I was raised in the Chain-of-lakes region of northern Illinois, where we could run down the hill in front of our house and swim all summer, ice skate and play hockey all winter, and go 36 miles by boat. In the autumn on nice days, we could take our boat to town via the Fox River, dock at the country club… and walk to our high school. There was also a stable across the road, and for a time it was owned by a little traveling circus. When the little circus was ‘home’, we could go across the street and watch the caretakers give the Indian elephants their daily baths out in the pasture, and a team of zebras was trained to pull a little circus cart up-and-down the country road. My sister and I had many pets, and then, as now… my passion was animals. It was a wonderful childhood! In 1969, I began my college education at Purdue University in W. Lafayette, IN. I had two majors: Ethology (the study of natural behaviors in animals) and Industrial Psychology so that I could get a job in Personnel work (now called Human Resources) upon graduation. I graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree. I had met and married my husband, Bob Mason, while at Purdue, and for a time following graduation we both worked for the University. I was the Collection Officer for delinquent student loans for three and a half years. I then transferred to the School of Nuclear Engineering as the Administrative Assistant to the Head of the Department – and after a couple of years transferred to the Graduate Department as a counselor and secretary (working with the graduate students was a lot more fun).In 1980, my husband accepted a job in Kansas, and we moved. I no longer had to work full-time, so I started experimenting with an art medium I had seen at an art show several years earlier… scratchboard! It is a white clay composite board coated with ink, and you use very sharp tools to cut through the ink layer into the white clay beneath… the reverse of pen and ink. It is a great medium for capturing the texture of hair and feathers! Within three years, I was winning awards in regional art shows, including the annual Ducks Unlimited show in Kansas City, MO. I had my own one-woman show at the Wichita Art Museum, taught the medium through some art schools, and traveled the mid-west art show circuit with my work. By the early 1990’s, I was tired of ‘scratching’ and a friend suggested I try sculpture. I started taking lessons in fired clay sculpture, but found the medium had lots of limitations. In 1995, I traveled with a friend to the Loveland Academy of Fine Art in Loveland, CO to take a week-long workshop with Gerald Balciar. We had a tour through a local bronze foundry, and I was HOOKED! But then both of my parents passed away, I had an estate to settle, and my husband changed jobs and we moved to Minnesota! I did not do any sculpture for a couple of years, then in 1997 I again returned to the Loveland Fine Art Academy for another sculpture workshop… this time with David Turner. My husband went with me on this trip, and we ended up buying a 35-acre lot just west of Loveland in the foothills. We returned to Minnesota where I drew up plans for our house, then we returned to Loveland a month later to meet with a builder. We broke ground shortly thereafter and moved into our new home in early March of 1998. Over the next two years, I took workshop-after-workshop with sculptors that I really admired: another workshop with Gerald Balciar, more with David Turner, several with Walt Horton and Lincoln Fox, Sandy Scott, and Fritz White. I cast my first piece in 2000. I was accepted as a Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists in 2002, and juried into the 2003 Annual “Art and the Animal” Exhibition of the SAA , where I received the Marilyn Newmark award for “A Realistic Sculpture in the Academic Manner”. In 2004, I received the “Best Sculpture” and Runner-up to Best in Show from the American Women Artists organization – and was offered Signature membership. I was also jurying into the Annual Awards Exhibition of the National Sculpture Society, and other major exhibitions. In 2004, I became a member of the Society of Animal Artists’ Executive Board, and in 2008 I was asked to serve as the President of the organization. I served in that capacity until the end of 2013. I still serve on the Executive Board of the SAA and have served as Treasurer since 2013. I also served on the Executive Board of the American Women Artists organization from 2013 – 2019 and served that organization as Treasurer from 2014 – 2019. My husband took over the position of Executive Director of the Society of Animal Artists when we moved the corporate office from New York to Berthoud, CO… and served in that position from 2008 until 2019. Of all the honors and awards I have received over the years, I would have to say that the greatest reward has been the friendships made during this journey as a sculptor… the collectors, the other artists, the people I work with in the foundry services, and my fellow artists in the Society of Animal Artists and the American Women Artists. How many people get to know the likes of Robert Bateman, Guy Cohleach, Kent Ullberg, and so many other notable artists from around the world personally? I am a truly fortunate lady!! I just turned 70 in February of 2021 and got a right knee replacement (much needed) three days later. Bob and I just celebrated our 50th anniversary on June 12 of this year. My production as a sculptor was much reduced during 2020 both due to Covid restrictions and because I was unable to stand for any time at my sculpture stand. I now have a new lease on life and am back at work in the studio most days… and enjoying it as much as ever. My work continues to be inspired by the animals that I love so dearly, both domestic and wild. The mule deer that come to visit me daily at my studio know and respond to the names that I have given them, and their faces are as distinctive to me as are those of my friends and family. My life revolves around my animals, and my art is just an extension of that love. I picked up the medium of scratchboard again in 2017 and enjoy that as well as the sculpture. I teach both sculpture and scratchboard on occasion, and my former avian veterinarian became my protégé when she retired from her practice in 2019. She is doing GREAT work, and I delight in sharing my knowledge with others just as so many, like Walt and Lincoln, shared their knowledge with me so many years ago.