I was born in New Jersey and grew up in the 1950s and 60s. I began a lifelong love affair with making art at a very young age. All my life I have worked in many different media and made a living creating art that was published in one form or another. Often I created original work for other artists and teachers to describe, illustrate or demonstrate their ideas, stories and research. Throughout those years, I continued creating my own fine art pieces and exhibited and sold pieces privately and in galleries.
I was first exposed to clay as a teen and loved it. A beloved uncle taught me something about the nature of cultural production when he critiqued a small sculpture I brought home. It was a valuable lesson. I learned that my art production could affect an audience’s perception of a subject matter. This became the impetus and passion for making art. Even after all these years, I still look forward to creating a new piece of art, alone and in collaboration with others.
This current ceramic endeavor is one that puts art into your hands, inspired by the precious wildlife Americans have on our public lands. My hope is to include enough visual “reminders” to excite people to act in some way to preserve our wild horses and burros. A serious challenge to removing and killing wild horses and burros began in the 1950s by Velma Bronn Johnston or “
Wild Horse Annie”. The legislation Johnston worked tirelessly to get passed was finally called the Wild Horse Annie Act, 1971. Together we can uphold her legacy as well as preserve the special places that wild horses and burros live and thrive in!
To learn more about this and be an active supporter of correcting the very real problems working against the successful maintenance of wild life in our western states, please visit the site of Laura Leigh, President and Founder of
Wild Horse Education.
You have a role to play! Call DC and ask your representatives to uphold bills that end slaughter, and the transport to slaughter, of these sentient and wild animals! We need to respect the natural existence of all flora and fauna in the plains and wilderness areas, which in turn supports the balance of all life. You can purchase pieces in my Etsy store. Some of the sales dollars support rescuers and people fighting for new laws that stop helicopter roundups and slaughter still going on today.
Louise Michaels
