The Witch Creek fire slammed my property in Ramona California in October of 2007. My cabin was damaged, but survived. My land was cooked to ash and as I walked around through the embers putting out spot fires, I saw how the boulders had fractured from the heat. Shards of granite lay in the ash around the "mother rocks." I collected some of them – their shapes intrigued me.

As I worked in my small studio one day, I saw a face in one of those rock shards. It was a mountain lion. I see many wild animals where I live and always marvel at the way they appear – as if they materialize out of the earth, the way they "ghost" in and out of sight. I have seen lions in the wild. One moment you are staring into their eyes and in a heartbeat they are gone. It's kind of magical, at least to me.

These sculptures are of wild animals that are dear to me. I hope you enjoy them too.