Donna Pelton
Donna Pelton grew up on a cattle ranch in Northern California. As a small girl, when she wasn't riding horses, she was drawing them. "My first memory was of my mother putting one of our horses in a clover patch, putting me on the horse's back (no reins or rope), and leaving us together. The horse happily munched clover, and I was quite content to stay on her back while my mother went about her chores. At the University, I started out with an Education Major and a minor in Fine Arts. I quickly changed it to a double major of Education and Social Studies. I think I intuitively I knew that because my art was so important to me, I wanted to be very careful how and by whom it was being influenced. During my first year of teaching my roommate was taking a drawing class after work. I was so intrigued with the drawing she was doing, but as a first year teacher, I had to concentrate on lesson plans and correcting papers."
Donna passed her love for horses on to her two daughters who became accomplished equestrians. "Often times with young girls come horses, horse shows, lots of grooming, and a real opportunity to get to know the horse. I was fascinated with bronzes, and I wanted a bronze of our horses. Having one commissioned proved to be expensive, and I could feel in my hands the desire to sculpt them myself. After the girls graduated from high school and I had more time, I saw a class on mold making which included a trip to a foundry. That's all the incentive I needed. " |

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