I was born and grew up in central Ohio, not far from Columbus. When I was a child, I collected (and played with!) Breyer horses while I dreamed of owning a real horse. I started taking riding lessons and eventually realized my dream of having my own horse at the age of 14, thanks to my mother and grandfather. I mostly rode hunter/jumper and did a lot of trailriding.
After high school, I went to college at Notre Dame, where I earned my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. I interned as an engineer for a few months, then went off on a great adventure--the Peace Corps. I taught math and science at a girls' school in Tanzania, East Africa for two years. It was the best, and toughest, experience of my life!
When I returned from the Peace Corps, I decided to continue teaching here in the States for a while. I moved to Arlington, VA (just outside Washington, DC) where I taught for 3 years at another girls' school.
At that point I decided to make the transition to public school, because I was yearning for a different "audience." So I moved to Tempe, AZ (near Phoenix) where I got my Master's Degree in Secondary Education at Arizona State University. I taught at a public high school in Tempe for the next 5 years. I recently got back to my roots and am a mechanical design engineer in the automotive industry. I turned in my condo in the city for a lovely home in the country in Ohio where I live near all my family.
So in the midst of all of this, how did I get into model horse art? Well, it all started because I kept my childhood Breyer collection all of these years. When Ikea moved in, I finally got a display case for them and dug them out of storage in January 2005. Out of curiosity I started researching them on the internet, and that's where I discovered the art of customizing them. I have been an amateur artist all my life, so this was a natural progression for me. I started by painting plastic ponies, but quickly moved on to painting artist resins. It's such a joy to bring a beautifully sculpted horse to life with color.
I've also been playing around with sculpting myself, but no serious plans for casting anything at this point. I'm still experimenting!
I have LOTS of pets--you can see pictures of them on my Fun Page. I recently lost Bosco, my wonderful dog of 11 years (Dobie/Shepherd mix) whom I got as a puppy in Tanzania. He made the trek all the way back with me! I recently adopted a 6-year old Australian Cattle Dog from the Humane Society. Her name is Josie. I used to foster kittens for my local animal shelter, which is how I ended up with 5 cats. They are Kit Kat, Rupert, Daisy, Leo, and Dexter. My horse, Chickie, is a quarter horse gelding and is staying at my mom's until I get my new place ready for him.
I am also a very big Jane Austen fan. I love her wit, her stories, and her scope on life. She's my answer to that question, "If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?"
