I was raised on a small farm in west central Minnesota. My father had a deep love of horses and introduced me to riding at the early age of 5.  Bareback is how I learned to ride, developing balance and a good seat, which made the later transition into English riding much easier.

 

Early breeds were mixes, some Quarter horses, Morgans, and Appaloosas.  In my early teens, my dad began purchasing Thoroughbreds that failed to get their maiden at the track; tall, muscular specimens, full of energy, completely green to anything outside of racing.  At one point, our herd ballooned to 50 head.  My teenage years where spent riding these amazing horses, calming their nerves through long trail rides, then training in dressage and jumping.  Many of these beauties would get resold as pleasure horses, others became police horses, a couple professional Grand Prix competitors and professional dressage horses.  But I had my favorites, which I keep and showed locally in our English Riding Club.  I quickly became one of the top riders in our area, winning all levels of pleasure, dressage, hunter/jumper, often bringing more then one horse to a show.  Dreams of riding professionally felt in my reach.  I lived, breathed and had a deep love for Equus. They represented everything that is right in this world, particularly in the sense of freedom and the capacity to give. They shook me loose of my concerns, and got me centered and calm.  What a gift, I received.

 

After high school, I started college at the University of Minnesota. I studied psychology and worked with the developmentally disabled for many years, primarily in a group home setting.  School and work keep me so busy, I had little time to ride and get back to the farm.   I always had a deep appreciation for art, and stumbled into an exhibit of horse sculptures by Debra Butterfield.  I was so taken by the simplicity and the power of her work I told myself one day I would try to sculpt.

 

Fast forward twenty five years, I’m collecting wood, at our local lake and began to build my first driftwood pieces in 2012. The work brings me back to Equus, the lines, shapes and personalities start coming through from all those years of picking feet, brushing, bathing and riding these powerful animals. A new gift was given, a chance to reconnect and pay tribute to the strength and beauty I felt as a child, being in the herd, re-purposing my early experiences, much like the materials I find lying around, waiting to be discovered, full of potential, like so many of the green horses I trained, scared and distrustful, needing patience and soft hands to reveal their full nature, honesty and straightforwardness. I am a horse person, I love trying to capture that in my art. My more recent work, has the addition of movable mane.  Recycled from bicycle tires, from a local touring company. Giving the pieces a kinetic feeling and added expression, as well as, keeping the tires out of the landfill.

 

The devastating flood of 2013 provided a tremendous surplus of materials. As we were all scrambling to clean up, remove, and dispose of debris, I was collecting and storing branches and trees from this event, in hopes of making something fresh and new from something so negative and challenging in our mountain town.  Flood debris turned into 5 life size sculptures.

 

The spirit of the horse continues to be central in my artistic expression.  Other forms of inspiration come from living in the small mountain town of Estes Park, Colorado. Wildlife like elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and bears roam in this idyllic setting, giving me a chance to expand my subject matter, in the spirit of reclaimed/found materials sculpture.

I am grateful to have a studio in my home. I welcome commissions,  public exhibitions and gallery inquires.  A good amount of my work can be seen at our business on 477 Pine River Lane at Elements of Touch Wellness spa in Estes Park.