I am pretty sure I have been drawing since I could pick up a pencil. I used to draw horse, after horse, after horse, and every now and then I would throw a cat into the mix. I am pleased to say I never really grew out of it, but now I sculpt them. Here are a few of my older works. These are all done in pencil.
Born in metro Detroit in 1970, from a large family with 3 brothers and 2 sisters. My parents were non horsie people but always supported me on my horse endeavors. This started from an early age 7 with my first Breyer horse. My Mom was cool enough to pick up any Breyer horse she spotted at a treasured garage sale. Gosh did she find some great ones, a red roan family, dapple grey Arabians, the coveted palomino Family Arabian Stallion along with many more... many, many, many, more. It was alot of fun. To this day she still surprises me with a treasure every now and then (though the horses seem to be harder to find now a days) she is still out there looking.
My Mom and Dad also signed me up for my first horseback riding lessons at age 8. Which led to a pony at the age of 12. I am proud to say that I also paid for most of his bills by getting my first job helping out at a dog kennel after school and in the summers. That was part of the deal, but what a great deal it was. My Dad always bailed me out when I got in way over my head with vet bills and many other surprise cost that come with owning a real horse. I was very blessed.
As I got older the model horses got boxed up. The real horses faded into the background as dating boys took over my life. But the horses where always there in the back of my mind.
Years later I married my husband Glen and had two lovely daughters. On our first year of marriage we were given a computer and we logged onto internet. And there it was, the Breyer horses, Breyer horses for sale, but not only that, custom made saddles, custom horses that looked real, model horse shows and interesting websites all about model horses! THAT WAS SO COOL and then I was hooked back into it all over again. I started out tack making but didn't have much success and after crazy gluing my fingers together a few times I tried model horse customizing...
The coveted palomino Family Arabian Stallion went on to be my first successful custom horse. He is safely tucked away in my studio, the one that started it all. It took me 2 years to finish him. The rest of my model horse collection that have survived has been past down to my daughters, the new generation of horsie girls.
Right now I am a stay at home mom with two beautiful girls and a loving husband. A horse named Darwin, a dog, 2 cats and a canary. I am able to stay at home because I continue to make custom model horses. For this I am forever thankful.
I very much love what I do and being able to share my artwork with other horsie girls is a thrill.
