiMo victims victories.

In anticipation of participating this year, I've been piling up a bunch of likely-looking bodies to attack with brush and pigment.  I have quite a selection, but I think my official NaMoPaiMo horse will end up being the Paint-and-Play Warmblood Unicorn, as it is the one I have the firmest plan for.  The others, with a little luck, may end up being my "I also did this" horses -- depends on how I handle my time and what else pops up during the month to distract me.

The candidate most likely to succeed proceed.

Being the language nerd that I am, I initially had a bit of an issue with the NaMoPaiMo acronym -- I felt that it really should be International Model Painting Month, or InMoPaiMo, to be accurate, since model horse hobbyists the world over have been known to participate. 

However, I know that the acronym was inspired by the NaNoWriMo acronym, for National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. November), which began in 1999 as a way to encourage those of us with a novel in our heads to get the words out of our heads and onto a piece of paper.

I've toyed with the idea of signing up for NaNoWriMo from time to time, but never really found a fully-formed novel bashing around in my head waiting to get out.  But the point is that NaNoWriMo, like NaMoPaiMo, is actually an international event as opposed to a strictly national one. 

Which, now that I come to think of it, gives me a way to justify the "Na" in NaMoPaiMo.  As NaMoWriMo recognizes, a nation is not only a country.  In fact, by definition a nation is more than a country -- it's a community of people who have something in common, whether that's a love of writing or a love of model horses.  That's why we can talk about a nation of couch potatoes or a nation of activists.

When we use the term "national" we tend to think of things pertaining to our own country:  a national anthem, a national flag, a national government, or a national park.  But as a nation of model horse enthusiasts we have our own national identity and national icons, regardless of the country we call home.

So, long live NaMoPaiMo -- where model horse fanciers of the world unite!

We have nothing to lose for our pains.