"I have always loved horses; my parents finally gave in and gave me one when I was 12 years old. We learned the hard way what not to do with a horse! I have a wonderful husband (of 30 years) and five patient and understanding children. My youngest daughter and I ride every day. Everyone in the family enjoys riding.

Horses have always been my main subject matter. Even when I was more of a painter, horses have been it for me.

I spend a lot of time just looking at horses. I always work from life. I think working from life lends a certain energy to one's work. My work begins by combing the shores of the Hudson River in up-state New York. The best wood I find in the early spring time. It may sound romantic walking up and down the shores of the mighty Hudson, but it's not. It is very difficult because the currents of the Hudson are very strong and sometimes I get a little caught by the tides. Big rocks line the shores, are very slippery, and the train tracks are uncomfortably too near... but the view of the Catskill Mountains is spectacular.

I begin each piece with the position of the legs and then the whole piece is worked together like a spider web. It is very frustrating each time I begin because it does not look much like a horse. Once the form of the horse begins, then the personality starts to form, and I have a blast working on it. The music that I listen to is very important also. I listen to a wide variety from Gregorian Chant and classical to sound tracks from Hollywood Westerns to good old Cowboy music.

A single piece can take as long as eight months. If I include hand-painted pieces, there's two months, even stained wood. I can't make more than for major pieces a year.

I love putting text on my work now. It seems to have more of an emotional impact on people when they look at it. It is almost like theater and it reveals more about myself to the viewer. After all, that is what makes good art of any kind. People like to see your vulnerability whether you are an actor, a musician or a visual artist. The text on the piece will usually speak about something that also is best expressed in the form of the horse. I have a horse called "True Patriot" which is dedicated to the Armed Services and contains all kinds of historical images and words from the founding of our country to the plight of the Native American during the Trail of Tears, to our struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan."